Tips when eating meals out

This topic is always a tricky one as it’s never nice to be told you that can’t have something!

However this is not the aim of today’s blog.

Eating meals out is a massive part of our social lives and it essential that we enjoy these experiences guilt and stress free.
It’s no secret that for those individuals seeking fat loss results, eating meals out can be a testing period. Being faced with large menus, peer pressure as well as nutritional confusion can lead to stress and panic choices.

Here’s a few tips to help you along the way.

1) “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” – Benjamin Franklin.

Most restaurants have their menus online and available to view. Take away the stress of having to decide your meal under pressure by planning ahead

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2) Ask if you can swap accompanying side dishes. For example if you want a steak but all it comes with is chips and deep fried onion rings then ask if you can swap these for a lower calorie option. Most restaurants are very accommodating to the customer’s needs.

3) Ensure you are not really hungry before you get there. Relate this situation to going food shopping when you’re hungry as you’re more tempted to put higher calorie comfort foods to satisfy your cravings in the trolley. The same principle applies when eating meals out. By leaving a massive gap from your previous meal makes it increasingly more difficult to make sensible menu choices.

4) Do some exercise during the day to allow more calories for your meal. This can be anything from going to the gym, an outdoor bike ride or simply walking the dog. There are plenty of calorie calculators you can use to work out how many active calories you’ve burned. This will give you bit more leeway when you eat out later.

5) Alcohol boosts your calories! Yes obvious I know but you’ll be amazed with the amount of people that won’t include their drinks as part of the meal. Before you start thinking i’m out to spoil all of your fun, have a think about the options you have when it comes to an alcoholic beverage. Here’s some typical drinks and their calorie content

:

1 x pint lager: 182
1 x pint cider: 216
1 x bottle of beer: 142
1 x 175ml glass of wine: 159
1 x 25 ml Vodka & Diet Coke: 60-80
1 x 25 ml Gin & Diet Tonic: 60-70

6) Ensuring your hydrated. Water can help suppress hunger, it can also help to reduce tiredness which is known to trigger cravings for high calorie foods. Having a glass of water before your meal can help set your meal experience off on the right tone.
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