How to make healthy choices at restaurants: Nine tips
Masterfile
See fries in treadmill terms
Did you know you'd have to walk 5 km (or for at least 30 minutes) just to burn off a small order of fries? Puts it into perspective, doesn't it? If you must indulge, make it count. Ask for less salt and eat them one by one. Better yet, share the serving with a friend. And always skip the extra-value combo — your waistline will thank you!
Salad on a fork
Dress your fork, not your salad. Restaurants may add as much as four tablespoons of dressing to takeout salad.
Fast fix: "Order dressing on the side," says cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, author of The Fast Food Diet. "Dip your fork to get the flavour, take a bite of salad, then dip it again."
Get more salad dressing tips here.
Make olive oil your go-to
Good news: You don't need to toss the roll that came with your meal — just dunk it in olive oil. Research from the University of Illinois found this healthy fat reduces both the amount of bread you eat and the number of calories you consume. Even olive oil dippers who drenched their bread still ate less (by almost a quarter) than butter lovers.
Order the soup of the day
Having a bowl of soup before the main course can reduce your total caloric intake by 20 percent, say researchers from Penn State University. It's a phenomenon they call "volumetrics," where hunger is satisfied by volume (in this case, clear vegetables or chick broth) instead of extra calories.
Outsmart portion distortion
Turns out even the pros misjudge portion sizes. When dietitians were presented with restaurant servings of everything from lasagna and salad to burgers with onion rings, they misjudged the calorie content by up to 700 calories and the amount of fat by 57 grams. (With steak and burgers, they were off by an average of 600 calories!) Avoid this pitfall by checking calorie counts online before ordering.
Channel your inner child
If you're worried about calories, get into the habit of ordering half portions or a child's meal, says Sinatra. "It's usually the correct amount of food." And the smaller size is often all you need to feel satisfied and to keep from absent-mindedly eating too much.
Try it today: Once you get home, transfer your serving to a regular dinner plate (or salad plate!), instead of eating it right out of the jumbo container. In today's fast food industry, portion sizes are sometimes a whopping 250 percent larger than healthy servings.
Cash in on colourful foods
Scroll over to the à la carte part of the menu and order an extra serving or two of bright vegetables. "Colourful veggies are the next best thing to a miracle pill when it comes to weight loss," says Sinatra.
Add your own side dishes
Eat fewer bites of a rich main dish by piling on healthy food from your own fridge. "Eating takeout at home gives you the option of serving up healthier side dishes such as green salad or steamed vegetables," says Sinatra.
Treat yourself
It's okay to give in to your cravings every once in a while. In fact, researchers from the University of Toronto found that women who routinely deprive themselves of the foods they love actually want them more — and as a result of resisting, they end up overeating.
Try it today: Order that special treat once a month and savour every bite!
Click here for more healthy diet advice.
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