We all love a celebration, right? We’ve certainly waited long enough for restrictions to ease so we can meet up with family and friends in our gardens or enjoy a nice meal out outdoors in your favourite restaurant. Whatever it is, we’re know your exited, like we are, to finally start to socialise again. But, can we relax, celebrate and enjoy dining out and still lose weight? The answer is YES!
Here’s our Top Tips to navigate eating out doors over the summer months
You know where you going to dine most of the time so go online and check out the menu before you get there and see what healthier options are available. This really helps you not to linger over the menu as the delicious wafting aromas come from the kitchen. Make a date with the handy Eating Out guide in the glossary of your Balance plan. (P72) You’ll find the Bite values for restaurant menu staples making it super easy to do a little advance planning.
Arriving ravenous to the restaurant isn’t a great idea as its hard to make healthier choices especially when the bread basket lands on the table. Our tip is to have a protein rich snack about half an hour before going. It won’t fill you up completely but it’ll help you to stop reaching for the bread and olives and ordering too much food.
Chefs add way to much sauce and butter to our dishes so this small hack will make a huge difference. Simply ask for vegetables without butter, sauce or a dressing on the side so you are in control on how much you add to your dish. Some dressing and sauces are surprisingly high in calories and so this move will become second nature.
Did you know that one, seemingly harmless, slice of bread and butter can add 2 Bites to your meal (and who stops at one?) Resisting the bread will make all the difference. We know it may be hard to start with, as everyone else tucks in, but you’ll be grateful at the end of the meal that you said ‘no thanks’. Eating bread before our meal is just a habit – that’s all.
Try to opt for 2 courses rather than 3, so either starter and main or a main and dessert. Get all the taste with only half the portion by either sharing a starter or a dessert. Another option to satisfy that sweet tooth is to order a skinny cappuccino and enjoy two or three squares of 80% dark chocolate (packed in the handbag).
Fizzy drinks and alcohol have calories! So we need to factor that in to our plan when we’re heading out the door. Order a bottle of water for the table and aim for every second drink to be water. You can reduce the bites in your glass of wine by adding sparkling water, choose lighter beers and sugar free soft drinks, small changes make big difference on the scales.
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