Dining Out - Tips For Healthy Eating

Eating healthy at home can be relatively easy once you get into the habit. You make a shopping list of healthy foods, you buy those foods, and when you're home, those are the foods that you eat. That pack of cookies isn't going to follow you home and jump into your mouth. If you can get into the habit of just buying healthy, then your home becomes a relative safe haven for eating.

Of course, no one spends all their time inside at home. We dine out! We socialize! We eat! We drink! We eat some more! And when all is said and done, we've completely ruined our diet.


Well it doesn't always have to be like this, or in the least we can minimize the damage. Strength coach Christian Thibaudeau listed in a recent article his tips and strategies for dining out and staying healthy. They are as follows:

1. Have a meal or snack two to three hours before going to the restaurant. It's fine to go in hungry, but you want to avoid feeling ravenous before you even see the menu.

2. Avoid drinking alcohol with your meal unless you're sure you can stop at one or two glasses of wine. If you know you'll drink a lot more than that once you get started, it's best not to get started.

3. Other than a glass or two of wine, stick to water, coffee, tea or diet soft drinks — don't drink anything with calories.

4. When ordering, your best choice is probably the simplest grilled meat or fish you see on the menu. Avoid things that obviously include extra butter and oil, and absolutely avoid anything breaded, battered, or fried.

5. If the meat or fish is covered with a sauce of any kind, ask for it on the side. That way you get to decide how much of it you need — and you may decide you don't need any at all.

6. When ordering a salad, ask the waiter to bring the dressing on the side. Again, you decide how much you need.

7. If you're tempted by a pasta dish, ask the waiter if the pasta is cooked in oil. If it is, choose something else; high-glycemic carbs and tons of fat are a bad mix.

8. After you've ordered, some restaurants will automatically bring bread to your table. If you're dining alone, politely decline. If you're dining in a group, let the others have it.

9. If you end up with butter on the table, don't add it to anything on your plate.

10. Drink a lot of water early in the meal. Then, when your food arrives, eat the veggies first. You'll fill up faster at the start of the meal, helping you avoid splurging at the end.

11. You're not at your mother's house. It's perfectly fine to leave something on your plate. The waiter won't be offended, and the chef will never know.

12. Finally, skip dessert. (Big surprise there, right?)

I'd have to agree on all points. Does this mean we have to deprive ourselves and never order the baked potato with butter and sour cream, warm bread, all washed down with a couple glasses of wine? No, of course not! I love to eat just as much as you, trust me. But if you're looking to change your body, then you'll have to eat healthier more often than not. So if you've already splurged on something unhealthy during the week and you're faced with a night dining out, then use these strategies so that you can get out and have fun, but still work towards your body composition goals.

Eat out, but eat smart!