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Steve Reeve, MGBT, MICHT View Entire Blog

Weight Loss Maintenance Tips Part 3 - Eating Out

11/6/2012
al Covo offer Nutritional Therapy and also Weight Loss Programmes
Here is part 3 of my set of tips to maintain weight once you have reached your target and to stop you yo-yoing back.

4. Eating out
- How often do you eat out or get a take-away?
- Visit the restaurant online beforehand and see the menu – it gives you time to consider the best choice. Go for lean ham, chicken melon and simply prepared seafood. Pates, fried mushrooms and cheeses, pastries, chips and fried rice are normally high in fat. Plain rice, boiled and baked potatoes (no butter) are better choices.
- Ask the chef how it is cooked (grilled or fried) or the cut of meat – avoid fatty and fried foods. Soups are great but may include lots of cream or oil.
- Think about the Eatwell Plate and choose good ratio-proportioned dishes particularly with respect to veg/fruit, dairy, fat, meats and sugars. Eg a salad is usually a great ratio.
- Think about portion sizes - often a starter is better sized than a main.
- Think about sharing dishes with other diners if portions are large.
- Choose side salad or unglazed vegetables to help fill you up.
- Avoid all you can eat buffets – tempting your greatest willpower.
- Ask for dressings on the side.
- Avoid ‘creamy’ sauces and go for ‘tomato-based’ instead.
- Ask the chef if they can prepare a meal or sauce especially for you, you can even take the ingredients or sauce in beforehand – you’ll be surprised how many chefs enjoy meeting an interested and educated diner!
- Have a Cambridge bar or shake, or fruit, before you go to fill you up.
- Go for vegetable crudites rather than muching on crisps or fried foods, or bread and butter.
- Don’t starve yourself before a big blow out – it works the wrong way and you eat/drink more than you want to during your blow out!
- Eat slower.
- Take things away/back home e.g. eat half a pizza and take half home.
- If you’re full, go for a coffee or herbal tea rather than a dessert.
- Sorbets and fruit salads are low fat dessert options. Avoid big spoonfuls of cream, custard and Greek yoghurt.
- Watch alcohol intake – good intentions dissolve in alcohol! Add a side glass of water and a diet mixer to make it last longer, e.g. bitter diet shandy or wine spritzer.