My wife and I Love eating out all the time. Trying out new restaurants and eateries is a passion for us.
However, eating out might seem a little scary when you are on a nutritional
program like 21 Day Fix.
When we are at home we have the ability to structure your
meals, however, when we are eating out it's easy to lose control over how your meals
are prepared. And let’s not forget that portion control becomes difficult when
you are not the one cooking the meal. So what are you meant to do? Should you
just sit at home and refuse to eat out? That is never going to happen in our fast paced lives.
Well, you can eat out comfortably while on the 21 Day Fix
program. Below I will show you how this is possible by giving you a quick restaurant
guide.
1. Drink Water:
Start off by making sure you drink water before you head out to the resturant for the evening.
When you go out to a restaurant, order water as your main drink. Other drinks have excess calories and few nutrients, such as beer and cocktails.
By sticking to water, you can keep your drink calories at zero, while giving your body the hydration that it needs. If you think that water is boring, you can add lemon to give it a better taste. On the other hand, you can opt to go with sparkling water, as it tastes good and it won’t add on calories.
2.Drink Shakeology before you go:
Try using a half of glass or forgo the water in #1 and just use 12-18 of water with your Shako!!!
Most people go to a restaurant with an empty stomach, so that they can fully enjoy their meal. However, if you are on the 21 Day Fix program you want to avoid this. If you go on an empty stomach it is likely that you will overeat, which defeats the whole purpose of the program.
However, if you drink a glass of shakeology before you head out to the restaurant, you will prevent yourself from eating all the bread as you wait for your meal. You will also curb your appetite, ensuring that you only eat the amount that your body needs.
Once you have seen what the restaurant has to offer, you can calculate the number of containers you have available for your meal. So if you have 2 green, 1 yellow, and 1 red container available, then you can order a meal that falls within that group. And if you want a glass of wine during your meal, remember to count that as one yellow container.
3. Plan in advance:
The easiest way to eat out while on the 21 Day Fix program is to plan in advance. Firstly, you should know which restaurant you are going to, and what meals they provide. Most restaurants have an online menu, meaning that you can make your decision before you go. Additionally, if you have questions about the oil and seasoning that they prepare the food with, you can always ask them has you order and adjust accordingly. You can also use a plethora of apps designed to let you know the nutritional value of each restaurant. One of my personal favorites is Myfitnesspal!!!
4. Use the eating out guide:
21 Day Fix was created to be flexible. When Autumn Calabrese
thought out this program, she did not expect the participants to eat in all the
time. That is why 21 Day Fix has made provisions for eating out. If you go to
page 70 of your eating plan, you will see that there is space dedicated to the
topic of eating out.
Some popular foods are given alongside their container
conversions. In this way you can go out and eat a slice of pizza, already
knowing how many containers that slice accounts for. This helpful guide will
make your time at the restaurant easier, and you do not have to worry about
reversing all the gains you have made.
5. Stay away from high-calorie foods:
It is easy to tell whether a food is high in calories by
simply reading its description. If you find that a food is referred to as
smothered, battered, fried, melted, creamed, smeared, breaded, or crispy, stay
far away from it. These foods will pack on the calories without delivering any
nutritional value. These foods are usually delicious, and so you should find
ways of preparing them in a healthy manner at home. In this way you won’t be
tempted to eat them in a restaurant.
The foods that you can gravitate towards include grilled and
baked foods.
6. Ask for dressings on the side:
You are usually allocated 1 orange container a day, and so
you should not eat food with too much dressing. You can control the amount of
dressing by asking your server to bring it in its own bowl. This ensures that
you only take as much dressing as you are supposed to. Overtime you will notice that you will be using less and less dressing to enjoy your salad.
7. Do Not Beat yourself up:
If you end up making so poor decisions for the night. There is no need to forget why your health is important in the first place over one meal. Learn to make one or two changes to your eating habits over time...and you will be amazed how your cravings for unhealthy foods will change into cravings for nutritious foods that fuel your body. This does take time and the willingness to improve each time you eat out for the evening. Then before you know it, you will be making healthier choices without even thinking about it.
