I found out the hard way that eating out healthy is possible, but it’s a challenge. One of the biggest obstacles I have faced in my quest to get healthy and fit is eating out. Most of the time, I don’t have time to pack a lunch and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t.
I like to socialize with my coworkers over lunch every day, and since they go out to meals, I do too. For dinner, I go out with my wife at least three times a week.
Between all that, I’m eating out almost as many meals as I’m staying in every week. Needless to say, it makes resisting temptation and planning my meals a bit more difficult.
I know that the strategies that help one person eat healthy will not necessarily help another, but there are certain things that have worked for me. When I first started trying to eat out healthy, I figured that I could go to all my old haunts.
I found, however, that I consistently gave into temptation. It was just too hard to say no to a meaty, greasy pizza or calzone, or a delicate, tender steak. For the first month, all I managed to do was lie to myself that I was eating out healthy.
Finally, I realized that I had to try some different restaurants that offered choices more in line with my diet. I started eating at vegan and vegetarian restaurants where I had no choice but to eat a relatively healthy meal. Because I was eating most of my main meals at these restaurants, it drastically cut my intake of meat. Before long, I was shedding pounds and feeling better than I had in a while.
After I had gotten the knack for eating out healthy, I decided to try reintroducing some of my old restaurants while making more healthy choices. I would go out for Italian but, instead of having a pasta dish appetizer and a big steak for dinner, I would have a light pasta as my entire dinner.
Other times, I would eat a big Caesar salad or a Greek village salad for a meal. I kept the vegetarian restaurants in my rotation. I found out that I really liked them, and they also helped me with healthy eating; when I was feeling tempted, I would go to a vegetarian restaurant where I wouldn’t be able to break down and order a steak even if I wanted to.
All in all, my experiment has been a success. Eating out healthy is possible if you are realistic with yourself and avoid temptation until you get a handle on your diet.
Related Articles:
- Balanced Healthy Diet: The Basics Of Healthy Eating (behealthybuzz.com)
Filed under: Healthy Foods, Healthy Habits, Healthy Tips Tagged: | eat healthy, eating out healthy, healthy choices, healthy eating, vegetarian restaurants