9 Tips To Keep You From Piling On The Pounds When You Dine Out

You plan on carefully selecting your entrée and sticking to your weight loss program, but there are hidden pitfalls you might not even be aware of when you dine out. 

1. Many restaurants finish off the entrée, whether steak, chicken, or pork, with a pat of butter.  It melts before it reaches your table but leaves a rich taste and glossy finish.  Canola oil, or other vegetable oil, is often spread on grilled entrees before they're grilled and then again afterwards.  The oil keeps the meat from sticking to the grill and adds a sheen to the meat before serving. 
In either case you're getting unwanted calories and in the case of butter, a fat that isn't good for you.

2. Marinades and rubs sometimes contain sugar or honey as a seasoning and browning ingredient. The amount of sugar can be as much as a tablespoon. If you're on a low carb diet that sugar/honey can ruin your day.

3. Steamed vegetables can get a brushing of butter before they're plated, just enough for flavoring but not so you'd notice the melted butter on the plate.

4. Salt is a primary ingredient in seasonings and over used in restaurants.

5. If you must have bread, ask for olive oil rather than butter.  Dip the bread in the olive oil. You'll consume less and olive oil is a good fat, where butter isn't.

6. Don't have mixed drinks as a pre dinner cocktail. Unless the mixer is plain soda water it will add calories you don't need.  Have a glass of white wine.  Or even better have a white wine spritzer made with unsweetened soda water. 

7. Be aware of cheese, it's calorie dense, and has a high fat content.  Cheese shows up in more places than you might realize.  It's used as a garnish on meats, vegetables, and of course, salads.

8. Cream sauces are not a dieter's friend.  If the sauce is based on dairy cream, it will be high calorie and have a high fat content.  If it's based on a sauce thickened with flour, it will most likely have a high fat content as well.  Most flour based sauces use a ratio of one tablespoon of flour to one tablespoon of fat to one cup of liquid. Do you really want that tablespoon of fat?

9. Be aware that portions in restaurants are about double the normal portion size.  That 16 ounce porterhouse steak is enough for three people, not just you. 

A serving of garlic mashed potatoes is about a ½ cup not the mound served in most restaurants.  The good news is that restaurants also over do the salad and vegetable serving size.  And while you're having that salad, keep in mind, two tablespoons is the portion for the dressing, not the gravy boat usually served.  

Be aware of hidden fat and calories in restaurant meals and you stay on track with your weight loss program.

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What Is A Healthy Low Carb Diet

What Is A Healthy Low Carb Diet

With all the adverse publicity on high protein low carb diet, how do you know what is a healthy diet to follow?

The new diet research says that rather than just limiting the amount of carbohydrates in your diet, you should be looking to eat only those that have a low GI index - glycemic index

The GI Index measures the speed at which glucose is released into your blood stream following consumption of a specific food. If you do not use all the glucose you consume, your body converts it to fat and stores it. Not ideal when you are trying to lose weight.

So how do you know if a food is low GI or not?

Most supermarkets have now started coding their foods so you should be able to see from the packet. The foods that you would normally avoid on a diet also tend to be high GI i.e. cakes, biscuits, white bread, white pasta etc.

The good news is that chocolate is a low GI food but this doesn’t mean that you can eat loads of it! Avoid any added sugar based ingredients and opt for a plain bar of dark chocolate if you want to treat yourself.

Barley, quinoa, new potatoes and yams are all low GI foods so would be good staples for your healthy low carbohydrate diet.  Apples, dried apricots, citrus fruits, plums and tomatoes are all good low GI fruits but avoid Watermelons, peaches and bananas.

You should increase the quantity of water you drink especially as most slimmers increase the amount of fiber in their diet by eating more vegetables. You should aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Drinking water helps to lose weight as we often misunderstand our body’s signals and eat when in fact we are thirsty.

When you are trying to follow a healthy low carb diet, it is useful to watch your portion size. As a nation, we are used to consuming large portions of everything. Reducing the size of our meals will help you to lose weight as will eating a little and often rather than one large meal a day.

Never skip breakfast as countless studies have shown that you re likely to consume more calories later in the day than you save by not eating this important meal. Eating soup – the old fashioned kind not the instant microwaveable variety, will help to keep your energy levels stable and lead to less cravings.

Drink skimmed instead of full fat milk. Eat low fat yogurts but watch for hidden sugars and sweeteners. Keep alcohol intake to a minimum as not only does it contain empty calories but also lowers our inhibitions leading us to eat the wrong foods.

Keep yourself busy. We often eat due to boredom rather than hunger. Get moving every day to increase the amount of energy you consume. Reducing your food consumption while increasing your activity will help you lose weight as will following a healthy low carbohydrate diet.

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