Day 17: Healthy Eating Out
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Hello! Today marks 2.5 weeks into the Challenge. Almost done with the first month, but the goal isn’t to just do this for a month, then go back to old ways. The goal is that the changes you make this month set the groundwork for maintaining a new, healthier lifestyle.
Healthy Eating Out
Today, I just want to refresh some things in your mind about healthy eating out. I don’t think I’ve been out to eat at all this month, for no particular reason, but I do enjoy going out to eat and I try not to drive the wagon down a ravine in a fireball when I do so (most of the time). Cause let’s get real…if you’re going to make this a lifestyle change and not drop the new things you’ve picked up in the past couple weeks, you’re going to eat out sometimes.
The Worst Things You Can Order
Okay, so obviously you could go out to eat and consider it a treat meal, like I discussed in my article on cheat meals. Or you could step in and be faced with the bread and still show your willpower, avoiding it all. And then, you opt for a seemingly healthy meal from the menu that is more than you bargained for. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that the enchiladas slathered in cheese sauce, the fettuccine alfredo, or the stuffed pizza are bad ideas. But check out some of these others than seem innocent enough:
Chipotle Grilled Chicken Burrito
Take a tortilla bigger than your face, fill it with grilled chicken, rice, black beans, guacamole, and salsa and you end up with 1179 calories, 125g carbs, 33g fat, and 52g protein.
Better Bet: Get it as a “Bol” (no tortilla), nix the rice and beans, double the meat, and add double fajita vegetables to save about 82g of carbs and 520 calories. Another trick…wait until they’ve put your vegetables in, then ask them to put a little more. If you ask before they add the veggies, you won’t get much more than normal.
Smoothie King 20oz Angel Food Smoothie
Evocative imagery of angels…really, how bad can it be if it’s for angels?. Check out this genius marketing:
Angels have to be light on their wings—those things are delicate. In that case, they’d have no problem feasting on this fantastic low-fat blend of banana and strawberries. It’s creamy, delicious and fit, well, for an angel.
What I want to know is how they can run this in the “Trim Down” line when 85% of the calories are sugar? 354 calories, 75g sugar (84g carbs total), 0g fat. Just for comparison, 20oz of Coca-Cola only has 68g of sugar.
Better Bet: Don’t go here. All of their drinks are crap. I prefer solid food, but if you want a shake/smoothie, check out 5 Sweet Savory Primal Shakes from Mark’s Daily Apple.
TGI Friday’s Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad
Seems innocent enough. Pecans? Healthy. Chicken? Healthy. Salad? Who can argue against a bowl of lettuce? But when you fry the chicken and add on a sugary-sweet balsamic vinaigrette, you get 1360 calories with 71g of carbs (38g of it sugar) and 50g of fat. Now, you know I’m not afraid of fat, but considering that it’s mostly the rancid vegetable oils the chicken is fried in and probably soybean oil in the dressing, this one is just bad news all around. I’m still amazed at a salad with 38g of sugar!
Better Bet: Order something grilled with a side of vegetables.
PF Chang’s Chicken Noodle Soup
It doesn’t get more wholesome than chicken noodle soup, does it? Well, except for the processed grains in the noodles. But really, in the grand scheme of things, how bad can a bowl of soup really be? 759 calories, 24g of fat, and 92g of carbohydrates. There’s a snooze waiting to happen. What’s funny is if you view the nutrition info, it seems pretty light at only 120 calories. Until you realize that a serving is 7oz and the bowl it comes in is 32oz. Nice sleight of hand there, Chang’s.
The Usual Rules Apply
That’s enough. You get the idea that everything isn’t as it’s cracked up to be with seemingly healthy restaurant choices. You know all of regular rules for healthy eating out:
- Ask that bread and chips not be brought to the table.
- Ask for plain old oil and vinegar dressing for your salad.
- Skip the appetizers. They’re typically just fried stuff anyway.
- Skip the starch, double the vegetables. (Once the oil and vinegar is on the table, keep it for adding some fat to your vegetables.)
- Avoid fried foods. Opt for baked, grilled, roasted, or broiled.
Those are good tactics if you want to avoid temptation, but it’s not always possible. If I’m out to eat with friends or family and I tell the waiter to take away the bread or chips, there is likely to be a mutiny.
I’m lucky in that my favorite dishes at most restaurants are rather unadorned. I naturally tend to gravitate to what I think of as better options that are basically just meat and vegetables. At Mexican restaurants, I usually go for carnitas (or the fajitas) and skip the tortillas. At my local Cuban place, lechon asado (pork marinated in citrus and garlic). Greek, lamb. I actually find it really easy to eat well while enjoying the heck out of dinner at ethnic restaurants.
Who’s The Boss?
Remember one final thing: just because you’re at a restaurant doesn’t mean you have to order off of the menu. Most restaurants have beef, pork, chicken, and seafood and will be happy to prepare it however you want. Grilled, broiled, fried…they’ll pretty much do whatever you ask. Just because all of the options on the menu come slathered in a sauce doesn’t mean you have to order them that way. If they can serve you pork chops doused in a sugary barbeque sauce, I’m betting they can serve you just pork chops perhaps with some herbs. Just because a salad comes with a particular dressing doesn’t mean you can’t ask them to hold it and bring oil and vinegar.
Ask for what you want and you’re likely to get it. Remember that you are giving them money to provide you a service. Pay for what you want. Sally Albright knows how to get exactly what she wants. All you have to do is ask.
Task For The Week: “Have It Your Way” When You Eat Out
No, I don’t mean go to Burger King. I mean, if you visit a restaurant this week, ignore the stares and remarks from your lunch or dinner companions and don’t worry about what the server thinks. Just tell them exactly what you want and demand (nicely) that you get it. Any decent restaurant will work with you.
Or, alternatively, find something on the menu that isn’t a complete train wreck. As I mentioned before, I find that ethnic restaurants tend to make this easier. For me, there’s something about the different flavors of ethnic foods that make something very simple just pop. Kind of like the lechon asado at a Cuban restaurant…it’s just pork marinated and cooked in citrus juices and lots of garlic. But the taste is incredible without breading, frying, coating in sugar, or anything else.
Of course, if you don’t eat out regularly, just keep this stuff in mind next time you do.
What do you do at restaurants to keep things from going completely off the rails?
Table of contents for 30-Day Challenge
- Day 1: Elimination and Detox Phase Starts Now
- Day 2: Planning Your Daily Meals
- Day 3: Managing Time for What is Important
- Day 4: Spicing It Up And Healthy Snacking
- Day 5: Bodyweight Exercises Workout Challenge
- Day 8: Get More Sleep
- Day 10: The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- Day 12: Finding Quality Food
- Day 15 – Phase II – Reintroduce, Rotate and Reflect
- Day 17: Healthy Eating Out
- Day 19: How to Set Up the Simple Home Gym Fitness Program
- Day 22: Healthy Dessert Recipes
- Day 24: Reduce Stress and Simplify Your Life
- Day 26: Personal Goal Setting
- Day 30: Phase III – Adjust and Maintain
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Thanks again for a good post! Your posts are keeping me motivated, and can’t believe we’re already this far in the challenge, and it is going a lot smoother than I expected.
Last january I did a similar 30 day challenge, but at that time only cut out sweet stuff (deserts), but basically still ate rice and pastas. But to be honest that was much more difficult, apparently any type of carbs really are addicting!
And again, a very timely post, since this friday I have a work dinner. My boss just emailed the agenda for the meeting, and I replied mentioned the 30 day challenge and asked him to forward that to the restaurant. I’m sure they’ll be understanding.
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It seems to me as if its extremely difficult to keep calorie count down when eating out. Even a salad isn’t necessarily a “safe” choice. My wife used to get real irritated with me, because I would go to restaurants websites and search for healthier choices before we went out to eat, but taking that little time makes a difference.
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Mike OD Reply:
@Greg – If everyone took the time and effort like you do to know what they should eat…maybe we wouldn’t have such a health care/obesity crisis on our hands. Well done!
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skustes Reply:
I’m with you Greg. I usually peruse a restaurant’s menu before I go so I have some idea what I’m going to be facing. Salad’s, at least most of the specialty ones, definitely aren’t a safe choice.
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I hate not knowing the calorie and carb of my foods–eating out is going to be a challenge for me. But hopefully, by staying away from the breads, rice and pasta then I can eat other things without feeling guilty. Also alchohol is definitely an issue when I go out to eat. I usually have 2 drinks–I hope vodka and club soda is alright?!
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Mike OD Reply:
@Tracy – club soda or soda water are your best 2 mixers. Add in a fresh lemon/lime for more flavor. Don’t get the juice based mixed drinks (loaded with sugar).
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Nothing confuses me more than the idea that smoothies are healthy. Just because it isn’t carbonated doesn’t mean it isn’t all sugar.
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Mike OD Reply:
@Dave – sadly if a place has a marketing department, they will find a way to call one of their products “healthy”….as they are in the business of selling “fake food”. There’s a good nutrition rule, don’t eat at a place that has to market their “fake food” as healthy (as real healthy food doesn’t have fancy slogans that come with it).
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Every since I tried cutting out simple carb, I never eat bread and order vegetables in place of potato whenever I go out to eat. At better restaurants, I find you get a nice order of steamed or grilled vegetables. A salad, meat, and vegetables is usually enough for me since restaurant portions of meat is more than what I would normally eat at home.
As for smoothies, when you make your own at home without any sugar, I cannot drink that stuff you get out because they are too sweet. Smoothies with just fruit is sweet enough for me. Recently, I’ve been adding avocado to my smoothie and it is a nice addition. Now, I need to find fresh coconut milk so that I can try the avocado coconut milk smoothie.
Where does one find fresh coconut milk?
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Mike OD Reply:
@lel – I think it was Michael Pollan who says it best “Eat as much junk food as you want, as long as you make it yourself”….which can translate to anything such as smoothies. Everything is going to be healthier when you make it from scratch and knowing each ingredient that goes in (assuming you are not dumping in loads of sugar of course). Fresh coconut milk might have to do some hunting around outside the chain supermarkets and more farmer markets or other places especially those that cater to more foreign cuisine/cooking.
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skustes Reply:
lel, no clue where to get fresh coconut milk. I use the Whole Foods 365 Brand. A friend recommends the Taste Of Thai organic.
Cheers
Scott
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Just wanted to say, thanks so much for your excellent site. Tons of great information here.
Chipotle used to be one of my favorite places to eat–in almost exactly the way you recommend. No tortilla, no beans, no rice; lots of veggies and carnitas (free-range from Niman Ranch, I believe).
Until I saw them cooking their veggies with soybean oil.
Now, I skip the veggies too, just get some salsa and guacamole (costs extra, but sometimes I want the fat).
I think vegetable oils are very difficult to avoid in restaurants, because almost all restaurants cook with them instead of butter or other animal fats. I’m guessing it’s because 1) vegetable oils are cheaper; 2) they think vegetable oils are healthier than animal fats; and 3) they can’t use lard or tallow because the vegetarians would raise a fuss.
I suppose some restaurants cook things with olive oil, but that carries its own set of problems when olive oil is heated to high temperatures.
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Mike OD Reply:
@Jae – Yes vegetable oils are most everywhere in restaurants. If you do eat out and happen to have something cooked in vegetable oil, take an extra multi/vit C to help counteract any higher free radicals. You may start to go to more smaller owned places where you know they use better ingredients or will cater to your requests, the bigger ones/chains will probably not.
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Since this 30 weight loss challenge, nothing scares me more
then going out to eat. I even second guess going to my friends
homes for dinner anymore without taking my own meal with me.
You know they cook it will all the wrong fats and tons of salt. I
just think it’s safer for me to stay away totally.
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Mike OD Reply:
@Cathy – Eating out once in a while, your body can handle little extra stressors. Although becoming a hermit and never going out or to friends houses is not the goal either. Try and educate your friends on why they should cook differently for their health, and maybe you can start sharing recipes and having more healthy parties together.
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cathy Reply:
Actually Mike I am good about eating in places where others aren’t eating
the way they should. Most of the time when I do socialize I will take some
thing that I know I can eat. I will be putting my resturaunt skills to the
test tomorrow night. We are going out with some friends. The thing
that I was worried about most was ordering foods that I didn’t know what
was in them, but I just plan on ordering it the way “I” want it.
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skustes Reply:
I agree with Mike. Don’t shut yourself off completely from the social aspect of food. A treat here and there won’t hurt you, but you can also use the opportunity to organize potlucks and provide healthy food for your contribution. I don’t typically advise offering unsolicited advice, but if your friends are interested in what you’re doing, by all means, tell them.
Cheers
Scott
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MY favorite recommendation is to go for mineral water with fresh lime rather than a soda. It’s just as refreshing, and the problem with soda is that once you start drinking it you can’t seem to stop. And that’s a lot of sugar!
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Thanks for the reminder. We really should be cautious of what we feed our body. Everything we put into it will be seen physically and sometimes even emotionally and mentally. Thanks for some healthy facts.
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I love eating out, I usually go for grilled fish, meat , sea food and salads.
Fortunately salads are served here w/o dressing and you add it to your liking, the options are olive oil&vinager OR olive oil&vinager!! That is it , no other options, luckily..
Dont go for fast food and the smell of them when I passed by makes mi sick, I think I had so much of it when student that I am saturated for life.
As far as challenge goes, had a very high calorie day on Monday which included the free meal, ifasted on tuesday and again yesterday a very high calorie day.., not doing so well , puffy eyes again, so forcefully today is another ifast:), must get on track again.
Great to have this challenge for accounting.
Have a nice day all.
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Hi! I have recently discovered your site and already spent hours reading articles
I love all the information here, I already considered myself a healthy eater, but there is room for improvement.
On topic, I am from Europe and here most restaurants do not add a dressing to the salad, the oil and vinegar are on the table. Only the big chain restaurants (mostly from US) have dressings included.
Thanks!
Filis
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I try to avoid eating out 90% of the time because it is so much easier to eat healthy at home. I save eating out for special occasions with friends.
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[...] Some tips for eating out this weekend More Deadlifts. Ain't nothing wrong with that. [...]
I like this rule:
“Ask that bread and chips not be brought to the table.”
And when I’m by myself, that is exactly what I ask the waitperson to do.
But that’s a sure way to make a dining companion mad at me. In that situation, I ask my dinner partner to place the bread or chips out of my reach.
Then, instead of being mad at me, they just figure I’m crazy.
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