NUTRITION - How To Make Healthy Choices Eating Out

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Summary - 

This episode has nothing to do with deprivation or restriction. Instead, it’s all about teaching you how to continue eating out whilst achieving your health & fitness goals. No one enjoys bringing their meal prep to dinner. The good news - you don’t have to be that person! It’s 100% possible to eat out and still kick goals. Let me show you how … 

Things I Mention - 

  • Why I don’t believe in following a set of rules of guidelines when eating out

  • How small, effective tweaks to a menu can shave calories off a meal

  • My advice on how to enjoy alcohol when socialising with friends/ family

PLUS, I empower you with simple strategies to use for the rest of your life to ensure you can have dessert, eat it too and still lose weight! 

Links & Helpful Resources - 

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss out on any of my practical tips & tricks and if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review? Thanks! 

I want to start by saying that if you know me, you know I’m all for enjoying life and that means loosening the reins when it comes to enjoying a meal out. Personally, I don’t follow a set of rules or guidelines when I’m out. I eat & drink what I want and then I get back on the horse the very next meal. I wanted to record this episode though because I do get it - I know what it’s like when you’re on a roll and I know what it feels like to get slightly disheartened knowing that an event or meal out whilst scientifically impossible, could psychologically feel like it’s about to undo all of your hard work. I also understand that declining an invite or coming across as unsocial or un-fun to be around isn’t the nicest feeling either so here we are …

This episode is for you, if right now you are conscious of your health & fitness (whether that be trying to lose weight, gain muscle or improve your relationship with food) and you’re wanting to stay as consistent as possible with what you know is currently working for you. Also, please take into account that these suggestions might not work for you depending on your diet and preferred macronutrient needs. Most of these suggestions are small but mighty meaning that for each one you choose to do, you can feel confident knowing that you’ve just shaved a decent amount of calories off what could have been a very calorie-dense meal.

SKIP THE CARB FILLERS

When eating out, I like to think of calories as cash. I’ve got a certain amount of money/ calories to spend so you can bet that I’m going to make it worth my while. A lot of restaurants tend to offer a complimentary carb filler or like to persuade you to add-on a basket of carbs. Think of bread, crackers & chips like the cheap sale bin at the front of a clothing store. Most of what is in that bin is poor-quality, possibly stained and the items that never sold. Skip the bread, crackers & chips and invest your cash wisely by spending it on better quality, more nutrient-dense foods. 

 ASK FOR SAUCES ON THE SIDE

There’s nothing like a dressing or sauce to bump you over the edge. Most are full of sugar, salt, rancid oils and include a good dose of nasty preservatives. If I’m eating out, I’ll always ask for any dressing or sauces to be included but on the side. This way I can decide if the meal even needs the sauce and if so, I can control the amount that I consume. 

INVESTIGATE THE COOKING METHOD

How is the bulk of the meal cooked? As a general rule, I aim to avoid any meals that include the words fried, tempura, sticky, crumbed, glazed and sweet and will instead choose meals that contain the words stir-fried, grilled, roasted, poached or bbq’d. 

CHOOSE AHEAD

This is a non-negotiable for me. I always look at the menu before I arrive so I can plan what I’m going to eat. This helps remove any last-minute temptations or any pressure to choose something quickly because the waiter or waitress is hurrying you to decide. I wouldn’t go to a shopping centre without a plan of attack so going to a restaurant or café is no different. When deciding what to eat, I choose a source of protein first (preferably cooked as I’ve just mentioned) and then I like to bulk up on side salads or veggies. 

A WORD ON DESSERT

I’m a big sweet tooth so more often than not, I’ll eat dessert and enjoy every second of it. If you’re wanting to be more mindful about dessert though, you can choose to share a dessert or I’ve been known to skip dessert whilst I’m out but come home and eat a healthier option (usually a few squares of dark chocolate) to fulfil any cravings that I have.  

TIMING

This is more relevant if you’re heading out for breakfast, lunch or brunch as opposed to dinner but nonetheless, I thought I’d mention it anyway. I’m more likely to choose a carb-heavy meal for breakfast or lunch than I am at night. If I know there’s a good chance that I’ll be moving or even exercising after the meal, then I’m happy to fuel my body with carbs. At night though, I’ll usually get home and head straight to bed so carbs aren’t an ideal choice when eating out at night. 

UTILISE FASTING 

Whilst I’m not about to become an ambassador for ‘fasting’, I do know and understand the benefits but like to think of fasting as more of a tool that I have on my tool belt that I can pull out and use at my disposal - aka when I’m likely to consume more than my daily calorie needs. If you know you’re going to be eating out, consider fasting either the morning off or the morning after not only as a way to stay in control of your calories but to give your body the opportunity to digest and rest after a big night out. 

DRINK SUGGESTIONS

I could sit here and tell you to drink water with your meal rather than reach for sugary soft drinks or alcohol but I’m the first to admit that that’s not realistic - not for me anyway. Although I don’t drink soft drinks, I’m not one to say no to a glass of wine with my meal. 

When it comes to alcohol, I prefer to avoid beer, cocktails & pre-mixed drinks and instead, choose wine or  spirits with soda or diet mixers (this includes tonic water, regular tonic water is full of sugar). If drinking wine, I’ll usually have 1 or 2 and then move onto spirits. 

This isn’t me suggesting that diet mixers are a healthier choice either. Personally, if I wasn’t being calorie aware, I’d be more inclined to choose a sugar-filled mixer over a diet mixer but if it’s not something I do very often, I’d opt for a diet mixer when eating out for calories sake.

That brings this episode to an end. I hope these suggestions empower you to make more informed choices and allow you to eat out whilst also staying consistent and on track with your health & fitness goals. 

Elisha CasagrandeBrisbane Personal Trainer, Brisbane Health Coach, FEEL BE LOOK, Womens Confidence, Confidence, IIN Health Coach, Healthy Eating, Womens Health, Diets, Womens Weight Loss, Diet Culture, Eating Out, Healthy Choices, Intermittent Fasting