For some reason, sometimes when we go out for dinner it seems like all the fun is in the food we eat and the beverages we drink! Eating the bread, finishing ALL your dinner, having dessert, drinking a few glasses of wine! And for some reason, we get it in our little heads that if we don’t eat or drink this way – were no fun and the night will be a bust.

But let’s think about this for a second or two. Are you going to have a better time if you eat badly or opt not to?

Scenario One - You go out with a “friend’. You both dig into the bread together, order an appetizer, mains, dessert and share a bottle of wine.

GREAT NIGHT! So fun! You chatted away about all sorts of stuff and felt like you really connected. You do however leave feeling stuffed and a little mad at yourself for going overboard. Whatever. You go to bed. You wake up kinda feeling stuffed still and now you are officially mad at yourself for eating too much. Whether it effects you for the whole day, half the day or an hour. You still spend at least some time beating yourself up. And if your trying to lose weight or your trying to maintain – your really pissed at yourself becuase all the work you did during the week to stay healthy (and it was not fun and games) was just blown to smithereens on this one FUN night.

Scenario Two – You go out with a “friend’. She digs into the bread, you opt not to. Is is hard, Yup. But you do it.

She may try to pull you into her “I feel guilt for eating this bread without you…have a piece” trap.  Do you fall for it? Not a chance.

She wants to split a bottle – you just want one glass. You order a clear broth soup or salad as an appetizer she orders fried calamari. You order fish with vegetables for dinner she orders pasta in a cream sauce. She BEGS you to share dessert with her  (another I-feel-guilty-doing-this-alone trap) you tell her how stuffed you are (even if it’s a lie) and order a decaf coffee or tea.

GREAT NIGHT! So fun! You guys chatted away about all sorts of stuff and felt like you really connected. You leave feeling great! So proud of yourself for keeping it healthy, staying on track and having had such a fun night with your friend.  You go to bed. You wake up feeling refreshed. You put whatever you want on from your closet because you don’t feel bloated or stuff from last night. You keep on trucking with whatever your goals may be!

What are you missing out on by not pigging out?

• Being mad at yourself
• Being disappointing in yourself
• Not liking the number you see on the scale
• Not fitting into your pants.

Now which one sounds more fun to you?