Is Eating Out Sabatouging Your Health?

We all live in a very fast paced, 24/7 kind of world which makes eating healthy very difficult at best. In fact, knowing what to eat and when are not as hard as learning how to make healthy, budget conscious meals in a short amount of time. This becomes more of a balancing act dependant upon how many "balls" one is juggling at once, i.e., kids, jobs, house, etc., you get my drift.The purpose of this blog article is not to shame you for eating out more than you eat at home. My purpose is to merely show you some potential consequences to your health if you continue to eat at restaurants and fast food venues more than you eat at home. One does not always realize that by making the choice to eat out several times per week, they may definitely be influencing their weight in a negative way. In fact, the more one eats out, the harder it can be to manage one's weight. The main reason being that restaurants, fast food and otherwise, are in the business of making money and to do this, they serve super size portions with not so healthy of ingredients. Even healthier "fast" food restaurants, such as: Chipoltle, Panera, etc.,  while utilizing some organic ingredients in their menu, still serve huge portions, especially Chipoltle, with their super baby sized burrito! At least Panera posts the caloric value of all of their meals right up on the wall behind the registers! I noticed this while in line one day waiting to order. The people in back of me asked me if I was o.k. as they must have thought I was ill due to my exasperated tones while looking at my "normal" menu selection's caloric value. My normal selection, the Sierra Turkey, had a grand whopping total of 900 plus calories, yes, 900!~ So, needless to say, I chose another sandwich with half the calories. I really appreciate that this chain had the frame of mind to post calories as I do believe it influences one's decision most of the time. There are options for people who do not want to stop eating out the majority of the time. One such option is: www.eatthisnotthatbook.com. I stumbled across the very existence of this book while reading my husband's Men's Health magazine. Each month, they have a "blurb" about what one should choose to eat while out and about vs. the full fat option. Another great resource is: HealthyDiningFinder.com and the Calorie King book which lists the caloric value of several fast food and sit down restaurant options. What can you do when you are in the establishment and do not want to go home to an empty refrigerator? The following are some common sense tips that may not be so common: 1. Consider reducing how much you are eating out and please, please take a cooking class (I don't give up so easy!), 2. Do not skimp on meals during the day in order to gorge on calories in the restaurant later in the evening. 3. Only drink water, with lemon, before the meal as many alcoholic drinks and soda are high calorie. On top of that, alcohol tends to lower inhibitions regarding menu choices, making it easier to eat more than one realizes. 4. Eat only a main course, not appetizers and desert on top of it. 5. Consider splitting an entree and/or bringing home part of your meal for lunch the following day.
Since it is unfair to think one will never go out to eat, I hope the above suggestions help you when you do go out. There are many cookbooks available for the so called beginner to explore nutritious home cooked options. You do not have to be Julia Child to cook, and remember, for the time pinched, which would be all of us, consider adding a crock pot to your selection of kitchen appliances. Bon Appetite!