Busy Social Life Ruining Your Diet?

If you are a person with an active social life then you may find it impossible to stick to any ‘diet plan’.  Following a new eating program is difficult in an ideal situation and even harder when you eat out often.  The biggest hurdle people have is getting over the feeling of guilt when they choose to indulge.  Often times you will eat a bad meal or two and this is enough to abandon your diet altogether.  I am obviously not perfect, and this happens to me as well, but I have learned a few tricks to navigate a restaurant menu and leave the feeling of guilt behind!  In this post I will give you 5 tips to keep you on track when dining out. 

[Making healthy choices doesn't have to be stressful.  Check out the 5 tips for restaurant success later in this post]

Make the Best Choice When Dining Out

Making healthy choices is the key to maintaining a healthy body weight and achieving your weight loss goals.  Making a good choice at a restaurant isn’t always easy and can be complicated depending on the type of diet you follow.  I am not suggesting that the Paleo diet is a superior way of eating (although following it’s principles helps me), but if you follow the guidelines of this diet when eating out then you will usually end up making a sound decision that won’t compromise your weight loss efforts.

What are the Paleo Principles?Basically;

• No grains (bread)
• No sugar
• No dairy
• No processed foods

If the menu offers food that fits these principles than making a good choice is simple. 

What if you can’t find a menu item that fits your diet plan perfectly?

Nothing is perfect, so expect this scenario more often than not.  If the perfect food does not exist than don’t give in and throw caution to the wind by ordering the worst thing on the menu and rationalize that nothing on the menu fits your diet’s principles.   This internal dialogue will cause you to question your diet, conclude that it is too restrictive, and usually lead to noncompliance.   

Like many things in life, the best choice doesn’t have to be the perfect choice!

Here are 5 tips I use when ordering food at a restaurant

1. Order a regular meal (burger, steak etc) but ditch the bread
2. Consider breakfast options at dinner (omelets can be interesting, and pack a strong nutritional punch)
3. Order a salad, with low sugar dressing to accompany your main dish (will aid in slower release of glucose in the body, keeps blood sugar level low, keeps insulin at bay)
4. Order an appetizer as your main course (shrimp is one of my favourites, remember it doesn’t have to be perfect, just the best option)
5. Avoid liquid calories (most important!!!!, Diet Soda and Water are your friends)

If you can get through dinner with you friends by using these tips, eating out will not cripple your weight loss progress.  I have used these tips to keep my weight in line while on vacation or when I find that our social engagements have me eating out too often. I do follow the Primal/Paleo diet most of the time, but choosing the right foods when eating out really gives me confidence and settles my feelings of guilt!  Hopefully you can realize the benefits that eating out healthy can provide. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

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