We've all been there. The work day is almost over, and one of your coworkers asks if you want to join the group for drinks or dinner or both. Queue internal struggle over being social and building friendships vs. the ease of tracking what you make at home and knowing exactly what is in your food.
Of course, you could always go and not eat or drink anything. "Just water for me, thanks," you could say as your coworker's order, and you look at your watch wondering when would be appropriate for you to go home so you can make your dinner. This is the safest course, but humans are social animals. There has to be a way to go out with coworkers or friends and not completely derail all the hard work you've done up to this point.
There is.
Drinks
Michelob Ultra (Calories: 95, Carbs: 2.6 g, ABV: 4.2%), while at the Atlantic Beer Garden with coworkers.
Drinking on keto is always tricky. Your tolerance goes way down. So know you're limit. Give yourself a number of drinks you'll have that night and stick to it. This will help you not go over your carb or calorie count as well. If you're a beer person, Daily Burn actually put together a list of beers based on the lowest carb and lowest calorie main stream options. Something that's not on the list that if you can find, is Truly. It's 100 calories, only 1 carb, 5% ABV, and I think it tastes pretty good. If liquor is your thing, you're in luck. Google low carb mixed drinks you will find many articles written about what low carb mixed drinks to order at the bar.
My personal go-to is vodka on the rocks and a glass of water.
bring one of those sugar free Mios or similar drink enhancers
drink a little of the water
pour your vodka on the rocks into the water glass
mix in a few drops of the Mio
Now you have a delicious low carb mixed drink. Just be careful after having a few drinks that you don't start eating everything in site, that's something I struggled with for a long time. Remember, set your limit.
Food
Jalapeño sausage pizza from Pastoral. Just the toppings while out with coworkers.
Eating out on keto really is not something to be afraid of. You can order a grilled chicken (cobb, or steak, etc.) salad with light or no dressing, and no croutons. I'm not a huge fan of salad though. You can order grilled chicken or steak with a side of steamed veggies with butter. You can order a burger with no bun, or you can order pizza and only eat the toppings. That last one is my personal favorite, but only if it's a really meaty pizza. All the meat and cheese! Often, you'll find one of your friends or coworkers will volunteer to eat your crusts. The possibilities really are abundant.
So next time you're asked to go out with your office mates or your friends, don't hesitate. Go. Foster friendships. Don't feel like keto means you can't enjoy a night out. Hopefully, this post has shown you just how easy it is to stick to keto or low carb while out and about.