how to avoid overeating during engagement week/season

If you’re reading this, chances are you are looking for these tips because you just got engaged! If that’s the case - CONGRATULATIONS!

Engagement week is SO exciting! You're seeing everyone's overly enjoyed faces, and loved ones come from near and far to celebrate with you.

And most importantly, you’re so happy and excited! You’re about to take on a new journey with your loved one, you’re both thrilled, excited, and in love! It’s really a magical feeling and a magical occasion.

However! Engagement week also brings its own set of challenges!

Constantly eating out and drinking alcohol during any time is hard, but when the attention is all on YOU, and everyone wants to celebrate with YOU, it can seem like extra calories are constantly being pushed on you. You end up eating a bit too much if you’re not paying attention, which can cause weight gain.

That’s obviously not a problem at all, and you should be able to enjoy this lovely time you’re in! But, for some, weight gain can be stressful, especially if you’re on your weight loss journey at that moment, and trying to avoid fast food, ice cream, pizza, and similar foods. So, in order to reduce any stress (especially now that you’ll get wedding planning stress soon), you want to pay attention to your eating habits even during your engagement week.

Here are some top tips on how to navigate these tricky situations!

4 Tips to Avoid Overeating During Engagement Week/Season

1. HAVE FEWER, LARGER GET-TOGETHERS INSTEAD OF MANY DIFFERENT CELEBRATIONS

Get your friends all together and do 1-2 nights out or brunches. The more the merrier anyway, right? This way you'll minimize the dinners and drinks eating out, where we're less in control of what's in the food we're eating. Plus, if you minimize the gatherings that revolve around food, you’ll have less gatherings where you feel like you need to eat or drink just because others expect you to. You will minimize the time you’ll worry about weight gain (even though you definitely shouldn’t stress too much about it anyways, since eating on a special occasion won’t do you any harm).

2. SIP SELTZER IN BETWEEN ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

Not only does sipping seltzer in between drinks slow you down, but it prevents hangovers (so we can stay with our health goals the next day and not be drawn towards greasy foods), and keeps us hydrated throughout the night! It also makes you want to drink less alcohol, because you’ll fill yourself up with that healthy and non alcoholic option.

Bonus: add a wedge of lime in your seltzer to make it look like alcohol!

3. ASK TO CELEBRATE WITH AN OCCASION THAT DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND FOOD

Try a celebratory walk in the park or a craft event like painting! Not all of our events need to include food and booze. Feeling like you have to eat or drink because that’s what the occasion is about, even if you don’t want to, can be stressful, especially to those who have an eating disorder. So, to make sure you avoid the additional stress, come up with a fun celebration day that doesn’t revolve around food. There are so many options, and you and your loved ones can definitely find something you all enjoy!

4. YOU PICK THE LOCATION OF THE BAR OR RESTAURANT

When you're in charge and in control, you can often make healthier choices! Look at menus of a few restaurants and pick the location based on what you're comfortable with. That way, you can plan out what you’ll be eating, and you’ll be able to pick a restaurant/bar that can accommodate your eating habits, your taste, and your wishes. After all, the celebration is about you and your partner, so it should be tailored to your liking and wishes!

5. DON’T EAT OR DRINK IF YOU DON’T WANT TO

If none of the above, more flexible choices, works for you, you can simply say you don’t feel like eating at that moment, or drinking. You can eat at home what you want, and let your guests eat at the party the food that’s there. You don’t owe anyone explanations, since the celebration is to celebrate you and your partner, what you eat or drink definitely isn’t the main event. You can take one drink, and toast everyone with the same drink if you want to, but even that doesn’t have to be alcohol if that’s not your wish. If remaining on a weight loss journey even throughout your engagement week is that important to you, don’t feel pressured to do anything differently!

However, if you’d WANT to eat and drink, but you’re scared to because you don’t want to gain weight, just relax. You don’t mess up your diet too much, and if you make just a few alterations and just be mindful while you’re doing it (and you don’t overdo it), you’ll be fine!

All in all, enjoy yourself and congratulations on your engagement!!