When you keep a diet, it is easier to cope with temptations when they do not arise. But some needs may confront you with them face to face. Imagine that you do on a date to a good expensive restaurant. It’s indecent to just sit there and drink coffee in such an atmosphere!
Or: you celebrate the birthday of a friend in a cafe. What to do? Sitting in a corner and chewing tomatoes? In general, the tactics of eating behavior in this situation can turn into a real torture and take your thoughts more seriously than choosing a dress or make-up. Here are some simple tips from Canadian Pharmacy that will help you understand all the restaurant nuances and choose the safest menu for your figure.
Healthy eating in a restaurant
Choosing a place
If you choose a restaurant, pay attention to places specializing in national cuisine. This way you narrow the scope of the possible menu and imagine what you will be offered to eat. The healthiest cuisines are Japanese or Spanish, but the most harmful and heavy food “lives” in sports bars, French and German restaurants. Pay attention to the presence of the open space area in the restaurant. Studies have shown that a person eats more indoors.
The main thing is to have a snack
Remember, you mother forbade eating cookies and sweets before lunch, so as not to spoil the appetite? You can still use her advice, just the opposite. Before you leave the house, eat 40 g of nuts or a sandwich with chicken fillet, vegetables, and whole grain bread. The energy value of such a “snack” is about 200 kilocalories, but when you arrive at your destination, cakes, pies, fatty meat and other delights will not tempt you so much.
Drink wisely!
First of all, never drink on an empty stomach. Getting into your stomach, the fluid dulls the body’s ability to experience a sense of satiety, and your chances to overeat are doubled.
Secondly, carefully choose the alcoholic component of your dinner. The safest ingredients are vodka and tonic, tequila and citrus liqueur (dark liqueurs tend to contain more sugar than light liquors). Evening norm is no more than 2 cocktails (300-350 ml): they are high in calories and if you have a hangover in the morning, it will be much more difficult to cope with the appetite.
You can replace the cocktails with wine. According to the online pharmacy, this drink is useful for the cardiovascular, sexual and endocrine systems. However, do not drink too much: each glass contains about 100 kilocalories, although dry wine is slightly less caloric than sweet.
And do not forget to drink water together with alcohol! Drink a glass of mineral water before each cocktail to make up for the loss of moisture (alcohol contributes to dehydration) and fill the stomach with the least harmful liquid, and do not stuff it with food.
Share soup with a friend
If you still ordered something heavy – a meat dish with garnish, casserole, fish, pasta and so on – try to follow the principle “try everything, do not eat anything.” This way will not eat much. Another method is always to leave the dish half-eaten.
The wrong way is to order some dietary meat or vegetables. When you come home, you surely make up for all uneaten dishes at the expense of your own refrigerator.
Do not refuse dessert
The best variant of dessert is fruit salad. If you want something more interesting, order a cake with a decent amount of cream and fruits: eat the cream, and refuse biscuit. Sweet will provoke a feeling of satiety and “inform” your body that the meal is over.
Walk after the dinner
Going on a date, offer your partner to continue the evening after the restaurant in the bowling club or just go for a walk to spend all the calories eaten. After a business meeting, walk to the nearest metro station, instead of going by taxi or bus. And talk while eating. The more you are engaged in conversation, the less time you will eat.
6 Healthy Cuisines From Around the World
Knowing the small tricks of Italian, Chinese and other cuisines, you can spend an unforgettable evening, tasting delicious dishes without harm to your waist.
In an Italian restaurant
Start with vegetable soup-mashed potatoes. For example, with tomato. If you want to order a pizza, choose a better vegetarian option. The best variant is pizza margarita. Do not order dishes with cream sauces, choose simple tomato.
In a Chinese restaurant
Start with the soup. It only has 70 calories per serving. It will help you cope with the first attack of hunger and you will not overeat. Peking duck will be a better alternative to all the rest of the roast meat: it contains less fat. Drink green or jasmine tea.
In a Greek restaurant
Try gyros from a bird and refuse pork. The latter is very oily and heavy food. The perfect snack is vegetables, grilled: they satisfy hunger with a smaller “influx” of calories.
In a Spanish restaurant
Do not order Sangria – too much sugar. A glass of red wine is much better. Also, try tortilla Espanola (casserole from potatoes with eggs) and refuse Potatis Bravas (fried potatoes in garlic creamy sauce).
In a German restaurant
Breaded schnitzel (200g) contains 400 calories. A steak of the same weight – only 250. For the garnish, choose boiled or baked potatoes, they contain only 70 calories.
In a Russian restaurant
Start with a vegetable soup. If you want to order meat dishes, choose Moscow cutlets (170 calories per serving) or poultry dishes. Stuffed cabbage contain too many calories – 500 calories per serving! But the best option is the fish. The lowest calorie garnish is stewed cabbage (130 calories per serving).
Pelmeni contains 350 calories per 250 grams, sour cream – 400 kcal / 150 g, pancakes with cottage cheese and sour cream – 200 kcal / 150 g.
Now you know how to eat healthy in a restaurant. Make a smart choice and know your measure!