Shine OnHow to eat at a restaurant without sabotaging your diet
When it comes to at-home nutrition, you're doing well. You know what aisles of the grocery store to avoid, how to read food labels, which super foods are actually “super,” and what size each serving should really be. But what about when you step into a restaurant? Menus can be vague, confusing and often misleading. The environment often lends itself to unusual cravings, over-eating and impulsive decisions. All of these factors can lead to less than healthy dinners out. But, you don’t have to give up date night at your favourite spot to keep it clean. Here are some easy and useful tips for ordering right at a restaurant.
Fork it!
Let’s face facts: most dishes come drenched in dressing. This can turn even the healthiest option into a calorie-dense selection (hello, hollandaise!) But, we shouldn’t have to sacrifice the taste of the meal altogether – instead, order the sauce on the side. Sounds simple enough, right?! But, before you go pouring the side dressing onto the meal when it arrives, keep it separate. The trick is to dip your fork into the sauce before you skewer every bite of food. This way you get the full flavor with every forkful but save yourself the unwanted fat. This can shave off anywhere from 100-500 calories.
Buh-bye bread basket
We may have banned white carbs from our own cupboards at home, but ironically that’s usually the first thing that comes to the table when we sit down at a restaurant. Immediately our mouths start to water and our tummies grumble as we watch everyone else reach for a piece. Game over. What’s one slice, right?! Well, one portion of bread dipped in oil can pack up to 350 calories. While I’m not usually one to encourage any kind of deprivation, healthy nutrition is about choices; we can’t indulge in every single craving but we can pick and choose where we splurge. If we decide to snack on that loaf of bread before we even order our meals, it can cause even a healthy dinner to amount to nearly 1,000 calories. Instead, pass on the bread (or better yet ask your server not to bring it out) and ask if they offer warm olives instead. This will help stave off starvation and allow you to enjoy dinner without worrying about going way over the caloric limit.
Lead the way
Decisions can be contagious and studies show this is absolutely the case when we’re deciding what to eat with our friends. Research indicates that we’re likely to sway our decision away from our initial selection and copy that of our friends’ when we are last to order. This can mean switching from a healthy salad to hearty pizza thanks to one pal's appetizing order. To avoid this peer pressure pickle, order first. That way you’re more likely to stick with your healthy option regardless of what everyone else is having. Better yet, check out the menu online before you hit the restaurant and decide ahead of time what you’re going to have. That way you have time to confidently lock in the choice before you arrive.
Go for the real deal
It’s no secret that whole foods are far better for us than their processed counterparts. This is an easy rule to follow at home and also a terribly easy rule to break when eating out. When we’re at home, we know what goes into every recipe, out to dinner it’s impossible to know exactly what ingredients they’re using. An easy rule of thumb to avoid extra additives and processes: order the dishes with the simplest ingredients. For example, instead of ordering mashed potatoes, opt for a plain baked potato; instead of get those sautéed veggies, ask for them to be steamed; order the roast chicken as opposed to the breaded chicken, so on and so forth. And, don’t be afraid to ask the kitchen to customize. If you want the salmon grilled, request it. Most often they’re happy to oblige. This rule will also help avoid unnecessary, over-processed, high-calorie carbs.
Water for the win
Have you ever felt cranky and hungry and are craving all sorts of random things at the same time? This could mean one of three things: You could be pregnant; you could be tired; or you could simply be dehydrated. Let’s go ahead and assume it’s the latter. So much of our hunger, mood and willpower depend on drinking enough fluids. That’s why water should be the first thing you consume when sitting down to a meal out. Quenching thirst first will help curb your hunger pains, improve attitude and control that random hankering for fish tacos. Keep the water glass full and take regular sips. This will help regulate feelings of fullness throughout the meal making it more difficult to over eat.
Caleigh Rykiss is a boxing coach, personal trainer, nutritional consultant and TV producer.
