You are a busy person. You have meetings and lunch dates and conferences. You enjoy going out with friends. And these things often involve going to a restaurant. When you’re committed to eating healthy it can be a challenge to navigate these situations. In this video I share tips and tools you can use to make sure that you’re able to enjoy your meetings, enjoy your social engagements, and also stick to your healthy diet and lifestyle. Being able to carry on with your life AND make healthy choices is key to your success.
The first suggestion is to choose a place that has healthy options. Sometimes you may not be able to. You may be at a conference and you’re dealing with banquet meals. If so, here’s post I did on eating vegan at business lunches and conferences.
But, whenever possible suggest a place that will meet everyone’s needs. Hopefully, even your coworkers, if they know that you have particular dietary needs, will be conscious of that and be willing to adapt. These days there are so many places that have vegan and vegetarian options that would be able to fit the needs of whoever is at your meeting or at your gathering.
Often times the international type restaurants like Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Italian, have vegetarian or vegan options. Or things that could very easily be made vegan with a simple substitution.
Once you know where you’re going to be eating, you can check out the menu online. You can identify what is the best option for you to choose and maybe then you won’t even have to look at the menu when you get there.
The second thing is to focus on what you ARE getting, not on what you AREN’T getting. Be happy with what you get. Don’t compare what you have. Don’t be looking over at everybody else’s food and saying “I wish I had that, I wish I had that.” Just focus on the deliciousness that’s in front of you. And don’t worry about the chicken wings or the ribs or the burger that’s next-door.
Third, don’t be a vegangelist! That’s a vegan evangelist. No one wants to hear about why they should be eating healthy. Especially when they are about to bite into that cheesy burger. It will ruin your meal and theirs. If people want to know more about it let them come to you, later. If they ask, tell them you don’t want to discuss it over the meal. You’ll enjoy your food better and so will they.
Fourth, decide what your bottom line is before you leave home. What is your goal, and what is it that you won’t go beyond? That’s your bottom line. Maybe you won’t be able to reach your goal, maybe the ultimate is not available. But if you have a bottom line then you make a choice that is still within your preferences. I can’t get this. But I can get this.
Fifth, is to decide what kind of a person you are, your identity. If you tend to tell yourself, “I wish I could do this. I want to do this but it’s so hard. I always fail.” Then it’s very easy to just allow those statements to come into being. If instead you say, “I am a person who values my health. I do what I can to make sure that I’m as healthy as possible.” Then from that vantage point you’re more likely to make choices that honor that statement of who you believe you are, you who you want to be. You’ll be able to “sacrifice” eating that steak now rather than sacrificing your health later. So define your identity, who are you?
Sixth, is to get creative. You can often create something that will work for you by looking at what’s available on the menu and making substitutions, or combining a couple of different things, or ordering a number of sides or something like that. One time at Applebee’s they had this Chicken Portobello sandwich. Everything looked vegan delicious except for the chicken. So I ordered a chicken Portobello sandwich without the chicken, and that worked just fine. Other times you can ask the chef to make something for you. Let them know what it is you’re looking for and ask them if they can make something for you. Many times I have found I get something really delicious and surprising.
Seventh, Be sure to tell the waiter what your needs are. Don’t assume that they will just understand or that they know what vegan is. Be a bit of a pest. Don’t be afraid that you’re going to be rude. Ask the waiter to go and talk to the chef. If you say, “Does this soup have cream in it?” and they don’t know or they say, “I don’t think so.” Ask him to go and ask the chef.
Say, “I don’t eat eggs. I don’t eat dairy. I don’t eat meat. Please make sure that I don’t have any of these things in my dish.” Repeat yourself if you need to. Order your food, “I want the salad without the cheese, and I want to I want some water, and I want to side of whatever blah, blah, blah.” And then confirm again at the end, “no cheese.” And then, when your food comes, if there’s cheese on it, send it back. You don’t have to just pick it out. Send it back. Tell them to make it right.
By adopting these few simple strategies, you will be able to stick to your healthy diet and lifestyle while you’re at your conferences, while you’re at your meetings, your lunch outings, and you’re dining out with friends, even though they are not eating healthy like you are. And while everyone else has the “itis” you’ll have the energy and pep in your step to take care of business!
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