Healthy eating out

Lifestyle Health & Fitness
1

Whenever I go out with friends someplace with large, unhealthy portions I usually end up ruining my diet routine.

I have problems with portion control. At home, counting calories is easy. I give myself a exact amount of food. At restaurants though, I eat a lot of food. Most of the time, i overeat. :bummer:

How do you guys control your diet? Do you order grilled food, vegetarian food etc. What can you recommend to help me slow down when dining out?

2

Re: Healthy eating out

Here are some suggestions:

  • split an entree with a friend (this helps with portion control and is cheaper)
  • if you can’t split an entree, try and order the lunch size/portion - it’s usually smaller than the dinner portion
  • order a salad as a starter - this will fill you up, so you have less of an appetite for the entree
  • order grilled/baked items, i.e. fish/seafood/veggies
  • skip the fries
  • skip sauces
  • if you’re getting soup, no cream-based soups
  • don’t eat the bread
  • avoid soft drinks, get water instead
  • oh, and pasta isn’t the best choice - avoid if possible and if not then get either a smaller portion and no cream-sauces

Eating out isn’t a bad thing - you just need to eat in moderation and keep the indulgences (a few bites of dessert or a few fries) to a minimum.

3

Re: Healthy eating out

if you order seafood/veggie pasta, eat the seafood/veggies with the sauce first before you work on the actual pasta. It will help you feel satisfied and not bloated.

something else that helps is keeping up with the conversation - the more you talk, the less you eat.

4

Re: Healthy eating out

^all very good suggestions. The only thing I would add is if you do get salad, always ask for dressing on the side, otherwise your 300 calorie salad becomes a 1000 calorie salad because of the amount restarants drench the salad in.
Also a lot of restaurants will give you options for brown rice or whole grain pasta, so where you can substitute whole grains for complex carbs.

5

Re: Healthy eating out

Welll..what you stating is correct and normal. I workout regularly..and i take care of my diet as well. And usually when i am with friends..i eat as much as i can. Never stuff myself up. I guess..we need to have that control.

6

Re: Healthy eating out

Really helpful. Uni mates are linking up tomorrow. Let’s see what we decide to eat, i will remember this thread so I will control myself. :hehe:

7

Re: Healthy eating out

Something that really works for me is eating smaller meals every 2-3 hours throughout the day. By dinnertime I’m never ravenously hungry and it’s much easier to portion control. :slight_smile:

8

Re: Healthy eating out

How do you eat meals every 2-3 hours, do you stay home?

9

Re: Healthy eating out

Drink water to start…not ice water…water at about room temperature.

Before, during and after the meal…drink as much water as you possibly can.

10

Re: Healthy eating out

^that actually reminds me. When i was younger..parents would say..Pani say hee pait bhar lo gaii kia…so they were right. !

11

Re: Healthy eating out

I have heard you shouldn’t drink water after finishing the meal?