During the holiday season it’s easy to lose track of what we should and shouldn’t be eating whilst dining out. Follow our guide below to find out how to enjoy a meal out without feeling guilty:
1) Avoid ‘starchy’ foods if eating out at night, i.e. bread, pasta, potatoes, rice – regardless of refined (the white varieties) or wholegrain (the brown varieties) all of these types of carbohydrate will sit quite heavily on your digestive system.
2) Deep fried, battered and even pan-fried – any kind of food that has been ‘fried’ in hot oil is likely to be damaged, unless the menu specifically states the type of cooking oil that has been used in the preparation. If possible, choose anything cooked in olive oil or oven baked in it’s natural fat (such as saturated fat in meat).*
3) If you have a sweet tooth, try switching to a savoury starter instead. By the time you get to desert, you’ll be full! Sugar, in it’s refined form such as cakes, biscuits and ice-cream, is empty calories and will easily be converted into fat. For more information, read our Banish the Fat Around Your Waistline report.
4) Bubbles! Go for Prosecco or Champagne instead of wine and avoid drinking whilst eating.
5) Dressings – forget the ketchup, mayonaise or creamed sauce! Go for the olive oil or lemon varieties (as an example) or go without. Gravy can also be a bad choice if it tastes quite salty.
6) Last but not least, balance your meal with protein and complex carbohydrates, i.e. meat/fish/pulses with vegetables. As a rough guide, your plate should be 1/3 protein and 2/3 vegetables.
* Whilst too much saturated fat is excessive for our bodies, we NEED a little saturated fat in our diet to:
- transport vitamins around our bodies (A, D, E, K), provide an energy source, coat our nerve endings…and so the list goes on.
Some of our clients have enjoyed great success by following our meal plans as part of their personal training sessions. Suzie, to choose just one example, lost inches before her winter holiday. She shares her gratitude here.
