party - contentful · pdf filejust a cocktail party), consider trimming calories from the...

REAL APPEAL | VOLUME THREE 181 180 REAL APPEAL | VOLUME THREE

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Party (Off the Pounds)!

A party! The friends, the fun, and…the calories! Relax— a blowout doesn’t have to mean blowing your calorie budget. We’ll help you navigate the cocktails, mini quiches, birthday cake and other party foods and leave with your weight-loss goals and Real Appeal plan intact.


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Take Your (Imaginary) Perfect Portion Plate to the Party

Don’t worry, we’re not suggesting

you stash your actual Perfect Portion

Plate in your bag and whip it out at the

food table! Simply conjure it up in your

mind, and superimpose it on the real

plate you’re using. A refresher from

Session 3:

• ½ your plate should be covered by

vegetables or fruit

(plain or lightly dressed)

• ¼ by starch (such as bread, rice,

potatoes, legumes and the like)

• ¼ by protein (such as chicken, fish,

tofu or red meat)

• plus a little fat (such as avocado,

salad dressing or nuts)

Remember, everything you eat,

including appetizers, should fit on a

10-inch plate (a medium-sized dinner

plate). The only exceptions: alcohol or

dessert. If you go back for seconds,

make it a tossed salad, raw vegetables

or another vegetable dish that’s not

soaked in cheese or dressing.

• Lock in your liquor limit. Pledge to have no more than one

drink (if you’re a woman) or two (if

you’re a man). (Sorry ladies, but for

various biological reasons, men don’t

get as tipsy as women from the same

amount of alcohol.) If you get too

buzzed, you’ll find it tough to say “no”

to chips, dips and desserts… and there

goes your eating plan!

• Give yourself a pre-party pep talk.

It might go something like this: “I can

have fun without overeating. The

main point of the party is the people—

it’s not all about the food and drink.

Nothing’s worth gaining weight, so

I’ll have a blast while sticking to a

reasonable calorie level.”

Your Pre-Party PlanDo a little strategizing in advance of the bash, and it’ll be a lot easier to keep calories in check. Here’s what to do before you even ring the doorbell.

• Eat a little lighter that day —but not too light.

That way, you go into the party with

a nice calorie cushion. But don’t skip

an earlier meal or arrive at the party

too hungry—that’s a sure set-up for

overeating. Here’s how to make it

work: If you’re going to a barbecue,

holiday bash, dinner party, or other

“food-focused” event (as opposed to

• Save your daily treat calories for the party.

You know you’re going to need them for

guac and chips, a glass of wine, or that

scoop of ice cream! Daily treat calories

range from 100 to 200 depending on your

total daily calorie level; for a refresher, see

Sessions 9 or 22.

just a cocktail party), consider trimming

calories from the other two other meals.

For instance, shave off 100 calories from

breakfast and 100 calories from lunch.

(However, if you’re on the 1,250 plan, don’t

subtract any calories from breakfast—at

300 calories, there’s no room to cut.)

You might even downsize your daily 150

calorie treat, or have just a piece of fruit or

some raw vegetables instead.

• Get a workout in. In addition to burning calories, it may

suppress appetite a little, and exercise’s

mood-lifting powers might help you

stay strong in the face of a platter full of

chicken wings. Keep in mind that unless

you were sweating it out for hours and

hours, you probably burned roughly

200 to 300 calories—enough for just an

appetizer or two.

Your Daily

Calorie

Level

Your Daily Treat Calories

(includes sweets,

alcohol and salty snacks)

1,200–1,3500 Cal

1,351–1,550100 Cal

1,551–1,800150 Cal

1,801–1,950175 Cal

1,951–2,100200 Cal


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Smarter StartersWith an endless variety of appetizers, you

never know what will whiz by at a party. Best

to avoid calorie bombs like mini quiches,

sliders, fried mozzarella sticks, sour cream-

based dips, and chicken wings—they’re the

bad boys (or girls) of party apps (you love

them, but they won’t love you back). Instead,

opt for the foods on the list below. (But, of

course, don't have all of them!)

Appetizer Portion Size Calories

For the protein quarter of your plate

Shrimp cocktail 3 shrimp with a tablespoon cocktail sauce 40

Mini chicken or beef

kabobs, threaded with

vegetables

A 3-inch-long skewer (about the length of your index

finger) with about an ounce of meat/poultry (size of

two of your thumbs) and vegetable slices

55

(chicken)

to 75

(beef)

Deviled eggs ½ an egg, stuffed 65

Thai chicken satay

(chicken on a skewer with

peanut dipping sauce)

A 3-inch-long skewer (about an ounce of chicken)

with about ½ tablespoon dipping sauce

75

Cheese 1 ounce (about as big as your entire thumb) 100

For the starch segment

Whole grain crackers 2 small-ish (2 in. x 2 in.) crackers 30 – 40

Hummus 2 tablespoons 50

Mini pizza (cheese or

cheese with vegetable)

2-inch diameter (about the length of your thumb) 100

For the fruit-and-vegetable half

Raw vegetables or fruit 1 handful (½ cup) 15

Vegetable kabobs 5 slices of any vegetable 10 - 15

A little bit of fat

Hummus or guacamole 2 tablespoons 50

Nuts

(plain, salted or spiced)

2 tablespoons 100

Your Party Survival Guide Have Fun Without the Food Hangover

From the first “hello” to the last good-bye hug, these six tips will help you make smart food-and-drink decisions at every stage of the shindig.

Having just one of every appetizer could

send you over your calorie limit for the

night! Do a little “recon” first, perusing

the offerings before deciding which few

will earn a spot on your plate. Check out

“Smarter Starters” (on the next page) to

suss out slimmer offerings. Here are a

few other considerations.

Just apps. If you’re at a party where

appetizers are the only food, then just

put together a few starters along lines of

the Perfect Portion Plate.

Appetizers followed by a meal. If there’s

an entire meal and dessert lined up, the

simplest approach is to skip appetizers.

If you decide to have appetizers and a

meal, then:

1. Find out what’s being served at the

main meal.

2. If the “real meal” foods are more

appealing than the appetizers, just wait

it out with your ice water (or have a few

raw vegetables if available). But if you

do want some apps, decide which one

or two to put on your plate. (There’s no

need to try everything!) The Perfect

Portion Plate is a tremendous help

here—will the appetizers and the main

meal dishes all fit on the plate? If not,

plan to pass on the rice pilaf side or

another of the main meal dishes.

1. Flirt With the Appetizers (Or Give Them the Brush-off)

They have one or more of the following

going for them:

• Low in calories

(like shrimp cocktail or raw veggies)

• Satiating yet lean

(like meat kabobs or hummus)

• It’s fairly easy to gauge calorie content, so

you know when to say “when”

(like cheese or nuts)


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6. Party Hardy!

Hit your calorie ceiling? That doesn’t

mean the party’s over! Sneak

off to a bathroom to brush your

teeth—that will help you really, truly

not take another bite. Return to

the party and mingle, dance, play

games, and more—in other words,

have all sorts of fun that

doesn’t involve eating

and drinking.

3. Nibble on Dessert

If you ate along the lines of the

Perfect Portion Plate, and skipped

a drink, then you’re on for dessert!

Three bites of rich desserts (ice

cream, cake, pie) should keep you

within your calorie target. (A full

portion is fine for light desserts like

poached pears, or fruit salad with a

few tablespoons of whipped cream.)

2. Grab a Drink…of Water

If you plan on having alcohol, save it

for later when you’ve eaten something.

Down a drink on an empty stomach

and that quick buzz could make you

shrug off your eating plan. Ice water or

sparkling water with a twist of lime will

give you something to hold and keep

your mouth occupied.

5. Pair Alcohol with Food

Now’s the time for that drink—after

you have a few bites, booze won’t go

to your head and loosen your resolve

(even better: have a drink as you

finish up your meal). Avoid high-cal,

sugary cocktails like piña coladas

(250 calories for just a 5-ounce

glass) and frozen margaritas (220

calories for 10 ounces). Instead pour

yourself one of these.

Drink CaloriesWine spritzer: 3 ounces white wine, 1 ounce sparkling water, and a twist of lemon

75

8 ounces of regular beer 10012-ounce bottle of light beer 110Light Cape Cod: 1 jigger (1 ½ ounces) of vodka, gin or rum with a splash of cranberry juice (2 tablespoons) with 4 ounces of sparkling water and a twist of lime

100

Whisky or bourbon on the rocks: 1 jigger (1 ½ ounces) whisky or bourbon over ice

105

5-ounce glass of wine 120

4. Savor the Main Event

When you sit down to eat, these tips will

help head off a calorie free-for-all.

• Serve yourself a “complete plate”.

Dish out everything you plan on

eating a la your Perfect Portion Plate.

That way, you see how much you’re

taking in instead of spooning out a

little more of this or that. If the hosts

serve dishes one at a time, ask for a

preview of things to come so you can

decide how much of each course to

serve yourself.

• Eating lasagna or another multi-food

dish as the main course? Have a

3-inch by 3-inch piece, which clocks

in at about 300 to 350 calories. Add

a salad with dressing (about 100

calories) and you’ll still have room for

a drink or a few bites of dessert.

• Put down your fork and gab. That’s

the point of shared meals, after all.

Plus, chatting with your table mates

between bites allows you to eat more

slowly, letting your fullness signals

kick in before you’ve overdone it.

Turn Your Back

on the Food Table

If you stand next to a delicious

spread of food, you can pretty much

say “so long” to your calorie target:

When we see food, our brains get

a message to eat, eat, eat. Give

appetizer and buffet tables your

back, and face your friends instead.

Even better, move the conversation

to a separate room.

186 REAL APPEAL | VOLUME THREE REAL APPEAL | VOLUME THREE 187


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Commitment Contract I’ll enjoy parties, but I won’t let them derail my weight loss. I’ll do one or more

of the following to keep calories in check:

Have no more than one or two drinks (one for women, two

for men) and wait until I’ve eaten something before taking

a sip.

Eat along the lines of my Perfect Portion Plate, whether I’m

having just appetizers, or appetizers and a main meal.

Remember that I can have fun without overdoing calories.

I’ll focus on conversation, dancing and other ways to have

a blast!

Meanwhile, I’ll continue my other healthy habits to the best

of my ability.

My signature: ______________________________

I'll enjoy parties without overdoing calories

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