My client, Jason, works long hours and isn’t much of a cook. When he gets off work and wants dinner, his options are usually pretty limited. Jason often winds up going to a drive-through restaurant, and he doesn’t usually make the healthiest choices. Jason told me that while there are healthy (or, at least, healthier) options available, he has a hard time sticking to them when the time comes to place his order.
In previous sessions, Jason and I had spent a lot of time talking about how he can stay in control when he eats out with friends. Although Jason used to have very big and very caloric meals every time he went to a restaurant, in the past few months he has made a lot of progress in making healthier choices and not finishing everything on his plate.
In session, Jason and I discussed what strategies he has been using to stay on track at restaurants to see if any of them would translate to the drive-through. Jason told me that the most effective strategy for him has been to look at the menu ahead of time and decide what he’ll have, and then not even look at the menu once he gets to the restaurant. He also has a Response Card that he reads before he goes out to eat:
Every time I stick to my healthy choice I feel great after eating. Every time I veer off track and order something else, I feel guilty after eating. Sticking to my healthy choice not only enables me to lose weight, but it makes me feel so much better.
Jason and I discussed this further and realized that this same exact strategy would be very helpful for him when going through drive-thoughs, too. Jason decided that he would make it a policy to look at the drive-through menu online before he left work at night and decide in advance what to have. When he got to the drive-through window, he would then place his order without looking at the posted menu, just as he does in restaurants.
Jason also came up with an additional strategy: Since he tends to frequent the same drive-throughs, he decided that for each one he would come up with a few different meal combinations and record them in his phone. That way, if he was in a rush to leave work, he wouldn’t have to spend time looking up the menu, he could just pick something from his phone. Jason also made the following Response Card to keep in his car and read when he was waiting in line to place his order:
I’ve already decided what to order so I don’t even need to look at the menu or consider what else I might want. The decision has been made, and sticking to this decision will make me feel so much better. It’s worth it.
With these strategies in place, Jason was finally able to stay in control both when eating out in restaurants and when going through the drive-through.