Overindulging as a consequence of following the crowd in social situations is extremely common. Unfortunately, it can be a person’s nemesis when it comes to wanting to stick to a healthy diet, perhaps with the intention of weight loss or weight maintenance.

Adopting the current vernacular, fear of missing out, or FOMO, could be used to describe what happens in those situations. It can lead us to make exceptions, creating an opportunity to eat things normally on our no-go list and nosh to our heart’s content. After all, when will we next get a chance to kick back and consume items that show up only at such events?

There is the picnic, the family-style dinner, a special occasion, or just a weekly get-together with friends. On such occasions, it can be a challenge to dish up a salad, a low-fat protein, or fruit and skip the chicken wings, hot dogs, burgers, chips and dip, and cake. It may also be easy to lose track of alcohol consumption.

Social situations can easily tempt us to go with the flow. After all, we are social beings, picking up clues from........

© Psychology Today