Training & Nutrition - Salads

3 times in the last 4 days I have been getting a salad for lunch at restaurants. They're usually like chicken tostada kinds. Usually lettuce,corn,black beans, cheese:D,chip pieces, and some odd vinnagrette dressings. Should these kinds of salads be avoided if you're trying to lose weight? Im not sure if all that stuff is high cal or something. They're usually huge portions.

3 times in the last 4 days I have been getting a salad for lunch at restaurants. They're usually like chicken tostada kinds. Usually lettuce,corn,black beans, cheese:D,chip pieces, and some odd vinnagrette dressings. Should these kinds of salads be avoided if you're trying to lose weight? Im not sure if all that stuff is high cal or something. They're usually huge portions.

Well its better than a hamburger & fries.
Typically the lettuce is iceburg, which has no nutrients...but as far as calories goes, the cheese and chip pieces are what will add up. Of course dependent on how much the salad has of these two items. If the dressing in vinnagrette, that is really not of concern.

I eat salads at work all the time, homemade though. If you break it down it works out to be maybe $2.00 for lunch, plus you can put healthier items in it. Things I use are-
1. chicken, made the night before
2. fresh vegetables such as carrots, bell pepper, beets
3. hard boiled egg
4. raw blue cheese
5. tuna made with healthy mayo
6. raw nuts such as sunflower/flax
7. lots of olive oil
..I wouldnt mix all these, but pick and choose what sounds good.

You could even throw on some chips, you can get 'healthy' chips that arent full of preservatives. I know it takes a few minutes to put together, but your going to save money and aid yourself in cutting the weight. But regardless, good job on the salad opposed to all the other junk you could be eating-

The missing data is your bike riding. So this depends on your riding, how many hours you ride each day, per week. If you ride a lot, then you need those carbs. If you want to lose weight and don't ride a lot, then ride a lot and eat that salad. I like Poke salad myself.

I dont have a bike now. But 1 of 2 I ordered should arrive sometime next week. Then im going all over the place:D

3 times in the last 4 days I have been getting a salad for lunch at restaurants. They're usually like chicken tostada kinds. Usually lettuce,corn,black beans, cheese:D,chip pieces, and some odd vinnagrette dressings. Should these kinds of salads be avoided if you're trying to lose weight? Im not sure if all that stuff is high cal or something. They're usually huge portions.

They're not a bad choice when you're out. The chicken and black beans are good, the cheese is okay as long as there isn't too much, and the same for the corn. The lettuce is neutral (not a lot of nutrients, but does provide bulk). The chip pieces or friend shell are to be eaten in moderation (a fair bit of fat). Have the dressing on the side *and* use it sparingly if possible (dressing on the side is a larger portion of dressing - if you use it all you likely get more than if you didn't put it on the side). But you do need some fat, or you aren't going to feel full.

I looked at a couple different sources and the salad you describe is anywhere from 450 calories and 12 grams of fat to 800 calories and 55 grams of fat. A McD's cheeseburger is 320 calories and 13 grams of fat, and with a medium coke of 210 calories = a total of 530 calories and 12 grams of fat. You might as well gone for some fast food.

Rarely are these "salads" at restaurants healthy. A better choice would have been some grilled fish or shrimp(No breading) and some steamed veggies, and perhaps a baked potato w/o butter or sour cream. I put dijon mustard on my baked potatoes and it is really good with a neglible addition of calories.

... and perhaps a baked potato w/o butter or sour cream. I put dijon mustard on my baked potatoes and it is really good with a neglible addition of calories.

I put salsa on mine.

Salads are fine. It is the cheese, bacon and dressing you put on them that will get you into trouble. Eating salads with too much fatty dressing on them is about the same as a big old burger and french fries. But you do get to feel virtuous.

Well saturated fat is what bothers me. But yikes thats a load of calories in those salads=/

Well saturated fat is what bothers me. But yikes thats a load of calories in those salads=/

I didn't really mean for you to have McD's, just illustrating a point that things that seem healthy and lo cal aren't always so, especially in a restaurant. If you ate at a chain restaurant, you can look up the nutritional info online. When I know I am eating out, I either look it up online ahead of time, or eat sushi which is really lo cal and is pretty standard across all Japanese restaurants.

If you want to eat a salad at a restaurant, you have to eliminate the cheese, bacon, fried tortilla chips, and have the dressing on the side. You can dip your fork into the dressing with each bite. You will eat far less dressing that way and it won't taste like a dry salad. Most restaurants carry lite dressing that is mostly food starch in place of the oil. You can save a few calories that way too and they aren't half bad. Personally, I go with the vinegar and oil and put it on myself.

or eat sushi which is really lo cal and is pretty standard across all Japanese restaurants.
.

Sushi is my favorite meal of choice.
And living in Vancouver, we have probably the highest concentration of sushi restraunts outside of japan it seems. I can reach over a dozen within a 5 min drive of my house :)

And about half of them are "all you can eat" sushi places......low cal adds up when I jam what seems 10 lbs worth down my gullet :eek:

I can reach over a dozen within a 5 min drive of my house :)


Are you sure you don't mean Starbucks?:)

I love the crab rolls. Maybe plain horseradish instead of Wasabiii:D

It's the dressings on those salads and deep-fried tostada shells that has all the fat. Get the dressing on the side and use it sparingly and you should be fine. :)

I was about to get a salad yesterday at applebees, but i got the honey salmon instead now haha. I usually eat salads at cheesecake factory or this one unusual tropical place caled bahama breeze.

I was about to get a salad yesterday at applebees

Maybe its a local thing, but the Applebees near me all have a weight watchers menu. Just about anything you choose off of that menu is very lo cal, low fat, and high fiber. The portions are also much, much smaller with the exception of the vegetables which are much larger portions. This helps to fill you up. I had their Steak & Shrimp skewers, with Broccoli, and rice pilaf. It was really good. But when it came, I was thinking, oh god, this is not enough food. But when I was done, it really was enough....but just barely.