How many of us got the lecture as youngsters, “you can’t leave the dinner table until you finish everything on your plate”? While our parents may have thought they were teaching us valuable life lessons, these words actually do more to teach us obesegenic behaviours.
Nowhere is eating everything on your plate as deadly as when it comes to eating out at restaurants. While I love getting value for my money, when it comes to food, getting “great” value for your money is not always a good thing.
My girlfriend and I are currently in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a few days of vacation. Last night, after a few hours of shopping we decided to go out for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Admittedly, neither of us harbors any illusion that an establishment that conjures up imagery of mass production of desserts is a place to go for health food, our meals still managed to shock us.
First of all, for people who haven’t been to The Cheesecake Factory, the menu is absolutely massive. It’s like 20 pages long, so deciding what to eat is quite the chore in and of itself.
After perusing my options, I decided to order a chicken tostada salad. My reasoning was that I didn’t want something super greasy, and this salad sounded reasonable, if a little more substantial than your everyday garden salad.
Stupid me. While I thought I had ordered a meal-sized salad, what the waiter brought to the table would have floored a water buffalo. I’m frankly a little surprised he didn’t throw out his back carrying it. It was honestly so big that even the lady sitting at the table next to us started laughing.
Looks about right…
Now I don’t know why, but I always forget that there is a difference between Canadian and American sized portions. Needless to say, I didn’t eat the whole thing. In fact, I only ate about half of it and got the other half to go.
I don’t know about you, but when a 200 lbs man can’t eat a whole salad, something is wrong. All jokes about my manhood aside, a quick Google search this morning informed me that had I eaten the whole thing, I would have ingested a smooth 1200 kcal!
Luckily, I was under no pretense that this meal would be low calorie, so the ridiculous calorie count of my salad was somewhat expected. However, how would someone without years of study in health and nutrition be expected to know that ordering a salad could be a more energy dense choice than opting for a Big Mac and large fries? Short answer: they can’t.
Sadly, we have created a culture where even when people attempt to make a healthy choice (opt for the salad), then are rewarded with a 1000+ calorie meal. Unbelievable.
Unfortunately, our society is are geared towards wanting good value for our money and we have been taught to eat everything on our plate… which is a terrible combination when it comes to dining out at restaurants. Even when you think you are making a healthy choice, you quite likely aren’t.
Obviously, the easy solution is just to avoid eating out. However, on those occasions when you do find yourself eating out, here are a few simple tips that can help you navigate the meal.
1. Ask for sauces/dressings on the side.
This one at least allows you to control how much you are using on your meal. It’s a simple way to save a couple hundred calories.
2. Don’t drink your calories.
This is always good advice (outside of workout nutrition obviously). However, it’s particularly critical during restaurant dining as restaurant meals always are more calorie dense than meals made at home.
3. Swap rice/fries for extra vegetables.
Most restaurants will let you substitute your starchy carbohydrate for vegetables or a side salad. Couple this option with option 1 for best results.
4. Don’t let them bring the bread basket to the table.
If the bread basket is there, you will eat it. Avoid the temptation and needless extra calories by politely asking your waiter to leave it in the kitchen.
5. Get it to go.
Most restaurant meals are supersized. So if they insist on serving you a massive portion, do the cost effective thing and get half your meal to go. This way you can enjoy your meal, plus have a ready-made lunch for the next day.
Individually, any of these tips will save you anywhere from 150-600 calories, which is nothing to sneeze at. Couple a few of them together and you are well on your way to saving your waistline.
Alright, the sun is coming back out so I think I’ll head out to fill up my vitamin D stores…
Till next time, train hard and eat clean!
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