You have been going to the gym everyday and getting a good workout, eating the right foods, drinking enough water, and taking your whey protein. Losing weight has been good. Now your friends are going out to celebrate. But wait! How are you going to be able to stick to your diet while at the restaurant? You want to have a good time, make sure you choose smart food that won’t ruin your diet. Here are three tips to eating smart at a restaurant.
Drink water. We all know that drinking water is good for you. By choosing water, you are not only saving money (hey, who doesn’t like doing that?), but you are making a smart choice. Even though the restaurant has diet sodas on the menu, diet sodas are harmful. Studies have shown that drinking diet sodas actually make you gain weight instead of lose it. In a recent study, the artificial sweeteners that are found in diet sodas were given to baby rats. The artificial sweeteners made the rats want more calories than those who were fed real sugar. You can’t fool the body. The best alternative to diet sodas is water. Drinking a glass of water before your meal will help as an appetite suppressant and you won’t eat as much when your meal comes, thus cutting back even more on calories. If you don’t like plain water, ask for a slice of lemon to give it some taste without sacrificing calories.
Don’t skip meals. If you know you are going out to eat that night, don’t skip meals because you want to save your calories. When this happens you actually eat more because you have deprived your body of much wanted nutrients. Skipping meals is the number one way to ruin a diet. You end up eating more during the next meal than you would have if you would have eaten earlier. When you eat food you are fueling your metabolism. Your metabolism is what burns calories. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you burn. If you lower your caloric intake, your body will go into “starvation mode” and it will keep any calories it does have to keep you going. To help with burning calories, you can take a whey protein. Whey protein helps create lean muscle. Lean muscle burns even more calories while you are resting. Taking a whey protein isolate is the best choice. It is 90% pure protein and has less carbohydrates and fats than whey protein concentrates.
Portion Control. Many restaurants give double even triple the amount of a regular portion size. Don’t be afraid of taking half of your meal home. By eating a salad before your meal as an appetizer, you will eat less of your meal. One way to cut the calories with your salad is to ask for the dressing on the side. Keep in mind that about 3 oz of meat is equal to a deck of cards and 1 cup of potatoes, pasta, or rice is about the size of a tennis ball. If you can train yourself to see what a regular portion is, you will be less likely to over eat. Also make sure you stop eating when you are satisfied and not hurting. When your stomach starts to hurt, it means you have eaten too much.
By practicing these three easy tips, you won’t ruin your diet and weight loss goals while you are eating out. Also, remember to eat slowly and enjoy your food.
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