While I was around 13 years old, I read an article in a magazine on how to eat when you’re out and about to keep slim.
They recommended having a salad and then ordering “The SORBET” for dessert. That sorbet has simply stayed with me all these years. Who buys sorbet?
That is a heinous idea.
But what can you do if you want to reduce weight, have fun, and be social without eating sorbet for dessert?
The fact is that dining out can (and, in my opinion, should) be part of a healthy lifestyle, as long as you don’t allow it to become a crazy bingeing party.
HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT IT?
It’s rather simple. You must make healthy decisions that you are satisfied with on a daily basis. This then feeds into a habit of always choosing the best decision for the situation at hand.
When you make the best decision for the situation most of the time, you stop feeling deprived and guilty, and you stop bingeing and overeating (a common reason for not losing weight).
Let’s take a deeper look now.
STEP ONE: USE YOUR COMMON SENSE
It is not difficult to eat healthily. People make it seem that way, but it is really fairly easy.
Most individuals are aware that fruits and vegetables are beneficial to our health. Gone are the days when this well-kept secret was exclusively available to the flat-bellied affluent and famous.
What more can we say?
The devil is sugar.
Fried foods are unhealthy for us.
Processed foods are unhealthy for us.
Excessive consumption of red meat is harmful to our health.
Excessive eating is harmful to our health.
Whole foods are beneficial to our health (whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds)
All of this is plain sense.
True, certain nutritious meals are better for you than others, but if you’re honest, you probably don’t desire a green smoothie or a kale salad while you’re out and about.
Here are a few non-sucky real-life alternatives:
Instead of a thick-crust pizza with salami, try a thin-crust pizza with tomatoes and basil, or a wrap instead of a burger. a nice old main meal salad sushi anything Asian that isn’t fried (I adore Thai curries — just make sure there’s no MSG in them) As a general rule, anything having fresh/steamed veggies in it/next to it is preferable to alternatives with NO vegetables.
I constantly consider the ratio. How does veggie compare to other things? If that ratio is high, I know I’m in good shape.
Sure, a thin-crust pizza doesn’t have the best tomato sauce and basil-to-cheese-to-crust ratio. But it’s more expensive than the other item I would want to eat — thick crust fat salami pizza.
I also came across this chart by THE EVERYGIRL on Pinterest, and I believe it’s an excellent resource for when you’re in a fast-food establishment.
Will you be the healthiest person if you always eat like this?
To be honest, no.
But the key is to make the best decision at the time. In this manner, you won’t get so hungry that you want to eat like there’s no tomorrow.
STEP TWO: BE SATISFIED WITH WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE
This step, although a bit perplexing, is crucial.
It’s the belief that no matter what decision you make right now if you simply let it be, it will always be the correct one.
If you simply let yourself do anything you want, without any remorse or judgment. If you allow yourself to be content with your decision with all of your heart and intellect.
This is significant since your “feeling” determines what you do next. You may either binge or make the proper decision again.
I’ll use a recent case as an illustration.
I was out of my comfort zone a few weeks ago when none of my typical lunch spots were within walking distance for my lunch break. I went for a stroll and found ENDLESS lunch options.
It seemed to be rather overpowering. Is it better to order pizza, salad, a wrap, or falafel?
Unlike prior occasions, I didn’t go wild asking myself (out loud) things like “Wonder if this restaurant has decent ratings,” “Wonder how much protein this has,” and “What if it’s not good?”
All of those questions, I concluded, stemmed from my concern of choosing the incorrect lunch option.
Yes, I have issues.
And yet, I’ve done it a million times before. Overthinking is an issue that should not even be a question.
This time, I thought to myself, “Big deal. It’s just lunch. I’m starving and need to eat.”
I went with common sense and what I was desiring at the time and purchased a falafel.
Was falafel the healthiest food I could possibly eat? No. It’s not a salad, and it’s fried.
But I was in the mood for a toasty shawl. Of all of the options, falafel was the superior pick.
Was this the finest falafel I’d ever had? No. But it wasn’t all that horrible.
The point is, I had a good time. It was having something I desired, and I was doing my best to keep my commitments at the time.
As a result, I was pleased with my decision.
I didn’t worry whether I could have made a better decision or if the calories were worth it since I had chosen — it was the correct option.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT WAS VERY INTERESTING.
I felt full after lunch, and I made the correct decision (again) not to drink another coffee or purchase cookies.
I instead drank a lot of water.
If I had concentrated on the fact that this falafel wasn’t the greatest, I would have most likely attempted to correct this “MISTAKE” by selecting something “better,” something that would make me feel “happier” afterward.
Similarly, if I had picked a salad instead of falafel, I would have purchased something to compensate, such as cake or chocolates.
If I had chosen a large pizza, I would have felt so awful that I would have said, “Ah, I’ll start tomorrow,” and eaten whatever came my way.
I’ve been there and done that. I understand how this insane loop works.
But, since I was so pleased with my decision, I didn’t feel the need to make myself happy with additional food.
So, make yourself happy via your actions and choices, not through food.