The festivities of the Winter period are over and just as you breathe a sigh of relief that the last tin of Quality street and tube of Pringles has been demolished and theres a clean slate for healthy eating, an invitation to a birthday meal arrives at your favourite restaurant with the best dessert and calorie laden dishes. Do you cancel?
Loosing weight and eating sensibly doesn’t have to mean giving up everything that you love or sacrificing meals out with friends and family. A healthy lifestyle is just about making the right choices and having a plan in place to make sure that you follow through. In this blog post we’ll show you easy ways that you can attend meals out and enjoy yourself without ruining your healthy eating.
Call ahead and pre order your meal
“This is the best way to ensure that you stick with your healthy eating and pick the meal thats best suited to your plan” says one of our Personal trainers Stacey Sweet. “Why not check the menu ahead of time, and phone the restaurant to pre order your food? That way you’ll only take the money that you need any you won’t be tempted to order anything else”
Drink water through out your night
Replace any sugar-sweetened drinks with water. It’s free and much healthier for you. If you’re having alcohol with the meal, limit yourself to the one glass or alternate with glasses of water.
Eat a healthy snack just before you go
Turning up at a restaurant ravenously hungry is like shopping at a super market on an empty stomach – a bad idea. Many of us tend to eat a small lunch or skip it entirely if we know we are eating out later, but this loss of food we would normally eat often leads to over eating in the evening. To save yourself tucking in to the bread basket, try eating a high protein low calorie snack just before you go.
Carry healthy snacks in your purse
No matter how full you may be, many of us get hit with that after dinner craving of needing something sweet. If you need something to satisfy your sweet tooth, most restaurants offer sorbet or fruit as a lighter and healthier option, or you can try carrying some small squares of dark chocolate in your bag with you. Dark chocolate is one of the best sources of anti oxidants on the planet and can improve health and lower the risk of heart disease.
The Weight Care Centre Team