Want to get takeaway or eat out, without sabotaging your health and fitness progress, AND still enjoy your food?
Here are the 5 biggest impact ways to do so:
1. Prioritize veggies.
Try to look for and choose a dish with loads of veggies. This doesn’t mean you have to always order the salad any time you eat out. But if you aren’t able to remember the last time you had one, it might be a good idea.
Maybe you order an entree of steamed veg, to come out first. Or ask for greens instead of potatoes. Just try to think of how much veg is in the overall meal – so for example, choosing a pumpkin or eggplant dish is going to be healthier than a pasta carbonara.
2. Split it or pack it.
Most restaurants and takeaway foods are large servings. Larger than what we’d normally eat, anyway. So pack some away before you tuck in, or leave enough to take a ‘doggy bag’ home. Chances are, you can get two meals out of one restaurant serving. Or maybe you can split a meal? Just ask for a second plate, and viola. Some people also leave food on their plates, but I don’t like wasting food as I was brought up to always finish my plate… Or have one of my brothers finish it haha.
3. Minimize fried foods.
Deep fried. Battered. Pan fried. Not exactly the epitome of health. And chances are, the extra oil in your food is going to make that one meal the caloric/energetic equivalent of 2 or 3 home cooked meals. Eeek.
Try to avoid ordering deep fried takeaway food. It’s well known that fried food is not great for our health, and since oils are so fatty, this means your meal will be super high in cals. Which brings me to my next point…
4. Minimize oils, fats and creamy sauces.
Creamy. Cheesy. Buttered. It’s all extra calories that are gonna stack up on your waistline, or worse, in your arteries. Ouch.
Did you know that fat has more than double the amount of calories compared to carbs and protein? This means you can eat TWO times the amount of carbs (or protein), compared to fat, for the same cals. And I don’t know about you, but I like to eat!
Or said another way, you have to work DOUBLE the amount of time to work off avocado compared to toast.
PS. Yes, avocado isn’t such a great choice if you’re looking to lose weight…
5. Work the meal into your daily calories/macros/intake, and enjoy the heck out of it!
If you track your calories or macros, you can work the meal into your daily intake and reduce the size of your meals that day – just don’t forget to log oils and butters…
Or maybe you’re reading the menu and light up at the sound of an eggplant parmi, like me? Order it and enjoy the heck out of it!
If you’re eating out frequently, maybe look at making time for an extra walk, or fill up on a greens smoothie the next morning for brekky.
This isn’t about restricting and controlling, but rather about loving ourselves and choosing what makes us feel good.
After all, one meal isn’t going to derail your progress or cause weight gain or illness, but if takeaway is becoming a 3x a week thing, you may need to make some changes.
Enjoy your food, and make choices that serve you and your health.
Deanna. X
