The Academy Awards are the female version of the NCAA Final Four. There's no better excuse for a little gal-pal get together, but spending time with the girls can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, you want to let loose, have a good time and not seem like the uptight food freak that's afraid to gain two pounds by eating the nachos. That being dipped, you still want to slip into your favorite black pencil skirt come Monday morning.
There are two kinds of friends in life. The "cut-your-hair friends" and the "set-your-clock friends." It's important to know your audience.
Let me clarify.
Cut-your-hair friends (or pie pushers) may still be people that you love dearly and enjoy spending time with but may not have your best dieting interests at heart. They're the type that see your plate empty and immediately pressure you to fill it, or encourage you to try their 80-layer chip dip just because, you know, they made it ESPECIALLY for you. Here are five sure-fire ways to deal with them:
1. Do NOT sit anywhere near them in a social setting. If you're in a living room situation gathered around a coffee table chuck-full of snacks, sit on the opposite side of him or her. Another strategic seating option? Sit as far away from the snacks as possible so that you actually have to get up in order to retrieve a food item.
2. If your Oscar party includes a buffet style spread, avoid standing next to him/her in line. Try to be last in line so that you'll be last to sit down, last to finish eating and last to get up for seconds. Are you seeing the pattern?
3. Don't broadcast your dieting goals. In a perfect world we could tell friends about our weight loss aspirations and they would be encouraging and helpful. This is not always the case. Become a stealth dieter.
4. Surround yourself with greatness. You can pass on dessert, drink seltzer instead of wine, and simply enjoy a great conversation without the "Plunge" -- spiraling out of diet control by eating everything in sight.
5. My best advice: Take the above mentioned tips, sit back, relax, and enjoy Melissa, Joan and Giuliana, because Oscar season only comes once a year.
I give tons of ways to stick to your plan and not necessarily show it in my book Bread is the Devil.
For more by Heather Bauer, RD, CDN, click here.
For more on diet and nutrition, click here.