5 Tips for Eating Out When on a Diet

 

Each and every one of us likes to treat ourselves to a nice meal in a restaurant sometimes. Some people that don’t enjoy cooking, prefer eating out over home cooked meals. But how often do you question the quality of the food you’re eating outside of your home, and how it affects your health? According to USDA, what they call FAFH (food away from home) increases daily caloric intake and reduces diet quality. Breakfast and lunch away from home increase calories from saturated fat and SoFAAS (saturated and solid fat, alcohol, and added sugar) on average more among dieters than among nondieters. So, how do we approach this “bad” habit of eating out?

If you are a person that is trying to get their nutrition in check, it would be better for you to plan and cook your meals at home. These same rules apply for people that are in a calorie deficit/surplus, but some days, we all want to take a break from cooking. Events such as birthday dinners, celebrations, and anniversaries also make it difficult for us to avoid eating out:  they are associated with consuming some alcohol and fast food. This leads us to the question whether its possible to maintain our healthy diet and nutrition, without avoiding a nice meal out on some special days.

We are here to tell you the good news! It is possible to eat out without ruining your diet, or calorie deficit, with slight adjustments and planning beforehand.
Here are our 5 tips to follow while eating out on a diet:

1. Check the menu beforehand

 

Before heading out to a restaurant, do a little research on it. Check out the reviews, look at pictures and find the menu on their website or any social media profile. This way, you can see the prices, the food options you have and check out the ingredients to meet your macros. This also helps with the indecisiveness and overwhelming feeling that you get when you are rushed to choose a meal quickly when you’re already at the restaurant.

2. Do not starve prior to eating out

 

Getting excited and preparing to eat at your favorite restaurant, shouldn’t include skipping meals. If you’re planning to have a nice meal with your partner for lunch, don’t skip your breakfast, it’s as simple as that. Eating a big meal on an empty stomach will only result in a blood sugar spike, that will end up making you even hungrier. This will undoubtedly make you crave more food than you can handle, and you will end up overeating.

3. Go for grilled & steamed food, instead of extra fried, processed food.

 

Food such as meat and vegetables when grilled and steamed, keeps its nutrients and health benefits, when compared to the same food when fried or boiled. Grilled meats have a reduced fat content and lower calorie content which can lower bad cholesterol levels.
Additionally, recognize that some breakfast food, such as cereal and granola, is extremely processed. Be careful when eating in brunch spots that claim to be healthy, but add sugar and use processed ingredients that increase your calorie intake. Your acai bowl can have more calories than bacon and fried eggs! Don’t be fooled by food that is advertised as healthy, and always check the ingredients in it.

4. Ditch the appetizers

 

Along with hospitality, one of the main reasons you are served bread, or bread sticks before ordering a meal, is to make you hungrier! Simple carbohydrates trigger insulin production and spike your blood sugar, leading to cravings for more food. The cycle continues as previously mentioned in this blog, because you end up overordering and overeating. To avoid this, simply avoid appetizers and skip straight to dinner! Or if you have company, share the appetizer to consume less calories.

5. Limit your alcohol intake

 

Liquid calories are sneaky, and mostly forgotten while counting calories in dieting. Unfortunately, liquid calories count too, and alcohol has many of them! If you love your wine and want to relax on a night out, you don’t have to avoid alcohol entirely. Our pro tip is to set a limit on your alcohol intake, by choosing a number of drinks you’ll have for the night. You should also consider opting for some lower calorie options when choosing to drink alcohol. Vodka soda, white wine, and hard seltzer are some of the best low calorie alcoholic drinks!

Bonus tips:

1. Share your food!

 In some countries such as the USA, dinner portions are quite big. If you feel full, don’t force yourself to finish the meal. Instead, share it with somebody or ask the staff to pack your food and take it home with you.

2. Avoid soda.

Along with a lot of calories, soda contains huge amounts of added sugar! These types of drinks dehydrate you, make you feel bloated and increase your calorie intake. Instead, try drinking unsweetened ice tea, or just water.

3. Ask for sauces and dressings on the side.

When ordering salads, or anything that includes sauces and dressings, ask the staff to bring them separately. Sauces and dressings can contain a lot of calories, which can add up to the ones of your meal. If you ask for them on the side, you can control how much of them you consume, or if you want to add them to the meal at all.

 

Consider these five tips when eating out so you avoid those sneaky extra calories.
But firstly, remember to enjoy your meal and spend some quality time with your loved ones! One extra meal wont ruin your whole diet, because your fitness journey isn’t linear.

Why you should try volume eating for weight loss

 

Losing weight is a difficult road to take upon. You may have tried everything already, and still haven’t lost a pound. You have tried meal replacements, smoothies, salads, increased protein intake, calculating macros and calories, and you still feel hungry, there’s still no progress. Well, let us introduce you to a simple concept that you might have not tried yet. It will save you from cravings, and looking at half-empty plates, your new holy grail – volume eating.

What is volume eating?

 

Volume eating is a concept, strategy, or method of eating that allows for large consumption of food while minimizing calorie intake. Given that, gram per gram, different macronutrients provide a different number of calories, volume eating allows you to prioritize high-volume foods to help increase satiety and fullness without increasing calorie intake.

High volume foods are foods that are usually high in micronutrients such as fat and protein. These specific macronutrients have more volume, and usually have a higher fiber and water content, which will keep you fuller for longer. The most prime example of high volume foods are leafy greens, and vegetables. But don’t worry, those are not the only ones. Fruits such as berries, watermelon, and some good protein sources such as eggs, fish and oats are also on the list of high volume foods!

How does volume eating aid your weight loss?

 

Now that we went through the basics of this concept, lets explain how it can help you lose weight. Volume eating doesn’t just contain enough protein and volume to keep you full, but can also help you if you’re in a calorie deficit and trying to hit your MACROS, because they are also lower in calories! If eating more small meals during the day isn’t your thing, with volume eating, you’ll be able to eat big meals, be satisfied and even possibly avoid snacking. Incorporating high-volume food will increase the volume of food you consume, but not the calories!

Recommendations and tips

The best high-volume food to keep you satisfied and full

• •  Fat free cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is high in protein, and low in calories. Not to mention that it’s also super creamy and goes along with anything you have in your fridge. You can make savory and sweet combinations, such as cottage cheese and eggs, or cottage cheese with fruit and protein powder, to make it even more nutritious.

• • Canned tuna or salmon

Canned fish can be your go to! It’s easily accessible, and very easy to add in meals and upgrade them. They are an excellent source of vitamins, fat and protein and should always be on your grocery list.

• • Green saladsLeafy greens and mixed salads are big on volume and big on nutrients! They can be easily upgraded with protein and fat sources, and also with low volume foods to keep you satisfied for longer.

Bonus for those with a sweet tooth

• • Sugar free jello
    
    Jello is a perfect dessert for people with insulin resistance or people who are trying to watch their sugar intake. It has a lot of volume, and taste enough to keep your sugar cravings at bay.

• • Protein ice cream
    
    Protein ice cream is the perfect dessert to experiment with. If the store-bought ones are out of your reach, you can easily make it at home. Use your favorite protein powder, sugar free pudding and your choice of milk to make your own! You can experiment with different tastes, it will satisfy your cravings and keep you full.For more information and tips on nutrition and weight loss, check out our other blogs from the same category: Are Abs Made in the Kitchen? and 5 Tips for Eating Out When on a Diet.

 

Most women and men start their fitness journey with one goal in mind – weight loss. The food we eat nowadays is highly processed, unhealthy and bad for us. Not everyone can afford fresh, organic and food better in quality. Most people settle for what they can get their hands on, and what their budget allows. Furthermore, This leads to people making the wrong choices for their health, while obesity is a growing factor in our society. It’s no wonder that we get obsessed with losing weight, nowadays, it can be such a difficult thing to do. Even food that is marketed “healthy” and “diet” friendly, is processed and full of sugar, and the scale keeps going up, so what do we do?

Undoubtedly, its important to set realistic goals in order to take care of our mental health and promote healthy weight loss. Measuring your weight every day, and counting calories of every bite you eat, will not help you. Your goals should be measured in healthy ways that will motivate and help you push forward to be the healthiest version of yourself. Here are 3 reasons why you shouldn’t measure your goals on the scale:

1. Being skinny doesn’t always equal being healthy.

 

Excessively dieting and over exercising can lead to many issues such as malnutrition, weakened immunity system and heart problems. Your pursuit of the “perfect body” can lead you on the wrong path, being underweight can be as bad as being overweight!

2.  Your body changes as you age.

 

Your body goes through a lot of change during your lifetime, this counts for both men and women. The biggest changes happen during your teenage years when growing into your adolescent body, and after the age of 40. You can’t expect to have the same weight at 18, 28 and 38. It’s normal for your body to grow and go through change, so you have to accept the change and work with it!

3. Your goals might change with time.

 

Goals change along with your fitness journey. Firstly, you might start exercising and eating healthier in order to lose weight and be as thin as possible, but then you change your perspective. You notice how you start feeling better and stronger, and wish to look more like you feel, so you end up wanting to gain more muscle! Consequently, this change will affect the number on your scale, but there is no need to panic. Gaining weight isn’t always a bad thing, and it might be a sign of you achieving your goals, but your mindset about it is what matters the most. What’s important is that you feel and look better, stronger and healthier, do not let the number on the scale mislead you.

 

You may have trouble accepting your weight and your body, especially if you let how much you weigh bother you, so, here’s how to measure your goals instead:

 

1. You look better

 

One of the first things you notice after a few months of exercise, is the way you look. You slowly notice your “beginner gains”, meaning that you gain some muscle, lose some fat and your body is starting to look more toned. During these few months, you’ll probably lose some weight. In the next few months, you’ll notice that the scale is going up again. Now you wonder, “why do I look better, but the scale is going up?” the answer is that your body is replacing fat with muscle, and that’s good news! This is the first reason why you should probably ignore the scale, and trust yourself instead.

2. You can find clothes that fit you.

 

Picking clothes that fit well can be a nightmare. Not everyone enjoys shopping, especially if it reminds them of their insecurities. Overweight and underweight people can struggle with their confidence and buying clothes for themselves. No matter if your goal was to lose or gain weight, when you start achieving it and building confidence in your looks, shopping gets easier. You can finally find fashionable pieces that make you feel and look good, and that’s a good reason to motivate you to keep going. However, extrinsic motivation may not be enough , so your best bet is to focus on your how you’re feeling inward.

 

3. Finally, Its most important that – You feel better

 

The most rewarding thing about practicing any form of fitness or exercise, are the countless benefits! Not only will you look better, but you will feel better, in every way. Your mental health will have significant improvements: you’ll get more dopamine and serotonin, making you happier, feeling more energized and getting better sleep. You’ll have more strength and endurance, energy and willpower to live your life, and that is the ultimate goal!