The same principles that you would apply at home apply when eating out. Eat lean proteins from fish, poultry and lean red meats. Eat high fiber vegetables and beans and eliminate white carbohydrates and junk carbs.
Appetizers
You want to stay away from bread-based and cheesy appetizers. Like fried cheese, onion rings, nachos or cheese plates. The plates are jut too heavy in calories and will make your overall dinner caloric intake way too high.
- Choose appetizers that are higher in protein and lean meats and not fried.
- Grilled or cocktail shrimp, smoked salmon, grilled chicken and beef skewers and tuna or beef tartar.
Salad or Soup Please
The key in not overeating on bread is to have something flavorful and in front of you fast. House salads and soups are great choice to help you. Order a broth soup or mixed salad always before dinner. Choose oil and vinegar for your dressing but if not ask for vinaigrette on the side and NO croutons or bread. Freshly squeezed lemon with salt and pepper also tastes nice.
Order soups that don’t have any cream.
- Miso, lentil, black bean soup, split pea and tomato soup are good choices. They are high on fiber which means you will fill up faster. Always ask your waiter if the soups have cream or butter in it or on top as a garnish.
If you know a salad or soup is coming in 5 or 10 minutes, then you are less likely to eat the whole breadbasket in front of you because you won’t be feeling so ravenous. The longer you have food in your stomach the more time that allows your stomach to send a signal to your brain that you are getting full. It takes at least 20 minutes for your brain to recognize your belly is full when you start eating.
Use Color
Having color on your dinner plate is a great way to know if you are eating right. Foods with color are always high in fiber: I always immediately look at the sides list first to see how many grilled vegetables or even sautéed vegetables I am going to order with my main course. Order a double side of grilled veggies if you feel you get plenty to eat.
Green, yellow and red vegetables. Yellow squash, green asparagus and spinach, zucchini, brown, black and red beans and light green lentils. Color is the fist step and easiest way to order healthy.
LEAN MEATS
Pick lean red meats like filet mignon, strip steaks, white pork, chicken, turkey, salmon or any white fish. Be sure that they are grilled or broiled. Again always tell your waiter that you don’t want any butter on your meat. And when in doubt what to eat, always order fish grilled. The fat content-will probably have fewer calories than a similar portion of chicken or even beef; But not if the fish is a vehicle for fat. For example, a five-ounce serving of fried shrimp is 675 calories and has 39 grams of fat.
Beware the words “crispy” or “lightly fried” or “a light in cream sauce”. Try picking foods that are simply described on the menu.
NO WHITES
When you are trying to reach your weight loss goal the more whites you eliminate from your diet the faster you will reach your goal. Stay away from whites like white breads, mash potato, white rice, white pasta and white burger buns. A plain bake potato is not so bad but the problem of course is that we tend to gussy up potatoes with butter, sour cream, and cheese. An unadorned, fist size potatoes, at a mere 145 calories each, a really are a good choice, particularly because they lend themselves to portion control. Even though potato size varies, we an all count to one. Whereas rice or pasta, is a bit more difficult. Portions of pasta vary in size among restaurants and they end up being smothered in heavy sauces.
But if you do order spaghetti, order plain pasta with a marinara sauce. This is an safe and healthy choice. Anything else, is simply Russian roulette.
Wine Please
Choose WINE over cocktail drinks like margaritas, daiquiris and mixed drinks. They are usually extremely high in sugar and calories. Save your calories for something else. One margarita can have as much as 300 calories. If you choose liquor, keep it to a minimum and choose clean liquor, like scotch. Vodka with club soda and squeeze of lime is also not a bad choice. The vodka is clean and the lemon or lime slows down insulin response to the alcohol. Beer is not the best choice for weight loss, even light beer. It is made of maltose sugar, which spikes insulin levels. Keep beer to one or two.
Desserts
And for desserts, order a bowl of fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. If you are going to choose something heavier like ice cream, then choose plain vanilla. It has the lowest amount of calories. Of course yogurt would be great if they have it.
Going out to Lunch
Order a either a clean sandwich or a salad. Choose whole wheat or grains breads for your sandwich and lean meats like turkey, chicken or roast beef. Filled your with as many high colored veggies. Choose mustard or plain olive oil and vinegar for your condiment. Don’t choose full fat mayo on a sandwich. You can be adding as much as 20 extra grams of saturated fat. And if I wanted a wrap I would choose a whole wheat or spinach wrap. Now the wraps are not perfect but they are better than white breads.
Salads are easy. Add as many veggies as you want, lean proteins like salmon, chicken or tuna and oil and vinegar for your dressing.
Summary:
- Order a broth soup or house salad to start so that your weight time for dinner is cut in half and you don’t over eat.
- Order quality proteins and choose fish when in doubt.
- Order grilled or steamed vegetables instead of mashed potatoes or order a plain baked potato.
- Choose wine as your alcohol choice and stay away from cocktails and mixed drinks. Go easy on beer.
Tip:
Going out to a party where you don’t know what the foods is going to be, eat something 15 minutes before you arrive at the party. Like an apple or a piece of 9 grain toast spread with either peanut butter or humus. Eat something with fiber and healthy fats.
- You can also drink a glass of metamucil. The high fiber in your stomach will help you feel fuller faster and curve your appetite.