It’s normal to want to get out of the kitchen occasionally and let someone else do the cooking.
But what about sticking to the plan? Will dining out strike a fatal blow to your resolve? Not necessarily. Most restaurants cater to health-conscious diners, it’s not that difficult to find low-fat cuisine while dining out. Eating out is easy on the Naked Fitness nutrition plan.
Eating out on the Naked Fitness nutrition plan
According to the National Restaurant Association, Americans eat out 4.1 times a week. And many of those meals are eaten at fast food restaurants, where food is typically high in fat and sodium. But dining out doesn’t have to spell dieting disaster. One of the many advantages of the Naked Fitness Nutrition Plan is its adaptability to any eating-out situation. These days, healthy foods are served practically everywhere.
You don’t have to be a recluse while on the Naked Fitness Nutrition Plan. You’re free to go out to restaurants, even fast-food places, to enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner with your friends, family, or business associates. Nor should you pass up invitations to parties or other social events just because you’re on a healthy eating program. What follows are some practical guidelines for making healthy choices at any type of restaurant, as well as for enjoying parties and other events.
Restaurants for breakfast
- Order scrambled eggs. Request that the eggs be cooked without added oil.
- Fresh fruits are excellent choices to round out your breakfast.
Asian restaurants
- Select entrees made with lean proteins (such as chicken and fish) and vegetables. Some good suggestions are Moo Goo Gai Pan, Szechwan Shrimp or Chicken, and sushi.
- Request that the sauce be served on the side or forgo it altogether.
- Asian restaurants serve generous helpings. Consider ordering one entree and splitting it with a friend, unless you want to take the leftovers home.
- Enjoy sushi and sashimi.
Italian restaurants
- For an appetizer, try vegetable antipasto (if available), with dressing on the side.
- Look for entrees such as grilled chicken and fish, as well as Italian dishes that are marked as low in fat.
- Avoid entrees prepared in cream sauce or Alfredo sauce.
- Ask the waiter to leave the rolls and breadsticks in the kitchen.
- When ordering a dinner salad, request dressing on the side.
- Opt for steamed vegetables as your side dish rather than pasta. Make sure the vegetables are steamed.
Mexican restaurants
- Grilled chicken, shrimp, or lean meat entrees are good choices.
- For extra veggies, request pico de gallo (a mixture of chopped tomatoes, green peppers, and onions).
- Mexican rice or black bean soup are nice accompaniments to a Mexican meal. So are refried beans, but check first to see whether they are prepared in lard, or baked or boiled, and seasoned. If they aren’t refried in lard, enjoy them.
- A dinner salad with nonfat salad dressing is a healthy meal-starter.
Steakhouse
- Order grilled lean meat, chicken, salmon, or other fish (prepared with- out oil).
- For a side dish, select a steamed vegetable such as broccoli.
- At the salad bar, stick to fresh vegetables. Many salad bars serve fresh fruit too, which makes for a great dessert.
Homestyle or Cafeteria Restaurant
- Request grilled or lemon chicken, turkey breast without the gravy, or white fish prepared without sauce or oil.
- Select steamed vegetables (no sauce or butter), salad with nonfat dressing, or a vegetable medley prepared without butter or margarine.
- Look away when passing by the dessert line.
Fast-Food restaurants
- Most fast-food establishments have salads on their menus; grilled chicken salads are your best bets. Order reduced-fat salad dressing with your salad. If there’s a salad bar, stick to fresh vegetables and fat-free salad dressing.
- At fast-food restaurants that serve fish, order baked fish, steamed vegetables, and a salad.
Parties
- Eat a meal before you go to the party to fend off hunger pangs and cravings.
- Snack on fresh vegetables and fruit (but pass up the dip).
- If you’re going to dinner with a group of friends and are concerned that you’ll overeat, eat some natural high-fiber foods (like raw vegetables or fruit) before you go. You’ll be less likely to pig out later.
- Offer to bring a couple of your own dishes (low-fat, of course) to the gathering.
- Instead of a cocktail, drink a diet soda or carbonated water with a twist of lemon or lime.
It may not seem like fun to limit yourself to certain foods when eating out. But the ability to make healthy choices at restaurants is one more positive step toward getting a beautifully naked body. You’ll feel better, and your body will love you for it.
The above is an excerpt from the book Naked Fitness: The Proven 28 Day Lifestyle Program for a Slimmer, Fitter, Pain Free Body by Andrea Metcalf. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
© 2010 Andrea Metcalf, author of Naked Fitness: The Proven 28 Day Lifestyle Program for a Slimmer, Fitter, Pain Free Body.
Author bio
Andrea Metcalf, author of Naked Fitness: The Proven 28 Day Lifestyle Program for a Slimmer, Fitter, Pain Free Body, has been teaching fitness, training clients, and coaching on subjects of nutrition and health for the past 27 years. Her inspiring and approachable personality has helped build her reputation as a nationally known fitness expert. Andrea is a regular contributor of MORE, Self, and Women’s World,among other magazines, and a regular blogger on Oprah.com. She frequently appears on Today, Good Morning America Health, NBC5 in Chicago, and the nationally syndicated Better TV.
Andrea holds a BS in Exercise Science and has grown her career by creating unique programs of her own including Paws-ilates, Sil-ilites, and Live-ilates, featured on Oprah.com. Over the years, Andrea has written numerous articles on health and fitness. She is a national fitness presenter, motivational speaker, and has a series of fitness DVDs.