The short version
- For most people, adjust the day: plan the meal out first, then fit breakfast and lunch around it.
- Still hit your daily calorie and protein targets. That's what keeps you on track.
- Decide what you'll eat and drink before you go.
- Have the next morning's breakfast ready, and never miss twice.
Method 1: Adjust the day
This is the right choice for about nine in ten people. It's simple and it's hard to get wrong. If your event is in the evening, you shift calories and protein earlier in the day.
- Know your daily calorie target. This has to be in place first. Say it's 2,400.
- Check the menu in advance. Spend five minutes picking what you'll have. Use the calories on the menu, or estimate them in a food tracker.
- Subtract the meal from your target. If steak, a baked potato, veg and dessert comes to about 1,100 calories, you have 1,300 left.
- Split what's left between breakfast and lunch. For example, 700 and 600.
Do the same with protein. Most restaurant meals are low in it, so work out how much the meal gives you and get the rest in earlier.
Get your fruit and veg in at breakfast and lunch too. It keeps you full coming into the evening, so you're less likely to overeat.
Drinks work the same way. Decide what you'll have and how many, count them, and still hit your calorie and protein targets for the day.
Method 2: Adjust the week
This one suits people who've tracked their food for a long time. You aim for your weekly average, and borrow calories from other days.
Say your target is 3,000 a day and the night out will come to 5,000. That's 2,000 over. Spread across the other six days, that's about 330 fewer on each. Your weekly average stays the same.
It works, but it's riskier. You're hungrier all week. And the day after a big night you're tired and maybe hung over, which is when people go off plan. Nine times out of ten, stick with the daily method.
Six rules for the night itself
- Decide the amount before you go. “One main and one dessert” or “two or three drinks”. Not “I'll see how I feel.” Once alcohol is involved, loose plans disappear.
- Choose leaner proteins. Restaurants cook with butter, oil and rich sauces. Chicken breast over thigh, fillet over ribeye.
- Choose simpler carbs. Boiled or baked potatoes over mash or chips. Tomato-based pasta over creamy.
- Add veg for volume. If the main looks small, order steamed veg or a side salad with the dressing on the side.
- Make smart drink swaps. Spirits with zero-calorie mixers are far lower in calories than beer, cider or cocktails. If you love a particular drink, have it, and fit it into your day.
- Hydrate. Match each alcoholic drink with a glass of water. At the very least, have 500ml to a litre before bed.
The morning after
This is where most people lose ground. Have breakfast prepped before you go out. If you can't, because you're travelling or in a hotel, at least know what you'll eat and where.
If you leave that decision until you're tired and hung over, you'll make a worse one.
If it goes further than you planned
That's okay. Never miss twice. Don't punish yourself, don't fast the next day and don't wait for Monday. Get straight back to your normal structure at the next meal.