What to eat when you eat out?

Another post which people living away from home and working professionals can relate to- eating out frequently.

Office dinners and lunches, our Sunday brunches, mid-week break from work, and we just need a reason to be out and eat ! I won’t deny that I eat out at least 3 times a week, and this is excluding having lunch in college. Most of us rely on outside food heavily. So the question here is, how do we eat out and not gain weight? What used to happen with me is that after a month or so my jeans would be tight and I would recall all those blueberry cheesecakes and brownies and pizzas I consumed.

The good news is that you can eat out as often as you like. The key to eating out is finding healthy alternatives and modification.

What I mean by finding healthy alternatives is replacing your food with better quality and nutritious food. Suppose you order a pizza or a burger whenever you go out. Now, how about replacing that with a steak instead? Imagine a huge piece of chicken breast marinated with fresh ingredients with a sauce of your choice infused with some herbs and spices? Also, a piece of garlic bread and some rice and maybe grilled vegetables added to the dish. Now compare this to a pizza- what is it? A thick maida (flour) base + ketchup + fattening cheese+ barely any vegetables and/or meat.

So this way, compare the quality of what you are feeding yourself. Its your body and it deserves the best, not a garbage can or junk where you are throwing all kinds of things . You absolutely have to provide it with the essential nutrition that it needs. You need a good amount carbs, protein and fats (macros) daily, what is junk food giving you here? Only fat from cheese and carbs, that too the unhealthy kind.

Start replacing your food with better food. I know it sounds hard, but try it for two weeks and you’ll know what I mean. Better food doesn’t only do good to your body but also makes you feel better and happier. You also reach your point of satiety earlier and for longer, which is important when it comes to losing weight.

Foods you can replace junk with- steaks, sizzlers, grilled dishes, salads, and SO much more! There are so many nutritious dishes left untasted. Anything you see which is not fried or too creamy and the ingredients are healthy, thats good to go for.

Oh and also, abstain from alcohol as much as possible (click here to know why).

Coming to our second part, modification is self explanatory. Modify your food wherever you go. Some examples:

• less oil
• no sour/whip cream
• brown bread instead of white
• no cheese
• no chocolate sauce and ice cream (in drinks)
• less sugar in drinks (3tbsp sugar is so harmful!)
• egg whites only (for omelettes)

These tiny modifications makes a huge difference.

A cold coffee without ice cream, chocolate sauce and whip cream would save you around 200 calories! Any dish cooked in less butter and oil is beneficial. Hence, always remember to modify your dishes to make them the healthiest possible. Modifications save you from a lot of calories you’ll consume otherwise.

I hope this helped and now you know what to eat when you’re out and not feel guilty. My Instagram has pictures of some yummy healthy food you might want to see 🙂

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