How do you typically celebrate birthdays, graduations, and other occasions, with your family and friends? Let me guess – by going out to eat or throwing a party, right? Turns out, people usually eat a lot more when they are in a group surrounded by delicious food! Think about the last big gathering you had – with all the laughter, chatter and good natured teasing, did anyone pay attention to how fast the nachos or garlic bread disappeared? The longer you sit around the table, the more you eat, and the more people around you are eating, the more you eat too! So the truth is, the more often you socialize at restaurants and parties, the harder it may be to maintain a healthy weight. Starting this weekend, plan a social events that are fun, active and do not involve food. You might find you really enjoy these outings – maybe even more than going for dinner and drinks. So how about inviting the gang out to play miniature golf or take a weekend hike in a pretty area nearby? Doesn’t that sound like fun? You can all sign up for a dance class or a sports team together to make it a regular event, like your weekend dinners. If you don’t want to do something super active, that’s okay, but you should still try to think of ideas that don’t involve food – painting pottery together, for example! It is relaxing and fun, and because your hands are occupied, you can’t keep throwing chips in your mouth!
