THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO EATING OUT
All this healthy eating stuff sounds great, but how do you stay true to your goals when you’re never at home cooking fat burning meals?
Are you doomed?
No you’re not. But to make sure you don’t make choices on auto-pilot and end up eating the wrong things 90% of the time, you’ll have to go the extra mile to plan things out.
The Occasional Meal
If you have a business meeting or a family dinner at a local restaurant coming up (a one-time event) the best strategy would be to consider it one of your weekly treat meals instead of trying to fight against the menu.
Make sure you always...
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Ask the waiter to take away the bread basket if you don’t need those extra carbs.
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Ask questions about how the food is prepared.
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Ask if your food can be cooked in butter instead of vegetable oil
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Customise your meals by asking for extra veggies on the side, ingredients swaps or less of that high-calorie salad sauce
The Hotel Stay
If you’re staying away from home for an extended period of time, planning is critical.
When preparing your trip, make food a priority.
Bring healthy snacks like raw food bars, quality protein powder or raw nuts and seeds.
If possible, find a hotel room that has a kitchen or kitchenette – and a local supermarket where you can find fresh food.
Check out the restaurants menus around the area where you’ll stay and already choose what you’re going to eat
If you’re into extreme measures, pack a cold shipping box with ice, healthy food, utensils, shaker bottles and coconut oil and ship it to your hotel before leaving home.
You’ll actually enjoy your meal and won’t feel stressed about making the right choices.
Like I say quite extreme but some people do it!!
If you really want to damage control, make sure to work-out just before the event.
The Flight
Let’s put it this way – foods choices available in airports are mostly crap, and avoiding them might be the best idea.
One of my favourite strategies during flights is simply to fast until I arrive at my destination. Doing so helps me avoid useless spending on processed foods, while reducing jet lag by 7 to 17 folds (http://www.antijetlagdiet.com/docs/mmarticle.pdf)
If you choose to fast during your flight, make sure you drink a lot of water to stay hydrated.
The Restaurant Eater
If you eat at restaurants most of the time, you don’t have any choice but to become a master at customising your meals – unless you don’t care about packing on the pounds.