It’s been hard to ignore the government’s new ‘Eat Out To Help Out” campaign and whilst it might be hard to resist a half price meal, if you are someone who’s watching their weight then eating out might not be in your best interest! As for the fact that the governments launched this “eating out” initiative the same very week as their “better health” campaign is beyond me, but that’s a whole other blog!
We are constantly discussing the merits of a flexible diet and being able to fit just about anything you want into your day, but in reality if you do choose to include regular eating out you won’t leave much room for other nutritious meals throughout your day, so you have to be sensible and have some techniques to hand so you are always in control.
Trying to estimate the number of calories in a dish from your favourite restaurant is a challenging task and we always recommend to double the numbers you have guesstimated.
Why? Because it’s in the restaurants’ interest to make their food as delicious as possible. And how do they make food delicious? By adding fatty or sweet ingredients.
When walking around Westfield yesterday I noticed the food-hall was heaving. As it’s an open plan space you could see the restaurants preparing the food. One meat-serving place had loaded up chicken breast skewers which we always advise is a good choice when eating out on a diet. Just before the skewer went on the grill, the chef dunked the whole skewer in a vat of oil! Why? To make it tastier!
We would never advise you not to go to a social arrangement or a family get together in a restaurant, but if you have the option of a different type of activity then it’s best to prepare and eat your food at home before you go out. Instead of a restaurant you could then think about going for a long walk together and even take your homemade food with you on a picnic in the park whilst the weather is still beautiful.
But if you do end up in a restaurant here are our top tips:
And please remember, you are not the victim. You are in control of your own life and if weight loss if your goal please don’t let the thought of a half price meal lure you in.