Many people think they can not eat out on a healthy eating plan. If eating out is part of your everyday lifestyle as it is for many people, then it is important for us to appreciate that and help make the whole eating out thing manageable.

It is just a matter of planning and making healthy choices.

You may be thinking; if I eat out I will do the following:

1. Break my diet
2. Gain weight.
3. I’ll Just have tonight off,’ ‘it’s a special occasion so I will start again tomorrow’

Yeah right. But hey, we are ditching the diet mentality right, so you don’t even have to think this way anymore. On the DietDitch programme eating out is a breeze.

Choose Wisely

When choosing a meal at a restaurant your choice may be the difference between gaining weight and losing weight. Here are some tips to make the decision easy:

• If the meals are huge, try just getting a starter. Portion size is the key. If you order a large meal and only intend to eat half, chances are you will have gobbled up the whole meal before you can say “little piggy.”
• Always pass on the garlic bread this is just unnecessary calories with no nutritional value.
• Watch your portions – the food will not be valuable on your hips so don’t think value for money means you have to eat everything on your plate!
• A salad is not always a salad – a caesar salad can pack more fat and calories than a big fat juicy steak! If in doubt ask for it without …

“May I please have the salad without the dressing?” and “May I please have the steak with steamed veggies instead of fries?”

Make this a command (in the nicest possible way) rather than a question.

So What Do We Have

Well here is the good stuff…

• Tomato based sauces
• Olive oil dressings
• Lean protein
• Baked, grilled, steamed.
• Seafood
• Nude salads
• Fruit platters
• Simple stir fries

Try to avoid…

• Creamy sauces (including hollandaise)
• Creamy dressings
• Sausages, pork
• Creamy pastas
• Rich desserts
• Fried, crispy
• Pastry
• Mash- they always use cream and butter!

Where do We Go

Well at the DietDitch headquarters we are not really into continual eating out. We would prefer you to make it a treat say once a week, fortnightly or even monthly. I know, I know, this may be very difficult for some of you but think of the cost savings. In these tough economic times it makes sense to make food from scratch and eat at home and invite your friends to join you. Everyone can benefit from eating healthy, right.

When you do choose to eat out choose a restaurant you really enjoy and SAVOUR the experience. Let’s stay away from those places that make the ‘biggest sandwich in the world’ or give you a ‘2lb steak’, or worse, ‘all the food you can eat’. That’s scary!

If you have to go to fast food with the kids/boyfriend/mom/sister etc have one of the many healthier options they now serve and on the DietDitch program we DONT FINNISH THE KIDS FRIES.

Lastly enjoy what you eat, wherever you eat it.