Eating out can be a challenge when you are trying to follow a health regime.
Tips for Eating at a Fast Food Restaurant:
Before you go, you could plan the meal ahead and look online at the menu. Look for items that are lower in saturated fat, sodium, added sugars, and calories.
Restaurants tend to increase their portion sizes, giving you double the amount of food to what you need. You could resist the urge to ‘lick your plate clean’. You can decrease portion size by sharing your meal, or putting half of your meal in a to go in a container for a later meal. resisting the urge to "clean your plate."
Avoid sugary drinks. Instead have water or unsweetened tea instead of a soft drink or a milkshake. A large soda may contain 17 teaspoons of sugar and several hundred calories.
Choose items that are grilled or baked rather than fried or breaded.
Go light on sauces like mayonnaise and ketchup which contain sugar, fat, and salt.
Omit the cheese.
Look for fruit, vegetable, and salad with low calorie and healthy dressing options.
Examples of Choosing Healthier Options:
Chicken fajita instead of a breaded chicken sandwich.
Lean burger instead of an oversized special with lots of fat-laden trimmings.
Baked potato, fruit or salad with low fat dressing or steamed vegetables instead of high-fat French fries.
Main-course salad from the salad bar with low-calorie dressing (skip the bacon bits and croutons)
Non fat frozen yogurt with a fresh fruit topping instead of an ice cream sundae or a large slice of pie.
Pizza with whole grain crust topped with vegetables like tomato sauce, mushrooms, eggplant, and peppers instead of high-fat toppings like sausage, pepperoni, and extra cheese.
If you want to cut down on eating out, there are some choices you can make:
Limit trips to fast food restaurants by planning ahead,
Printer Friendly Version
References
Dietitian
