smobear Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Hi! So, my office is having our "team outing" this coming Monday, which will be my 8th day on W30. The initial plan was that we were going to go to a local museum and wander around and pretty much go our separate ways to eat lunch at the "cafeteria" in the facility. I figured this would be fine because I could just pack something light with me to tide me over and then eat once we left the museum. However, plans got changed and now the proposal is to have a staff lunch. We've been given a list of 5 restaurants and we have to pick our top two. This is a problem because a) I can't pack my own meal and I can't back out and say I'm not going (we're a staff of only 13 so my absence would be noticeable). One of them is a pizza/subs/milkshakes kind of place, and one of them is a barbecue joint; I've crossed both of these off the list (not only because I doubt that I could find anything I could eat, but because both of these are HUGE temptations for me). I've looked at the menus of the remaining three: A traditional American place; a more "gourmet" American place that has a lot of healthy options (they have a prominent vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free menu) but nothing that I would actually eat (I'm kind of picky), and a Mexican place. They both have salads that I could get that are essentially house salads that I could add meat to -- one I would get grilled shrimp and the other I would get the steak fajita meat. (My preference would be the Mexican place with the fajita meat on my salad, because I like red meat more than seafood). My fear with the American place is that it's also a "game hall" -- pool, shuffleboard, etc., so I'm wondering if it's like the same quality as, say, bowling alley food. That scares me. With the Mexican place, though, they give you free chips and salsa and that's a huge trigger for me. I'm nervous. I don't want to screw up, but I want to be able to enjoy myself with my coworkers. There's one other person I work with who is on Whole30 but she's on vacation next week so she won't be coming... but no one else really gets that I can't just "cheat a little". I don't know which one is the better choice. Heeeeelp! How do I navigate this!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I'm kind of picky Stop telling yourself you are picky. Stop being picky. You are an adult. There is a lot of talk in your post about how you don't trust yourself to make the right choices but the reality is that you you get to decide. You are in control here and if you want to be healthy and do the whole30 you can. The Mexican place sounds good to me because it sounds good to you. Have the Fajita meat on salad (throw some guac in there too) and don't eat the chips. Just don't eat them. Tell yourself you are not having any and then don't. That was the tough love part. Now for the reassuring part: it gets easier. The more times you try a healthier food that you "would never eat" the more likely it is that you could learn to enjoy it. The more times you say no to something you wouldn't have been able to resist in the past, the easier it is to say no the next time it comes around. You can do this! Stop telling yourself you can not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted July 22, 2014 Moderators Share Posted July 22, 2014 You probably need to say in a matter of fact way that you are on day 8 of a 30-day elimination diet that requires you to eat only meat, fish, eggs, veggies, and fruit, but no bread, pasta, rice, sugar, dairy, or alcohol. You have 8 days invested in this, so it is important that you stay on plan and not be forced to start over because someone put chips on the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Obviously put in your preference. But be prepared in case you might be overruled. Don't be scared - just be pro-active. What you can do - once a decision has been made on the restaurant call the restaurant up (If it isn't the Mexican place)and discuss your restrictions. Most places are super understanding these days to food sensitivities. Discuss with them your limitations and ask them what they could suggest from the menu. This is something you can do. If you are really scared - pack a snack to eat something before, order a plain salad with no dressing, ask for lemon/vinegar + olive oil and you should be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyOPgh Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Here's my two cents.............have a salad and ask if they have hard boiled eggs. If so, get them and chop them in to your salad. It's an easy thing that I've done when I'm in a pinch. Good luck! You can do it!!! (says a former grande latte with Splenda, gummy bear, pizza addict.) The cravings will get less as each day goes by. I really surprised myself and you will too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swainy_26 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Hi there, I think the fact your thinking ahead and pre-planning says a lot about your commitment to the program so cheers to that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lainey Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I'd love to hear how the day went for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smobear Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 I'd love to hear how the day went for you! I'm just now seeing this, but it went well, actually! We ended up going to the traditional American place. I got a cobb salad without the bacon and blue cheese, and I had brought my own dressing with me (Tessemae's balsamic!). Not going to lie, the salad was pretty blah and it was very difficult to sit around all my coworkers who were noshing on fish & chips (a prior favorite of mine, that just happened to be the 1/2 off special of the day). But, I did it, and I didn't complain (much) and that was that. Dinner that night was a little tougher -- I hadn't researched the menu quite as well as I thought I had, and found after talking to the server that the meal I had planned on getting would only be compliant with a significant amount of modification. So, I ended up getting a burger sans cheese and bun, and swapped fries for a salad. They accidentally dressed my salad (instead of leaving it bare, as I'd asked) but the server verified the ingredients of the house-made balsamic vinaigrette and we were okay. At least I hope. The meal was tasty but the experience was also kind of tough because we got there an hour before all our friends and got a table, so our server kept coming back and asking if we wanted appetizers and alcoholic beverages and despite us telling him that no, we weren't able to eat/drink any of that, he kept asking, which in my early-Whole30 brain was equivalent to "Are you suuuuuure you don't want it? One little appetizer won't kill you, come on! All the cool kids are doing it!" Of course, that was not the case, and we sucked it up and dealt with it, and everything went just fine. We are now on Day 24 and it's been pretty smooth sailing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ultrarunnergirl Posted August 13, 2014 Moderators Share Posted August 13, 2014 Awesome! It is definitely easier eating at home when possible. Half the time when I do go out, I just end up thinking "I could have made much tastier food!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydeevious Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Im having anxiety about going on vacation this week. Just cause I can't cook and im bringing my special prepped foods. But the friends dinner and a wedding...wow my willpower will be tested. Especially when I want to enjoy a few drinks with my pals uggg! Knowing myself think im gonna start over on my 30 when I get back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.