How To Eat Out And Stay On Track With Your Weight Loss Goals
How To Eat Out And Stay On Track With Your Weight Loss Goals
Eating out can really be a challenge when you are trying to shed some pounds. Fortunately though, it doesn’t have to be an exercise in sheer will if you make a few adjustments to your regular dining out routine. Following are some suggestions in order to minimize a complete set-back when eating out with your friends and family.
One of the first questions asked when you are met by your server at a restaurant is whether they might bring you a specialty drink, beer or wine. Are you someone who typically orders a specialty drink or alcoholic beverage when out with family and friends? If so, maintaining your weight loss routine can be really frustrating. Instead of suffering through the evening, try having a glass of light beer or some wine rather than of having a sugary frozen drink like a daiquiri. Frozen drinks contain a lot more sugars and calories, which aren’t good for you if you’re trying to lose a few pounds. Beer and wine, while still not the most ideal, are the best choice if you’re going to drink.
Next on the menu will be your starter. For your starter, have a broth based soup instead of a salad topped with a fatty dressing. While a salad might scream “WEIGHT LOSS” more than soup, most people will choose to pile it with a thick salad dressing, thus negating its weight loss benefits. For this reason soup is a great alternative. If you decide to opt for soup, try to get a soup that is less dense. The clearer your soup is in color, the less fat and calories it will usually have in it.
When it comes time for the main course, try ordering off of the kid’s menu. While this may seem silly, it will help you to ease your hunger without filling up too much. Save the big meals for home, where you can cook a more healthy choice for yourself. If eating off of the children’s menu is not possible, make sure to set aside some of your meal to take home for later.
Speaking of the principle course, one of the widespread pitfalls of going out is that you’re more tempted to want to give in to your former weaknesses in lieu of choosing another thing you consider bland and boring. Nonetheless, as an alternative of swinging too far on the side of deprivation, choose a lighter option of your former favorite food group. For example, in case you are a french fry lover, take into consideration a baked potato with a small amount of butter, instead. While a baked potato with butter is certainly not for each day, you can possibly still get your potato or starch craving met, however with much less empty calories than its fried counterpart. Mostly, look for ways to eat the same as you would while adhering to your weight loss routine at home, and be sure to keep your portions in check.
When having dessert there are many different types of frozen treats. Most of us head for the straight for the ice cream or a rich cheesecake, but something such as a sorbet will be a lot less damaging to your weight loss goals. If this is not available at the place where you are dining, use this as an excuse for an after dinner treat at your local ice cream parlor. There are many delicious options available there for dessert that won’t be a burden on your wallet or waist line.
If you’re going out for a night on the town, it might be a good idea to have some healthy snacks with you so that you can avoid wanting to eat out. Avoiding fast food is the number one priority you should have when wanting to lose weight, but if you must eat out, look into the healthier options on the menu. If you use the above tips every time you eat out, you’ll be able to stay on track with your weight loss plan.
While it can be challenging and will certainly take planning, this is a great personal development exercise to partake in.
Add a Little Spice to Rev up Your Weight Loss
Weight loss is not as simple as one, two, and three. It takes an abundance of knowledge and a tremendous amount of willpower. Because of this, one of the best things that you can do to get a jump start on your diet is to figure out exactly what foods will really give you that extra boost. Well, if you are one who likes a little zest with your meals, you are in luck because it has been said that adding a bit of spice to your meals will help your weight loss.
Although it is not 100% clear how these spice filled foods can boost your metabolism, there have been studies that show there is a main element in many of these different metabolism boosting spices. This element is called Capsaicin. It can actually create heat and raise the temperature of your body so that you burn more calories.
Before tipping the cayenne pepper shaker, though, you should be careful when adding these new spicy foods to your diet. With adding spicy items to your diet, it may increase stomach problems and acid reflux, so you should start with just a small amount. Once you understand how your body reacts to each food, you will have a better idea of what is most ideal for your meals.
When incorporating the element of spices to your weight loss plan, the best time to do this is around noon. If you add a little bit of cayenne pepper or anything hot to your lunch, it will help you stay alert and awake as well as help you with any grogginess that is normally felt after you eat. The added benefit of this is that this additional wakefulness will help you to keep moving around and in turn, burn more calories.
There are a few additional health benefits that come along with indulging in spicy foods. There have been studies suggesting that people that consume a large amount of these foods have a lower likelihood of brain and nervous system complications.
Spicy foods can also help with chronic migraines and have been linked to aiding in lowering depression. On the flip side, there have also been rumors that spicy foods can cause ulcers, however this is not the case. Ulcers may be irritated when you are digesting a large amount of these foods, but they are not the main cause.
Cayenne pepper is not the only spice to help rev things up; there are numerous dried spices that can be incorporated into meals to help aid weight loss. Included in these are black pepper, mustard seed and ginger. If you add any of these dry spices to your dishes, it will add a kick and also help you lose weight more quickly.
Although studies have not absolutely proven these theories, there is a definite connection between eating spicy foods and weight loss. When you know the identities of these spicy foods and exactly how they work to enhance your food and metabolism, you can make more informed decisions about when to add these foods to your meal plan for your weight loss goals.