Cheat When You Eat

Fear not, healthy eaters! Eating out doesn’t always mean you’ll devour the fatty fast foods and buttery resto dishes. There are ways to keep your low-cal diet when eating out with friends or family.

Dress Light
Most people think that ordering a salad instead of an entrée will help them lose weight. It’s not always true. Some salads have double the calories of a rice meal. The secret is in the dressing. According to Dr. Stephen Sinatra of The Fast Food Diet, if you’re ordering a salad, stay away from mayo-filled dressings such as ranch or thousand island. Pick light dressings such as vinaigrette over creamy dressings and it will save you about 130 calories. Also be wary of the toppings—choose grilled chicken instead of breaded fried chicken.

Share The Wealth
A lot of great restaurants serve huge portions, causing us to overindulge. The next time you eat out, ask your other health-conscious friend or family member to split a meal with you. If you’re in a party of three or more, then do the math. Four or five people can share three entrées. A huge pizza shared by three makes good sense; forcing a good-for-two entrée down one person’s stomach is bad.

Stop At The Red Light
Many Filipinos grew up with this old school mantra: “Finish your food or you’ll end up eating the waste in Purgatory.” Once and for all, give it a rest! Stop forcing yourself to eat the entire plate if you’re already full. Finish what you can and stop as soon as your tummy tells you it’s had its fill. Forcing yourself to eat more than you can handle will train your system to consume and store more food, hence the excess pounds. The next time someone bullies you with the “It’s a sin not to finish your food” bit, tell him/her casually: “Well, gluttony is a bigger sin.”

Undress Your Food
When eating in fast food joints like Burger King, opt for the grilled chicken sandwich instead of the one that’s breaded and fried. Also, don’t be ashamed to cut down on the condiments. Scrape off the excess mayo from your sandwich. Request to have your sauces or dressings served in a separate container so that you can control the amount you put on your food.

Just Desserts
If you have a sweet tooth, don’t punish yourself by banishing desserts. “For desserts, you have to be very diligent,” says Penny Theron of ezinearticles.com. “Your best bet is always a side of fruit,” she suggests. For cool treats, go for low-fat sorbets and yogurts. Also check out the menu descriptions. A lot of modern restaurants offer low-cal desserts for the healthy eaters. Yes, you can have your cake and eat it, too.