For years, we have been told that we should stay away from fast food restaurants, such as McDonald's. What we haven't been told is that far more high end restaurants, and especially Italian and French restaurants are just as bad or worse for us and for our diet. I am not at all sure what is worse for our health and for our diet - a cheeseburger that contains one burger, one slice of cheese, a slice of tomato, onion and bread, or an Italian fried past dish with plenty of butter and oil or a similar French dish. The fact that it costs 20 times as much as a cheeseburger and the fact that it's served on a nice silverware in a much more attractive environment doesn't make that food any healthier or lower on calories. And if we add other empty calories to our fine restaurant meal, such as alcohol, and deep fried appetizers, this would obviously make it all the more fattening.
But what should a busy, professional person do, who is out all day and who doesn't have the opportunity to eat at home or to cook, and who feels like he doesn't have a choice but eat out every day and often more than once a day? - Indeed, under such circumstances, staying away from eating out is unrealistic, but there are a few things you can do to make the impact of dining out less harmful to your diet and to your efforts to either maintain or lose weight and be healthier:
1. Don't Skip Breakfast or Lunch. It appears to me that if you were to go around and see what is being offered for breakfast anywhere, including major hotels, overall the choices will be healthier than those that are served for lunch, and lunch is generally healthier than dinner at a typical restaurant. If you have a nutritious breakfast, and stay away from fired sausage, strips of bacon and alike high calorie, high fat foods during your breakfast, then you should be ok. An omelet or a sandwich or even a light pastry or bagel are not bad choices for breakfast.
When you skip breakfast, you will be more likely to overeat during lunch and dinner, and these later meals usually contain higher calorie dishes, eating too much of which will be much more harmful to you and your diet. If you have breakfast, you will be less likely to overeat during lunch and dinner and will consume less of those bad calories, especially during dinner. If you eat decent lunch, you will be less likely feel starved late at night and you will be able to avoid the greatest enemy of weight loss - having a large dinner at a restaurant, or even worse - sitting in front of the TV late at night and eating heavy, greasy, salty or sweet food right before going to bed.
2. Don't Worry About the Social Pressure of Eating. If you find yourself eating in a social situation, remember - you don't have to match the amount of food on your plate that other people at your table do. Just because they eat way too much of way too unhealthy food doesn't mean that you have to do the same. And if they ask you how come you are not eating much, you can just politely say that you are not very hungry and move on to talk about a different subject.
3. Avoid Expensive Restaurants. Ironically, it's the Italian/French high-end restaurants that serve the heaviest and the most unhealthy food. From deep fried past and meet to salads with way too much dressing and butter which will make you gain way quicker than just about anything else. It seems that the more low key, casual cafes that serve soups, sandwiches, salads and crepes, serve a healthier and lower-calorie food. They might not be as hip and they might not be as appropriate for business dining, but if it's not business that you are after, then going to the more casual cafes should not be an issue.
When you skip breakfast, you will be more likely to overeat during lunch and dinner, and these later meals usually contain higher calorie dishes, eating too much of which will be much more harmful to you and your diet. If you have breakfast, you will be less likely to overeat during lunch and dinner and will consume less of those bad calories, especially during dinner. If you eat decent lunch, you will be less likely feel starved late at night and you will be able to avoid the greatest enemy of weight loss - having a large dinner at a restaurant, or even worse - sitting in front of the TV late at night and eating heavy, greasy, salty or sweet food right before going to bed.
2. Don't Worry About the Social Pressure of Eating. If you find yourself eating in a social situation, remember - you don't have to match the amount of food on your plate that other people at your table do. Just because they eat way too much of way too unhealthy food doesn't mean that you have to do the same. And if they ask you how come you are not eating much, you can just politely say that you are not very hungry and move on to talk about a different subject.
3. Avoid Expensive Restaurants. Ironically, it's the Italian/French high-end restaurants that serve the heaviest and the most unhealthy food. From deep fried past and meet to salads with way too much dressing and butter which will make you gain way quicker than just about anything else. It seems that the more low key, casual cafes that serve soups, sandwiches, salads and crepes, serve a healthier and lower-calorie food. They might not be as hip and they might not be as appropriate for business dining, but if it's not business that you are after, then going to the more casual cafes should not be an issue.
