Tips For Eating Out!
Its Friday and I’m sure your weekend is packed with picnics, cookouts, birthday parties or dinner at a restaurant. The last picnic I went to the menu consisted of pigs in a blanket, roast beef, stuffed chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, salad, and fruit salad. Oh, and coke, sweet tea, cookies and cake!!!! So needless to say there was not much for me to choose from. I did my best to keep it clean. People kept giving me weird stares and offering me cake and cookies. I politely declined and drank my water and ate my fruit. When I got home I prepared myself a healthy snack.
To keep from having to stress every time you go out in public to a restaurant or an event here are some tips from Tosca Reno’s Stripped book to keep your blood pressure in check!
Planning is best, when you are out you always need a game plan. You should avoid eating out as much as possible, because once you enter a restaurant you surrender control over what is in your food.
1. Develop an “I don’t have to eat it all!” Mindset. Make up your mind before you go that you don’t have to get the most bang for your buck by cleaning your plate. KEEP YOUR GOAL IN MIND.
2. Satisfy hunger only-Don’t Gorge. Eat for the purpose of satisfying your hunger, but no more.
3. Start small and green. Start your meal with a salad, without dressing. Use a spritz of lemon or some balsamic vinegar.
4. Broth is best. When there is no salad option have a broth based soup.
5. NO BREAD PLEASE! Remember this is not helping you achieve your 10 pound weight loss goal.
6. Clean Cooking techniques rock! Look for entree options featuring steamed or raw veggies and grilled, baked or roasted meats or fish. If they aren’t listed, ask the server to prepare it that way. There are so many diet options available, but make sure you check it out before you order. The alternatives they use to cook some of these dishes are not always “clean.”
7. Portion control is in. Have a good look at your plate when it arrives. Ask for a doggie bag and split your meal in half.
9. Zero Tolerance. You want to avoid alcohol because sugar can derail you in the most powerful way. Have sparkling water with lemon or lime slices.
10. Stop before the end. Think of your plan to shed those pounds, if you can’t resist something sweet ask for a dish of fresh fruit and leave it at that!
If you doubt your ability to resist restaurant offerings then pre-eat! Then when you go to a restaurant or social event you don’t have to worry about what’s on the menu and you can focus on socializing.
If you can’t resist the dessert table then pack a few clean cookies or some Chocolate Shakeology chocolate bites in a Ziploc bag and pull them out with your coffee while everyone else is eating their sugar laden cookies and cake. If you have to go through a drive through, familiarize yourself with the menu. Never super size and make smart food choices by ordering grilled chicken and a side salad.
Cut up the chicken and place on salad and go with olive and vinegar dressing or, low fat balsamic.
One of the most difficult things to manage while following a healthy lifestyle is your social life. So surround yourself with family and friends that support what you are doing and are not sabotaging your efforts. It’s ok to go out to eat with friends, but if you know it’s going to be a struggle that you are not up for, here are some alternatives:
Meet a friend at the gym or get someone to come do your workout with you!
Have a game night at home with healthy clean snacks.
Batters up- organize a kickball or softball game in your neighborhood or with the kids.
Volunteer together at a local charity.
Meet at the park for a walk or bike ride.
Eating clean and creating a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to mean that you are becoming a boring person. There is so much more to experience than food and drinks! Live outside the box and you will have people wondering what you are doing because your energy and stamina are incredible!!!