Eating Healthy Away from Home

Eating healthy is something that has to become a habit in your life. You hear this over and over, but making that transition can be tough. If you're anything like me, eating healthy during the week and at home is the easy part--it's when you leave home and likely hit the weekend that it becomes far more difficult. Either you're out at a restaurant or at somebody's house where choices are different, portions are bigger, and your will power is likely down. So what do you do? How can you keep to a healthy eating plan when you're faced with new challenges and options?

If you're out at a restaurant, think about the way your food is prepared and what you can do to influence it in a healthy way. Look for words like "baked" or "broiled", stay away from "fried" or "breaded". Be careful of sauces too! Just one meal with a cream or cheese sauce can sabotage your hard work for days. Also beware of the seemingly harmless items that are diet traps--tortilla chips with salsa (the chips are often fried and full of fat!), bread basket (it's never just one piece of bread, and the butter can kill you!), and appetizers where you think that just one won't hurt you. I myself am a lover of appetizers, but nine times out of then they are just loaded with fat and calories.

A rule of thumb is to pack up half of your meal whenever possible. Portions are so out of control at restaurants these days, it's no wonder that a good majority of our population is overweight. Eye your entree when it comes to the table and visibly or secretly divide it in half, eat one half and ask to have the rest packaged up before the temptation of a little bite here and there gets to you. If it's there, you'll eat it!

Try to start your meal with a salad or low fat soup (think gazpacho or something broth based) to cut down on your hunger and give you a blast of vegetables to start off with. Another trick is to order a healthy appetizer and a salad as your main entree--you'll still feel like you're eating a full meal but with far less of a portion and likely with far less calories. If you must have dessert, see if fresh fruit is an option or go for something that is sweet but with fewer calories like sorbet. Another option is to split something and savor the sweetness, but with half the calories. You should never deprive yourself of something, but be smart about it and enjoy things in absolute moderation.

If you're going over to somebody's house, try to eat a little snack before you go. Try an apple with peanut butter or low fat cheese with crackers, something to tide you over so you don't gorge yourself on fattening appetizers when you get to your destination. If no healthy options are available, eat light and take small portions of the things that look appealing and somewhat healthy. Otherwise focus your efforts on favorites such as veggies and dip, hummus and pita, or chicken if any are available.

Healthy eating can be simple if you plan ahead and always keep the mindset. Enjoy your food, but be careful not to sabotage your diet over one meal.