Changing your way of eating is stressful. Doing new menus, changing your grocery shopping habits and talking with your family about the benefits they’ll experience are all challenges you’ll face when you change eating habits. And another one is how to keep within the guidelines you’ve set for yourself to eat a low carb diet while dining out.
Eating out can sometimes feel like a real nightmare. Fortunately, it is easy to adapt foods from almost any area of the world and at any restaurant to suit a low carb nutritional plan. In fact, eating low carb has become so popular that many of the larger chains now include the carb counts on their low carb offerings to make things easier for their customers.
Let’s start out with three things you can do before you even walk into the restaurant. First, remember to know what you can and can’t eat to stay within your guidelines.
Second, plan ahead! You know the restaurant and the type of food they serve. Plan for the foods you’ll eat and don’t get distracted or tempted when you get there. And third – stick to it! Your success is dictated by how well you’ll stick to your resolution to eat foods that won’t spike your blood sugar.
Before going out, check out the menu of the restaurant you’re planning to eat at. Most have their menus online. You can plan your meal before you even walk in the door and are assaulted by the smells of warm bread and baking potatoes. Your plan will help to steady your resolve to eat better.
You have quite a bit of flexibility in the types of foods you can eat at a restaurant. Watch for menu options that include meats that are not breaded, battered or fried. Your meal may include potatoes but most restaurants will substitute their steamed or grilled vegetables for the potatoes.
Are you craving that juicy burger? Go ahead and have it – but without the bun. Replace the fries with vegetables or yogurt. Include a dinner salad and hold the croutons.
You might feel it’s important to look ‘normal’ to the friends and family you are eating with, but today more people are eating just the way that you do. And if you continue to feel like you aren’t like others, remember that the more healthy foods and diet you are following will help you to enjoy a more healthy life.
The foods you may be tempted to eat at the restaurant are only on your lips for moments. That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you feel you have cheated, or your plummeting blood sugar a couple of hours later, will last much longer.
Resources:
Atkins: Love Eating Out? Love This!
http://www.atkins.com/Science/Articles—Library/Atkins-Lifestyle-(1)/Love-Eating-Out-Love-This!.aspx
LowCarbFriends: Eating Out on a Low Carb High Protein Diet
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/atkins-nutritional-approach/802532-eating-out-low-carb-high-protein-diet.html
Women’s Health: Order Smart
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/low-carb-restaurant-orders#.
She Knows: Low Carb Dining Tips
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/4586/low-carb-tips-for-dining-out
Livin La Vida Low Carb: How to Eat Low Carb at your Favorite Casual Dining Restaurants
http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/how-to-eat-low-carb-at-your-favorite-casual-dining-restaurants/2191
Chow: Eating Low Carb at Chain Restos
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/778777
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