What to eat out?

At this time of year there is a very high chance of you are going out for a few meals.

So when you go out what should you eat? Especially if you are trying to lose weight.

Here are some basic guidelines.

1. Skip the bread basket. A small bread roll can be between 80-100 Kcals. It is very easy to scoff a few rolls before you have even placed your order.

2. Eat natural. Choose foods that have not been processed, for example meat, fish, vegetables, fruit are all natural. Avoid breads, dough, pasta, pastry or other heavily processed products.

3. Be sensible with sauces and dressings. Often much of the calorie content of a meal is in the sauce, or dressing. You can always ask for your dressing or sauce on the side and you can control the amount you eat.

4. Avoid fried foods. The oil used will often be used to fry for a sustained amount of time causing the fat to become hydrogenated and toxic. Choose instead foods that have been grilled, steamed or poached.

5. Drink water. By having a couple of glasses of water with your meal you will probably eat less food.

6. Drink alcohol in moderation. Alcohol is probably one of the quickest ways to increase the calorie content of a meal. Even just a small glass of wine can be 100 Kcals. A bottle is about 750 Kcals. If you can avoid it all together as it will make burning energy from your meal easier if you are alcohol free.

7. If you are going to drink. If you are going to have a few glasses of wine, limit the amount of carbohydrate you have. Wine and other alcoholic beverages are usually very high in sugar and alcohol is made from sugar. So limit the amount of sugars you eat, avoid potatoes, rice, pasta bread.

8. Do some exercise. Create some space. A good exercise session will use up energy in your muscles. When you come to eat your meal your body will top up its muscles energy reserves before storing fat. Then for a double whammy, exercise the next day to really ramp up your metabolism.

9. Have fun. As I mentioned in my last post, stress can actually keep you fat. So unwind, and have some fun.

If you have any tips or questions just leave a comment.