Success at the Bar

I don’t know about all of you, but I enjoy the occasional happy hour. It’s a nice way to hang out and see friends, but still get home with enough time to relax before I have to go to bed. I also like it because I get the same socializing I would if we went out to dinner without actually having to eat out.  This is a good thing in my book because: one, a drink or two is MUCH cheaper than a meal, and two, I can still eat a healthy dinner at home (or at least in theory). The problem with this last ‘perk’ is that along with great drink deals these bars always have food deals. At first it’s easy to say, “naw I’ll just eat when I get home”. But, as the night goes on and I get hungry it becomes harder and harder to wait. Especially as I see plate after plate of really unhealthy but so tempting bar food go by me and it only costs a couple of dollar. Sometimes temptation gets the best of me and I order something (I try and order what I think will be a bit healthier, but let’s be honest nothing that is served at a bar is really healthy), but then there are times like last night when I don’t give in.

What made last night different than other nights (the nights where I gave in)? Here are some of my thoughts on that… First, I think it helped that I ate some trail mix right before going out. The protein from the nuts helped fill me up for the next couple of hours, but still left me wanting a real dinner later.  Secondly, I brought a certain amount of cash with me to bar. So, even though food would have only been an extra couple of dollars if I didn’t have it in cash I wasn’t going to get it. And Third, and perhaps the most effective for me last night, is that the friend I was meeting up with is also a healthy conscious person and her being ‘good’ encouraged me to be ‘good’ as well. It’s easy to cheat when everyone around you is doing it, but if there is just one other person who is sticking to their guns then it’s much easier to stick to yours. This is the biggest suggestion I have for everyone; it’s like the gym buddy system but for food. Find your other healthy friend and both decide to not eat anything at the bar. And when you start to get hungry and want dinner, go home and eat dinner.