Dining out is a big part of most
people's lives. Maybe you have to eat out frequently because you
entertain clients at restaurants. Perhaps you don't even like eating
out. Regardless, if you want to keep a nice fit body, restaurant
meals will give you a huge obstacle to overcome. In fact, eating out
at restaurants is one of the biggest reasons why so many people
fatten up while traveling.
Below, I'll give you a few very
simple tricks you can use to eat healthier and stay lean even while
dining out at restaurants...
The 3 most important things to avoid
that are everywhere at restaurants are:
-
deep fried foods (anything
battered that got a scorching bath of trans fats)
-
refined starchy foods
-
any sodas, juices, or other
sugary foods (except whole fruits, which are great)
If you can skip these major culprits,
this eliminates the major food sources that do the worst damage in
our food supply - trans fats, refined vegetable oils, refined
starchy carbohydrates, and processed sugars.
This means you should try to skip the
table bread, skip the french fries that come with every single
sandwich on every menu known to man, and reduce all of the heaping
portions of pasta and rice that are often loaded on the plates as
well.
Instead, try to order just meat with
side vegetables, and a salad, asking for the vegetables or salad as
a substitute for the typical french fries, pasta, or rice, that most
restaurant meals usually come with.
Almost every restaurant I have ever
been to will always allow me to substitute vegetables or a side
salad for the french fries or chips that almost always come with
burgers or sandwiches.
On a side note, it always amazes me
how many people scrutinize me because I substitute veggies for fries
by telling me that I am "not living" because I refuse to eat french
fries... are you kidding me! If that's your idea of "living it up",
you need to get some better hobbies!
Ironically, these are also the first
people to complain that they are overweight and have "tried
everything", yet can not lose weight, no matter what. I am not sure
why so many people think that eating french fries equals "living it
up"... hey, I am all for moderation with many things, but if there
are 2 things that should be totally removed from everyone's diet
because these foods are simply that dangerous... it is sodas and
fries!
Take a look at the typical difference
this simple substitution makes between choosing smart and doing what
most people do...
Most people will eat a meal out such
as this:
A MUCH smarter alternative if you
care about your body and health is this simple change:
These 2 simple substitutions save at
least 400 - 900 calories every time you dine out (depending on drink
refills and fries portion sizes)... AND you are cutting out the most
harmful foods to your body as well by avoiding the evil trans fats
and high fructose corn syrup from the fries and soft drinks.
Another side note: a little-known way
to eat full portions of pasta, rice, and breads and actually get
away with it without packing on the body fat is to make sure to
schedule a high intensity full body resistance training workout (can
be free weights or body weight training) before your scheduled meal
time.
Sometimes it may be hard to fit the
workout into your schedule right before the meal, but if you can,
the meal can be your "post-workout meal". After a high intensity
resistance training workout, your body can handle a higher amount of
carbs than normal to help replenish the muscle glycogen depletion
you had during the intense workout.
A typical moderate intensity cardio
workout will NOT cut it for this... it must be high intensity
resistance training workout to deplete enough muscle glycogen to
handle restaurant portions of carbs.
I hope these dining tips help you
choose smarter and healthier for a leaner body next time you eat
out.
