2. Skip the Bread and Rolls. Most
family restaurants still serve a bread basket with your meal. Unless
it's a fresh baked loaf or some really special bread, just skip it. You
don't need to fill up on ordinary bread when you're paying good money
for a meal. Just ask for it to be taken away if you can't resist, but
frankly, you're an adult, you can resist, if you want to. You can simply
choose not to put a roll on your plate. Try it, just once and see if you
don't walk out of that restaurant feeling strangely powerful.
If you can't skip the rolls, at least skip the butter. That's right. Eat
it plain. Whole grain bread is delicious all by itself.
3. Stop Ordering Drinks.
Soft drinks are a huge cash cow for restaurants. For pennies they
sell you a squirt of syrup and carbonated water and act like they're
doing you a big favor by only charging you $1.29 for a giant 64 ounce
soda. Start saving those dollars. Especially if you're ordering "to go"
skip the drink. If you're eating it there, ask for water, or at least
switch to diet drinks. Never drink "fat pop."
4. Slow Down You Eat Too Fast!
What's the rush? Take your time, savor the moment, enjoy the
flavors. A big part of getting in touch with your hunger signals and
learning to eat what really will satisfy is learning to recognize the
subtle signs of hunger. You won't know when you're approaching
satisfaction if you've gobbled everything down in five minutes. Take a
bite then notice how many times do you chew before you start wanting to
swallow? Once, twice? Make an effort to chew your food and your body
will be much happier. A very large part of digestion begins in your
mouth, not to mention you'll get much more pleasure if you let the food
linger.
5. Trim Visible Fat and Skin. I
know, you really love the skin--of course you do, it tastes good, it
should, it's pure fat. Do you want to get leaner, or do you want to eat
fat? You choose. I never eat chicken skin and never eat the visible fat
hanging off a steak, good taste or no. You have to decide what you want
more, the second's worth of pleasure of a yummy taste, or a lifetime of
carrying around an extra 40 lbs? I know this is counter to the low carb
crowd's belief that fat is good, carbs are evil, but I've maintained an
80 pound weight loss for 18 years without dieting and I don't eat
visible fat or skin.
Enough said.
6. Ask for a Doggie Bag at the Beginning of Meal. When the food
is served, immediately portion off some to take home for tomorrow. Most
restaurants in the US serve way too much. There is no law you have to
eat it all. Do this frequently and soon you'll find you're getting an
extra lunch out of that meal.
7. Read Restaurant Confidential by Michael F. Jacobson and Jayne Hurley,
and start checking out how many calories you're really eating. If you
eat out frequently and you carry extra weight, then that's
probably the problem rightthere. This little book can help you realize
why it seems you don't eat that much yet you can't lose any weight.
Hardees recently introduced a new burger that clocks in at just under
1200 calories all by itself! Now that's frightening.
If you really want to get a handle on
your weight problem, look first to where you eat, second at what you
eat, and third how much you eat. Where, What and How Much? Try these
steps choosing one tip at a time, and see how easily you can take some
of the calories out of restaurant food.
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