EAT OUT and still drop fat?

So, you’re on a ‘diet’?

That means no life right?

You tell your friends who are having a nice meal that you can’t eat out because you’re on a diet and trying to lose weight.

You might not even do that; I’ve heard all manner of reasons for avoiding situation like this from ‘I’m on antibiotics’ to ‘the dog is ill’.

Yup it’s true, but it DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS.

While it can be quite tough socialising while you’re trying to drop some excess bodyfat there are some things you can do, which means you can get lean AND still have a life!

I LOVE eating out, I eat out once a week AT LEAST. (Not sure whether that’s because I hate doing dishes)

Take this weekend for example, my calendar was CRAMMED!

It was my girlfriends birthday on Friday night and she wanted to go for a meal somewhere I’d never been before, Saturday and Sunday we were going to be in Leeds to celebrate her passing her solicitor exams (they probably aren’t called that but she wont be reading this- so its all good  ).

I’m in a pretty critical phase of my target bodyfat percentage of 6-7% therefore I knew I had to be prepared.

Those of you, who know me, know that I’m a big fan of ‘strategic’ cheat meals. That’s eating right for (let me do my maths here. 6 meals a day x 7 days =42 meals – 1 cheat meal) 41 meals a week and eating WHATEVER the hell I want for this 1 meal (oh and ‘missed’ meals count as a bad meal too).

That was 1 meal taken care of (I chose a visit to Gourmet Burger Kitchen, if you must know ;-))

Now, I made sure I packed some nuts, fruit, boiled eggs and some protein powder with me for snacking on.

So without beating around the bush and assuming you REALLY, REALLY want results before the summer hits us and you suddenly have to put summer clothes on here are my top tips on being prepared and staying on track when eating out when it’s NOT a cheat meal.

1) Choose your restaurant carefully
I recommend going Italian. Italian restaurants ALWAYS have a healthy option- without even knowing it. More on that later.

2) Check out the Menu in advance
This is easy, most restaurants have websites now. If not, ask to look at the menu a few days in advance or even better, call them and ask if they can post you one.

3) Remind yourself of your ‘end goal’ before you leave the house.
Want to look incredible on the beach? Want 6 pack abs? Wanna be a jean size smaller? Sorry but a blow-out on the dessert menu just aint gonna cut it.

Use this for ammo “every single decision I make, every tiny decision, takes me either closer or further away from the body I desire. Therefore EVERYTHING I CHOOSE to eat and drink will either make me fatter or leaner”

Sure, a few chips with your steak wont kill you, but its hardly taking you closer to your beach body is it?

4) Drink a BIG glass of water before you leave the house
This will not only hydrate you but will also make you feel a little fuller so you don’t go too wild on….

5) Avoid the bread, AT ALL COSTS, that’s- AVOID THE BREAD AT ALL COSTS
Bread makes you fat- simple as that. No explanation required. Eat bread- stay the same. Yes that INCLUDES brown and wholemeal bread. Unless you’re an athlete!

6) You booze, you lose.
Another easy one. Alcohol is a useless nutrient, a liquid sugar that the body has no use for other than to store it as fat ( oh and give you beer goggles! ). Choose water or sparkling water if you prefer something fizzy.

7) To start or not to start?
If available choose a salad without a high calorie dressing, oil and balsamic are awesome, lemon juice is even better. Most restaurants do a tomato and red onion salad, or a Greek salad. You could also go for something like asparagus tips with butter (butter does have a fair few calories in, but most of them you can use). If I can’t find a suitable starter I just stock up on

8) Side orders
Ordering side orders isn’t always for the greedy amongst us. I use it VERY SNEAKILY. I order extra veg, sometimes asparagus, red onion salad, garlic sautéed spinach or something similar (oh and not all of them)

9) Choose a ‘meat and veg’ meal
You KNOW to stay away from pasta and pizza right? Pasta and pizza are both GUARANTEED to make you gain bodyfat- especially in the love handle area- Muffin top? That’s down to your carbohydrate intake. No question.

Instead check out the steak any cut will do for me (the leaner the better of course, check out the chicken options, the restaurant I went to on Friday had some awesome cod, salmon and Tuna steak options (I chose the tuna steak with salsa, pic above).
Choose the veg/salad over the chips! Come on, this is simple right!?!

10) Skip dessert
Dessert is not a necessity, it’s a bad habit. Break it. If you must choose something to ‘finish off’ your meal, choose a nice black coffee

11) Oh and one last tip as you WILL have a friend that will say….

“Go on, live a little” or “just have one”

if you have ‘friends’ like this then you MUST check out this article- http://personaltrainernortheast.blogspot.com/2009/02/are-your-friends-making-you-fat.html

So there you have it, you can have your social life back now!