Recently I met some friends at a restaurant bar for a few drinks. I was in a celebratory mood, but I called ahead and checked the menu, something I usually do. There was nothing that fit into my eating style, so I opted to eat at home before joining my friends. I stuffed myself with veggies and rice so I wouldn’t be too enticed to eat anything with cheese or consume tons of bread and olive oil.
When I got to the restaurant my friends offered me something to eat, which I declined. However, they kept offering every so often, not believing or accepting that I wasn’t hungry and I couldn’t resist the delicious food they were salivating over. Of course, they kept ordering more food and drink and kept on eating.
As I watched them eat, they were really packing it in. If I ate like that habitually, I’d immediately gain weight and my blood pressure would go through the roof, to say the least.
But, you don’t realize how much people eat until you stop eating and observe them. You also realize how much eating is recreational and has little to do with satisfying hunger or attaining energy. Sad to say, I relented and ate three small pieces of bread, but that’s far better than what I would have done had I not eaten at home beforehand.
As you’re transitioning to whole food plant-based eating, be sure to check the menu and eat before you go out when necessary. It removes the discipline of not eating restaurant food from the equation.
Also, do what you can to limit alcohol, although it is plant-based. It can be devastating on your body.
