Eating Out... The Salad Trap

Ate out for the 1st time this year last night. A 2for1 deal at Pizza Express (I do know how to push the boat out, don't I!) Thought I did the right thing buy having a salad but to my horror I may have put away the same calories as if I'd had a pizza!!! Ok, I ordered by Nicoise (chosen to provide a balanced meal after a very good day of low calorie & fat intake) with dressing on the side which I drizzled on less then a third. Only one & a half dough sticks passed my lips & I will own up to a mouthful (just for tasting purposes you understand ) of my partners American Hot. Returning home I logged on to enter my food log, tried in vain to find my meal, started to research calorie intakes & found out how bad I've been.

Is there no justice! You try & do the right thing but...

Has anybody got ideas on how to make the healthy options when eating out. I don't what to stand out from my dinner companions by appearing ever so virtuous or not enjoy the evening by constantly worrying about what I order, nor do I want to undo my good work on calorie & fat control so far.

HELP!

K x

I usually just get a side salad; my friends can deal with me standing out, or they can not invite me next time ;) (I'll either eat my own meal before or after to keep sanity). To be fair though, I'm not really comfy eating things I haven't cooked myself. Not that I'm a good cook, I just like to know what's going on with my food XD

On another count though, an occasional treat isn't going to hurt you, and the best you can do is try to find out where you're going before-hand so you can have the full facts at your fingertips. If you can't find out, then do what you can, and know that you still made your best effort :)

I don't count the calories for meals out because I don't eat out too often.   I try to choose something delicious rather than purely the low-cal option 'because I have to'.  Grilled meat/fish, salads, steamed vegetables.... all good.   I often ask for a smaller portion or the sauce on the side etc.   And then, as I say, I don't ruin the experience by totting up the calories afterwards and making myself unnecessarily miserable.  Life's far too short.

Combine healthy choices with food that you actually want to eat..... If you like 'American Hot', share one next time with your partner.  A couple of slices plus a side-salad.   You'll not be eating 'dough sticks' (sound awful, what are they?)  enjoy it more and probably end up eating less in total.

Get a side salad and have one slice of pizza.  Most places have diet Italian dressing.  My strategy on those occasions is to have a mug of hot soup before I leave the house.  This takes the edge off my appetite so I'm less likely to give in to all those wonderful pizzaria aromas.  I pay more attention to my companions and enjoy the company and conversation, rather than focusing on what I'm going to eat.  The point is to socialize and have fun without over eating.

'Tis true... guess I was worried about fat intake (trying to lose my somewhat rotund belly! ) How much damage does the odd meal out do? I'm new to this diet regime & there is so much conflicting infomation on the net. Since the 2nd Jan I've been extremly good in what I've been eating & whilst I know my current intake of calories is not sustainable (or to be honest, healthy and/or desirable long term) I feel I can continue re training my outlook on food/diet/health. I don't want to blow it all by returning to bad ways... but I aint no saint The odd meal out & the odd drinking session will always be a part of my life.

As you say "life's far too short" but with a few prudent choices I can make sure I stay healthy while enoying it!

Cheers

K x

'Not sustainable'.... Now there's a phrase to strike chill into the heart if ever there was one.   Be very, very careful.  It's tempting to think it's OK to do something extreme to get the weight off quickly.    But if you're trying to exist on a crash/imbalanced (no fat?) diet and punishing exercise any big influxes of food (like a meal out) are likely to be grabbed on to by your body and stored as fat.   Extreme diets tend to lead to bingeing ultimately and so many people yo-yo straight back to their starting weight... plus a few lbs.... that it's all completely pointless.   You don't want to return to bad ways, no.  But you don't want to waste time or make yourself ill with some bizarre slimming plan either. 

Aim for a sensible middle ground if you want long-lasting results and to retain your health

Wise words indeed. I think I should fully explain & welcome comments on the whys & wherefores

I never dieted before, had many "bad" habits & not a particularly healthy life style. Got to around 182lbs but stress due to a marraige break up & meeting of a new partner saw me drop to 161-165lbs. I started eating better, doing a bit of exercise & controlling portion sizes although nothing regulated or controlled.

After Christmas, with a ski trip at end of Jan looming, I decided to take myself in hand! Weighed myself (170lbs!) & started to trawl the net for help & advice. I immeadiatly stopped drinking alcohol, eating chocolate/biscuits/crisps & started to eat salad, fruit & be conscious of what i was putting away. I came across this site which I found a god send. I've started logging my food which has helped me identify what calories I'm actually taking in as well as nutrional values.

When I say my current intake is not sustainable, I have found that although I'm not hungry & to my mind still eating a balanced diet, my calorie intake can drop to about a 1000. I have taken the decission to drop a few pounds quickly because of the ski trip but do want to maintain a heallthy weight loss thereafter. My aim is to adjust to a healthier life style. I see this as combining regular exercise with sensible eating. My main concern is losing fat around my stomach (beer belly, too many pies etc call it what you will ) hence my worry about fat intake. This is where things become confussing. What do I eat to lose weight without doing damage yet showing visible signs of improvement? I am committed to doing this long term but understand that I will stray (the odd meal out/ treat at home/ drinks etc)

Confused!?!

K x

Logging food and exercise is a good thing.  I don't know when I'll ever be able to stop, and I don't want it to become an obsession.  I keep doing it because it works.  I don't trust myself on the eat-until-you're-satisfied regimen.

As far as salad goes, I take the dressing on the side at a restaurant, then top it myself with a teaspoonful.  I do the same thing at home, but also douse the whole salad with red wine vinegar in addition to the dressing.  Using that amount of dressing, I don't worry about the low cal stuff, and pick what tastes the best.

Original Post by kev1964:

 What do I eat to lose weight without doing damage yet showing visible signs of improvement? I am committed to doing this long term but understand that I will stray (the odd meal out/ treat at home/ drinks etc)

Confused!?!

K x

 I have to start by telling you that 1000 cals a day, even as a temporary quick fix, is a silly thing to do to yourself.  You may drop a few lbs but you'll go on your skiing holiday and blow up like a life-jacket with the toggle pulled.  A sedentary, lightweight, grown man needs 1500 at the absolute bare minimum.

Weight-loss is only part of the story.  If you're committed to the long-term and to a healthy lifestyle then you have to treat it that way, right from the start.  "Don't do anything to lose weight that you can't see yourself happily doing for the rest of your life"..... is a good phrase to keep handy.  Any change you make for the better, diet or exercise, test it with that statement.  That's the 'fad filter'. 

Find a middle course... A sensible, regular food intake of good quality foods.  Included in which will be an evening out at a restaurant from time to time.   It's not a slip-up or 'straying'... eating out is a normal activity that most people do.  Trying to avoid it wouldn't be normal.  Berating yourself afterwards is a slippery slope to misery.  A couple of slices of pizza with a salad a couple of times a month makes no-one fat.   Eating vast amounts of pizza several times a week probably does.   Eating foods with fat in them doesn't make you fat.  Eating too much food in total does.

Work out how many calories you really need based on your age, size and activity level using the CC calculator.  Then try to get a balanced diet, adding up to that calorie intake, based around vegetables and grains using fruit, meat, fish and dairy products in moderate amounts and sparing amounts of fats.  A good visual way to think of it is to fill half your plate at each meal with vegetables or salads,  a quarter with carbohydates and a quarter with protein...  Aim for 80% of your food as wholesome, natural and nutritious and 20% 'for fun'. 

Good luck

Cheers gi-jane... your dead right. I think my mind set needs a tad of adjustment to make sure things are in place long term.

will enjoy life... will keep on track... will remain healthy... & yes, I will not "do anything to lose weight that you can't see yourself happily doing for the rest of your life"

and oh... will keep you all posted on how things are going!

K x

You can't really target where your weight loss will be, and your fat intake won't affect you weight loss unless you exceed your calorie limit. However, you can exercise and tone up around that area. The fat loss will just be from wherever your body wants it to be.

As a side note - you can't target fat loss but healthy fats and really good for weight loss (it's said they're good for stomach fat but there's no way of really knowing). In a nicoise salad there would be tuna (healthy fat), olive oil (VERY healthy fat), and eggs (also extremely healthy) so this "fat content" won't "hurt" you as much as say....saturated fat like fullfat dairy or red meat (also acceptable in a healthy balanced diet, but in moderation)

You did a good thing by asking for dressing on the side as salads are ALWAYS overdressed.

When I go out - I get whatever I want! I make sure I know about how many calories I have left for the day and then I think about how much I would have had before dieting (3 peices of pizza or a whole buger),  and then I eat half or less (1.5 pieces of pizza or 1/2 a burger) of what the "fat" me would have wanted.

That way you can eat whatever you want really! Not all the time, but you HAVE to have fun! I even calculate in my alcohol and desserts..that way I never feel like I'm a prisoner... 

I honestly don't see what you're stressing about. You got the dressing on the side and used less than half of it (they always give you WAY too much!) and you had a couple of bread sticks. Big deal! You're not that overweight to begin with, and your body needs a decent amount of fuel to keep it going. At your size, you'd be best off to come up with a healthy eating regimin the includes enough calories to keep your body happy, and to add an exercise campaign for the weight-loss/muscle-building.

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law (who both have been trying to lose the same 15 lbs since I met them 5 years ago), always order salads when we go to restaurants and talk about how "good" they're being.  However, when the salad comes in a huge bowl, has tons of cheese, breaded chicken strips, creamy dressing, tortilla chips, etc. on them, they don't realize that just because there's lettuce in it doesn't make it healthy.

Salads at restaurants can be very healthy (sometimes you have to alter it a little), but also consider ordering a chicken breast with a side of vegetables, or fish, etc.  Or if you want pizza, go with thin crust and get the slice loaded up with vegetables.  

I can turn an innocent salad into my worst food nightmare. 

Original Post by mars_0112:

You can't really target where your weight loss will be, and your fat intake won't affect you weight loss unless you exceed your calorie limit. However, you can exercise and tone up around that area. The fat loss will just be from wherever your body wants it to be.

Damn! has my body no respect for my desired body shape??? looks like many hours of stomach crunches then... bugger!

Original Post by kev1964:

Damn! has my body no respect for my desired body shape??? looks like many hours of stomach crunches then... bugger!

Stomach crunches won't make you lose fat in that specific area. All that stomach crunches do is work the MUSCLE, not burn fat over that specific muscle group.

Your best bet is to do moderate cardio (look up HIIT on google, it's very good), lift weights that work your whole body (compound weight moves are great), and mix it up. Don't do the same thing all the time, or your body will get used to it.

Work out 4-5 times a week, and don't work the same group of muscles day after day (let them rest a day inbetween).

For instance:

15 minute warm up on elliptical (HIIT)

45 lower body and ab

15 minute cycling on recumbent bike

10 minutes stretching

Next day:

15 minute warm up on treadmill (HIIT)

45 upper body and back

10 minutes stair stepper

10 minutes stretching

I'm not an expert by any means, but that is a good start at least.

I did this at The Honey Baked Ham shop with a Turkey Sanwich!!!  Ugh!!!  Darn that Turkey Sandwich.  But in all seriousness I usually try to look up the restuarant menu and nutrition guide if I know where I am going.  Try to go for Chicken, Salmon, or any type of Fish if that is something that you enjoy.  I have found that the Fish Dinners normally have lower cals then anything on a menu including salad.  I enjoy salads because I know all the veggies are way more nutritious then a cheeseburger.  Although they may be high in calories the health benefits are still there with a salad.

Original Post by nasuoni:

Stomach crunches won't make you lose fat in that specific area. All that stomach crunches do is work the MUSCLE, not burn fat over that specific muscle group.

ok... being a newbie to all this... & at the risk of sounding dumb... what can i do to target my stomach? It's the one part of me that is disproportionate to the rest of me... skinny arms, good legs, pert bum (even if i do say so myself !)

I do now circuit train twice aweek... 2 totally different classes... and do 20mins almost daily on my nordic track plus 10mins on mini trampoline & 100 sit ups.

totally see what you mean about mixing things up but it is my tummy i'm trying to lose.

Original Post by kev1964:

Original Post by nasuoni:

Stomach crunches won't make you lose fat in that specific area. All that stomach crunches do is work the MUSCLE, not burn fat over that specific muscle group.

ok... being a newbie to all this... & at the risk of sounding dumb... what can i do to target my stomach? It's the one part of me that is disproportionate to the rest of me... skinny arms, good legs, pert bum (even if i do say so myself !)

 You can't target your stomach. You can build muscle there by doing all-over strength training, but muscle doesn't make a difference if there's a layer of fat over it. If you lose fat by eating at a calorie deficit, you will lose it wherever your body wants to lose it, which will eventually be your stomach.