Healthy choices and eating in restaurants

I have heard this countless times. "Everything is going great, but then we go to a restaurant, and I cannot control myself." Oh my! Surely there can be something you can do. In fact, there are a variety of ways to maintain a perfect balance of healthy choices and enjoyment while dining out with friends and family.

I was visiting some friends recently on the East Coast. Some of them could have written a book called. "How to Get Fat Eating in Restaurants." In this imaginary guide, you would be instructed to come to the restaurant starving; to pile up on the bread before your meal comes; to drink a sugary drink with your lunch or dinner; to order huge piles of appetizers and entrees and polish it all off; and insisting on a dessert all to yourself.

No! No! No! Do not go down that path! I am 100% sure that with a little bit of planning and clarity about your "Why" (which I have mentioned to you before), you can slip into and out of your chair while maintaining all of the good habits you want to optimize your health, your weight, and how you feel after a meal. I promise you that thee strategies work, they are relatively simple, and your body will love you back for implementing them.

How to Eat in a Restaurant...

and Feel Great About Yourself

Avoid going to a restaurant starving. Maybe an hour before the meal, if you start to feel hungry, have a little snack to take the edge off. Maybe a piece of fruit, some carrots, a small container of unsweetened yogurt, a low-glycemic bar. Something to help you not be ravenous when you arrive.
Park as far away from the front door as you possibly can. Getting your metabolism up prior to and after your meal can do wonders for your body's ability to convert the calories to energy instead of storing it as fat.
Drink some water or get some hot tea before your food comes. This will cause you to fill up sooner than eating on an empty stomach.
When the waiter brings the bread, simply say, "No, thank you." Really, friends, it is that easy. The glycemic index of the bread will take your blood sugar through the roof! Save room for nutritious-dense food and avoid those empty calories.
Consider ordering from the appetizers. Normally an appetizer and a salad are plenty of food.
Invite someone to share an entree with you. One entree and two salads is plenty of food for one person.
If you cannot share an entree, ask the waiter to bring you a to-go box with your meal. As soon as it arrives, put half in the box. Out of sight, out of mind. A fat reducing overview can help you produce a clear describe of what you need to focus on to complete your fat reduction goal if you're a rookie; or serve as a reminder for those who are at an intermediate or more boost step of their losing weight strategy. Applying are seven steps that can serve as guidelines for your own weight loss plan. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not a similar thing. Many weight loss courses have fooled people into wondering that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss plans only work by leading to a person's body to reduce more muscle tissue and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. And you get two meals for the price of one!
Avoid drinking sugary soda, sweetening your iced tea and coffee, and anything else that would just add additional empty calories to your meal.
Be picky. Ask for lemon and olive oil on the salad instead of creamy dressing. Ask for the veggies to be sauted in olive oil instead of butter. Ask for brown rice instead of the white stuff. Ask for extra veggies instead of potatoes. Customizing a meal is what people do who remain mindful even while dining out.
EAT MORE SLOWLY! BREATHE! PAUSE BETWEEN BITES! FEEL YOUR BODY AND NOTICE THAT YOU ARE FILLING UP! (Have I made my point!?)
When the waiter offers to bring the dessert menu, check in with your body. Might you already have had enough to eat? Imagine how you will feel after you eat it? Is it worth it? Might you not want to trade the instant gratification for the sweet stuff for the longer, more satisfying feeling you will have leaving the restaurant un-stuffed?And if you must get dessert, share it with others at the table. A few bites are far more innocuous than the whole thing.

Remember your Why! Remember to tune in. You can do this. The world is a better place when you make taking care of yourself a priority.

Rosie Bank is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Coach. She is an Independent Associate with USANA Health Sciences. Rosie offers a free newsletter called "Healthy News You Can Use" at www.rosiebanik.com For more information about Rosie's teleclass called Feel Great Lose Weight: The Five Keys to Optimal Health and Weight Management, phone 650-573-7177 or email Rosie at rosie@manifestingvision.com

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