Ok, so what are the principles of weight loss?

The basic principles of weight loss, no matter what diet you are on are essentially the same, and essentially very simply:

1. Your body is going to burn fat to provide energy. So, you need to keep your calories low so that your body has to turn to fat reserves as their energy source.




Helpful Resources: Maintaining a Healthy Diet This is an article about eating right when eating out, and how you can eat out and still maintain a healthy diet, as well as save some money. It discusses some of the problems of eating out, and addresses a few solutions. Problem of Weight Gain This is a pretty good list of some things you can do when you eat out to avoid the problems of weight gain, and to make eating out while on a diet easier. Good Choices This is a list of seven things you can do to lose weight while eating out, from avoiding the "super size" to little things like ordering smaller portions. It is a good list of ideas to get thinking about good choices when eating out. Fighting Bulge Eating This site offers a few simple tips for fighting the bulge eating the wrong foods can create. It contains really simple tips to help you when you eat out. The person who writes these suggestions has a PhD. Eat Out and Lose Weight This site offers twenty five tips for how to eat out and lose weight, two things that often seem in opposition to each other. It also has links for other weight loss tips and ways to be healthy. Good Eating Choices at Restaurants This is a simple tip sheet that gives you some good choices for eating at restaurants when on a diet. It offers a list of things to avoid, and a list of words to look for that indicate healthier options. Losing Weight and Dinning Out This is a list of links to sites and articles about how to lose weight, including how you can lose weight when you dine out. There are some specific to weight loss in general, and some to losing weight when eating out. How to Lose Weight This site offers an explanation of weight loss basics, and how to lose weight no matter what kind of diet you choose. It also offers links for finding other tips for energy, weight loss, and more. Calorie Calculator This is a link to a calorie calculator to help you determine how many calories you can have and still lose weight. That way you can use your caloric budget to your best advantage. Weight Loss Basics This is a discussion of weight loss basics. It talks about all of the things that diets say, and how to move past all of the details, and to the real concepts of losing weight.



2. If you want to effectively lose weight (and keep it off) you still have to provide your body with nutrients necessary for function. (This is why the starving yourself diet is not recommended.)

Okay, so the principles basically say one thing: Eat calorie low, nutrient high foods.

What are calorie low, nutrient high foods?

Well, we know what they are not: they are not those cheesy, greasy, bacon topped burgers, or cream filled pasta sauces. So, the first thing you can do when trying to eat out when losing weight is to ignore anything that is obviously going to be high in fat or calories, low in nutrition. This includes steak and potato dinners, cream based pasta sauces, anything with bacon, cheese, etc.

Most calorie low, nutrient high foods are made up of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. So, the second step for losing weight while eating out is to scan the menu, ignoring the obvious no's. What menu items have plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, etc? A salad may be a good choice, or a hearty soup, maybe a tomato based pasta sauce dish. Most rice dishes, or dishes with vegetables are good options. So, narrow down your choices.

Once your choices are narrowed you just need to look for something that you can make a change to and still have it taste good and be filling. The fewer the changes you need to make, the happier your server will be. So, for example, let's say you find a salad that looks really great, but has bacon and cheese on top of it, or a high fat dressing. Order the salad, have them hold the high calorie, low nutrient stuff. If a salad is not your thing, you can order a great stir-fry type dish, and ask for the sauce on the side, as that is where a lot of the sugars, fats, etc. come from. You can replace meat with extra veggies, eliminate cheese, etc.

If you really want to eat out while losing weight, choose restaurants in the following categories:

Thai Restaurants:
Most Thai restaurants offer plenty of dishes filled with veggies, rice, and low fat, low calorie, high nutrient density foods. You can order almost anything on their menu without worrying about it, as long as it is not deep fried.

Chinese Restaurants:
This is a bit of a sticky one because while many Chinese places offer dishes filled with veggies, some are cooked in a lot of oils. So choose dishes that do not have fried foods included, and that are not cooked in oils.

Italian Restaurants:
As long as you avoid cream based pastas, or pastas filled with cheeses, or oily meats (sausage, etc.) an Italian restaurant has a lot of options for people wanting to eat out and lose weight. So, eat a fresh salad, and go light on the dressing, no cheese. Order a tomato based soup or pasta that has whole grain noodles. Avoid lasagna, or cheese stuffed anything.

Here are some basic guidelines to make typical foods when you eat out better options for losing weight:

• Choose grilled meats, not breaded. Most breaded meats have to be fried in oil, or contain something fatty to hold the breading in place, are topped with cheese, etc. Also, breading often catches the grease and oil that drips off the meat when it cooks, and traps it so you still eat it. Grilled means those fats can escape, and you do not have added calories.


• Hold the cheese. Cheese is going to add on the pounds, so do not have it on your sandwich, your salad, etc. It is an easy thing to ask them to hold and can make a huge difference in the size of your waist band.


• Ask for dressings on the side so you can control the portions, or eliminate completely. Or, substitute a high fat dressing, like a ranch, for something better for you, like an Italian made with olive oil.


• Ask for sandwiches to be made without mayo and other fatty dressings.


• Add extra veggies to any dish you order. A side of veggies consumed at the start of the meal often means not having room to eat dessert after, or take that extra bite of fatty cheese and bacon filled mashed potatoes.


• Avoid fries and anything cooked in oil, deep fried, or otherwise.


• Ask for veggies without butter, or get the butter on the side.


• Do not add salt to your food. Most restaurants already add a lot of salt, and salt can cause you to retain water, and thus add to your water weight.


• Choose a fresh fruit dessert, or skip dessert completely.


• Order water, and be sure to drink a lot of it. Most restaurant portions are out of control, and are far more food than you need to eat at one sitting, so make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the meal so that you do not have room to finish all your food. Take it home and finish it later.


• Order the side salad that comes before the meal. This will get something good for you in your body before the meal comes (as long as you do not load up on a fatty dressing) and can help you eat less of the foods that are bad for you.


• Do not go out to eat when you are "starving". If you are already feeling really hungry, the chances of you succumbing to the temptations of high sugar, high fat, high calorie, high animal protein, low nutrient value foods sky rockets.


• Make sure the people you go out with are aware that you are dieting and respect it, so that you are not pressured to order something you shouldn't.


• Decline tasting other people's food. If they are not dieting, and offer you a bite, it can be your downfall. Giving in to a slight temptations makes giving in to a bigger one even harder.


• Choose healthier sides, whether you are at McDonald's or a fine dining restaurant, choosing a fruit or veggie over fries, choosing a baked potato over loaded-mashed, etc. is going to really help you in your quest to lose weight and eat out.

It is possible to eat at a restaurant and still lose weight. You just have to be willing to ask for substitutions or special made dishes that fit your diet and that embrace the principles of weight loss. No matter where you are, or what you are doing, if you consciously focus on only consuming nutrient dense, calorie low foods, chances are you will lose weight. Nutrient dense, calorie low, eliminates processed and refined foods, foods that are high in sugar, fat, etc. and opens the door for better food choices such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods, etc.

If you are serious about weight loss it is also important to talk to your friends and family and make sure that they know that you still want to be able to go out with them and enjoy life, but that it is not going to be possible if they pressure you to order foods that do not fit your diet, or if they tease you about skipping dessert, or ordering that healthy side option over fries. Often times the problem with eating out is not an issue of the foods, but being embarrassed by the company.