Do You Eat Out?

at 4:10 PM

People often ask me whether I eat out. The answer is a resounding yes!! Except I don't usually order exactly what's on the menu.

Steak with mashed potatoes, loaded? No, I don't think so - mashed potato is really a euphemism for lots of table sugar on the side of your plate. Baked potato? Same thing. Your body just metabolizes it as sugar.

If the side dish is rice, it's really the same as mashed potatoes or a baked potato- unless it is wild rice (which is really not rice at all!) or brown rice which would make it more acceptable because it has more fiber.

Spaghetti? Same story... Basically potatoes, rice, and spaghetti all are complex carbs and somehow people have been thinking that these are better for you than dumping table sugar in your mouth. Your glucose levels will rise just the same but just not as fast as eating candy. In the long run THEY ALL CAUSE YOU TO PUT ON THE POUNDS!

OK wait, I'm not trying to be a kill joy, but you need to ask yourself, "what do I want more, the full plate of rice or a slimmer body?" It is all about making choices and what is more important to YOU.

The first step in this battle is to go ahead and order something from the menu but... DON'T EAT THE WHOLE THING. This skill requires a little practice. If you absolutely can't eat only part of your food, tell your waiter to bring a container so you can put away a portion of your plate before you start your meal so it's not even on your plate. Welcome to portion control.

Oh, and if you are drinking alcohol your portion just got smaller. So, short of ordering something off the menu, which I will discuss soon, getting a take-out container and subtracting food off your plate is the best way to decrease calories from your meal.