Training & Nutrition - Eating out & dieting...possible?

I am making a concerted effort to lose those extra 10-15 lbs that seem to have become a part of my life at age 60. Last year I started the cycling season (March-April) at 190 lbs and ended it at 183 lbs. So this year I want to start the season at 180 lbs or so. I've been faithfully going to the gym 6 days a week doing weights and spinning classes and I've been limiting my calorie intake to an average of about 2300 cals./day. I've noticed that it's really hard to stay on the calorie schedule if you eat out. It's amazing how many calories are packed into the typical restaurant meal. Anyone have any suggestions for eating our that will work with my program. BTW, any advice on my goals, cal. limits, etc. will be appreciated. Just looking for good advice.

I'm not sure if this will help but information on the government's DASH recommendations - Dietary Approach to Stopping hypertension - may give you some ideas that will help, as they discuss prepared foods - which tendto have large portions, tons of salt, and tons of calories.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/

When I go out and eat, I stop as soon as I'm no longer hungry and take the rest home in a doggy bag(and I'm a big guy with about a 4000 calorie diet).

If it's a huge meal, I usually eat about half and take the rest home. I rarely get an appetizer and almost NEVER eat dessert. It saves you a fair amount of money as well. When I go out to eat with lots of other people, I definitely see a correlation between body size & those that order appetizers. Also body size & all you can eat joints.

My wife eat out daily. We don't diet as that doesn't work, but we are almost vegan. What we do is customize what we order from the menu. Most places are happy to work with us and add no additional charge.

Those places that we frequent remember us and one even put our favorite custom designed pizza in their computer. We always get asked if the meal turned out correctly.

We are sensitive to the fact that we are causing extra work and turn up early for either lunch or dinner so the burden doesn't fall during their peak rush. If we hit the rush hour we make sure we tell them we are not in a hurry.

Also, we will split the larger meals (like at places like Outback) and add veggy sides. Sometimes we just oreder sides with an appetizer or just sides. If you eat alone, you can take it home or just leave it.

Al

i try to limit how much i eat out every week. i try to limit myself to eating out for dinner and lunch to once a week. usually i'll go out on friday night for dinner and a sunday brunch. it's hard for me to figure out how much calories, fat and sodium are packed into the food restaurants serve (unless they have nutritional info on their website). But usually it's more calories, fat and sodium than i need.

but if i were to eat out regularly I guess I would aim at getting more salads, less dressing. maybe getting some vegetarian dishes. order smaller sizes when possible.

my fiancee and I will cook for two days worth of dinner when we do cook. the system has been working out great.

my fiancee and I will cook for two days worth of dinner when we do cook. the system has been working out great.

oh man, I've just started doing the same thing...MUCH easier. I can buy in bulk and just have to do one set of dishes for a few nights of dinner rather than dishes every night. Plus I can take leftovers to work for lunch and it saves me quite a bit of money.

The thing with restaurant meal is that they like to use lots of salt on a lot of the food that they serve, and salt enhances absorption of glucose in the gut. So as well as trying to avoid the deep fryer, try to avoid any sauces and alcoholic drinks. It also depends where you eat as well, if you eat at a place that also has a drive through you probably will not have much luck with your diet. Another problem is that some waiters are also salesmen and they want you to eat more, it is their job to make the restaurant money.

When I worked at the roadhouse we were told to put salt on the chicken wings so we could sell more beer. Come to think of it we were told to add salt to almost all our food.

Most of all remember that french fries are not a vegtable.:eek:

but if i were to eat out regularly I guess I would aim at getting more salads, less dressing. .

Check out the nutrition content of salads, especially those with Iceberg lettuce. They are nutritionally almost worthless. One of the places we frequent allows the substitution of spinach for the lettuce. Otherwise, we pretty much restrict our salads to home made.

Al

It is difficult to eat out and diet. Even if you are organized enough to figure out all of the VISIBLE ingredients, there have been newsclips on the local news here in NYC that talk about the fact that many of the restaurants, both of the Appleby's/TGIF ilk and of the Bouley's/Babbo/Asia de Cuba ilk will often inject their meats with butter/olive oil to increase their flavor. The caloric content of "healthy" grilled foods, even at top restaurants, is often higher than you think. Even the calorie charts that are offered at the restaurants are often wrong by a significant margin. My advice is to limit eating out to 1-2x per week, and then figure in a fudge factor.

I am making a concerted effort to lose those extra 10-15 lbs that seem to have become a part of my life at age 60. Last year I started the cycling season (March-April) at 190 lbs and ended it at 183 lbs. So this year I want to start the season at 180 lbs or so. I've been faithfully going to the gym 6 days a week doing weights and spinning classes and I've been limiting my calorie intake to an average of about 2300 cals./day. I've noticed that it's really hard to stay on the calorie schedule if you eat out. It's amazing how many calories are packed into the typical restaurant meal. Anyone have any suggestions for eating our that will work with my program. BTW, any advice on my goals, cal. limits, etc. will be appreciated. Just looking for good advice.

A few obvious things:

1) Drink water, not soda, beer or wine
2) Salads with dressing on the side and dip your fork in the dressing
3) Salads, in general, are good
4) Eat all the vegetables, only some of the meat

In other words, try to pick the lower-fat entrees.

Congrats on your progress so far! Just about every dish in most restaurants adds the salt/butter factor which is hard to avoid. Many chains have nutrional info on their websites, I will often look that over if I know I'm heading there for dinner- or will sometimes go to those restaurants as I have a relative idea what to expect, obviously subject to cooks skills as to calorie/fat content. You can also just ask for a box right away and split the portion up and take it out to your car so it's not on your plate. Another thing is to order an appetizer (not the fried stuff) as a main meal, shrimp cocktail is good or dishes with vege's, usually are raw so no added fat/cals. Just watch the dips! Salads with holds on fattening toppings and dressing on the side work. I almost always do the "grilled chicken, baked potato, vege side" which is worse than if you make it at home, but sometimes you have to allow yourself a little splurge! Good luck!

...I almost always do the "grilled chicken, baked potato, vege side" which is worse than if you make it at home, but sometimes you have to allow yourself a little splurge! Good luck!

Although, for me personally, why go out to get this dish?....might as well stay home because it's fresh, and tastes equally good, if not better? When I go out, I make always make attempts to avoid anything deep fried or sauced with butter/creams, but I want something fun. There are too many great restaurants in NYC and in Chicago (where I lived for 12 years) to eat grilled chix, potato, steamed veggies. A little splurge, for my tastes, means indulging a little bit.

At any rate, when eating out, just be mindful of portions, avoid the deep fried stuff, and have a little fun. Life is way too short to eat the same stuff in a nice restaurant that you can make for yourself at home.

The thing with restaurant meal is that they like to use lots of salt on a lot of the food that they serve, and salt enhances absorption of glucose in the gut.
I really doubt this. What are you basing this claim on?

I choose my restaurants wisely. I select the ones that have food that is unique and tastes homemade. I avoid most chains because their food is often prepared at central kitchens and reheated at the local reltaurant. That means it's a lot like the frozen dinners you buy in the supermarket, IMO.

Ethnic restaurants tend to offer more healthy choices. My favorite restaurant is a "Mediterranean" (actually Macedonian or Bosnian, I think) joint that has smaller portions of food that is obviously freshly prepared.

Avoid cream soups, cream sauces and most salad dressings. I like oil and vinegar on the side. If they bring veg. oil instead of olive oil I never go back.

Beware the buffet!! Most do have healthy choices, but portion size and temptation are the downfalls.

I choose my restaurants wisely. I select the ones that have food that is unique and tastes homemade. I avoid most chains because their food is often prepared at central kitchens and reheated at the local reltaurant. That means it's a lot like the frozen dinners you buy in the supermarket, IMO.

Ethnic restaurants tend to offer more healthy choices. My favorite restaurant is a "Mediterranean" (actually Macedonian or Bosnian, I think) joint that has smaller portions of food that is obviously freshly prepared.

Avoid cream soups, cream sauces and most salad dressings. I like oil and vinegar on the side. If they bring veg. oil instead of olive oil I never go back.

Beware the buffet!! Most do have healthy choices, but portion size and temptation are the downfalls.


We do the same. It is possible to eat natural, non processed food where you can in-fact identify the major ingredients. You don't frequent those that specialize in unhealthy foods.

Thi and mideastern restaurants are some of my favorites. Indian is also good if you select carefully. Turkish is first class, but you have to be in a bigger city. Tibetan isn't so good, but there's only two or so in the country and Kurdish is top notch if you live in St Paul. At one time it was the only one in the country according to the owner. Afghanistan is very meat oriented and Ethiopian leaves you starving (just kidding).

Al

I really doubt this. What are you basing this claim on?

Yes thanks for pointing that out, I got it backwards.

"There is also a sodium pump at the basolateral membrane. Sodium and glucose share a common share a common carrier mechanism, so that sodium absorption is enhanced by glucose transport"

McCance, L.M., and Huether, S.E, (2006) Pathophysiology The Biological Basis for Disease in Adults and Children (5th ed.). St-Louis: Elsevier Mosby. Page 1362

We do the same. It is possible to eat natural, non processed food where you can in-fact identify the major ingredients. You don't frequent those that specialize in unhealthy foods.

Thi and mideastern restaurants are some of my favorites. Indian is also good if you select carefully. Turkish is first class, but you have to be in a bigger city. Tibetan isn't so good, but there's only two or so in the country and Kurdish is top notch if you live in St Paul. At one time it was the only one in the country according to the owner. Afghanistan is very meat oriented and Ethiopian leaves you starving (just kidding).

Al
I wish I could come to St. Paul and try some of those places with you! You're especially right about mid-eastern cuisine. I think Lebanese and Palestinian restaurants especially are very conscious about healthy eating. They seem to have always known many of the principles of nutrition that we in the US are just now "discovering." They use wholesome ingredients, small portions, healthy fats, less meat, and lots of whole grains, beans and vegetables. And they're very aware of what they're doing. One Lebanese waiter brought us a special dish "Because I can see that you appreciate good food." And by "good" he clearly meant healthy as well as delicious. Lebanese restaurants are about the only ones where I feel comfortable ordering dessert. The pastries are rich, but they're so small that the calories and sugar/fat load isn't too bad. Another idea is to have figs or dates for dessert in a mid-eastern restaurant.

I wish I could come to St. Paul and try some of those places with you! You're especially right about mid-eastern cuisine. I think Lebanese and Palestinian restaurants especially are very conscious about healthy eating. .

Actually, though I've eaten in St Paul many times, I live in Panama City, Florida, the Mecca for unhealthy restaurants. I frequent Atlanta often and have traveled to wash DC and many other places in the US. When ever I'm in travelling, I check out the phone book for interesting places to eat. Here in PC, we only eat at a small, select group of restaurants.

That Tibetan is in Bloomington Indiana by the way. It's owned/managed by the Deli Lama's nephew. I kidded him about the beef dishes as I knew they ate Yak. he said American's would not eat Yak, so he switched to beef.

Yak I'm sure is very low in fat, tough and stringy with a wild-like taste. I've eaten range-raised beef and that's how I remeber that meat tasted. I've also eaten horse in France. Very sweet.

We actually had a Palestinian restaurant here for a while, but they folded. I got to eat there once.

They are not more health conscious then Americans. Their diet evolved from the necessities of availability and cost. Matter of fact, I'm sure many of the ethnic restaurants modify their food for the American taste by adding more meat and serving larger portions.

The rural areas of third world countries like China for example, ate what they could afford, so they had little meat or milk products. Consequently they still have an order of magnitude less of the type of diseases that the affluent western countries suffer from. However, now that the third world is getting more affluent due to globalization (according to the UN), they are getting our diseases too, especially in the cities as that's where the wealth appears first.

Al

when I used to run , I used to say, I run in order to eat. At least the way we used to eat. American restaurants, so overload your plate. It's redicilous. Ordering salads or going to natural food restaurants might help. Wish we did not enjoy eating out so much, i'd be a slimmer cyclist.

The chef cooks for the largest fattest customer. If thats you then you should eat everything on your plate, otherwise leave a little or a lot behind.

when I used to run , I used to say, I run in order to eat. At least the way we used to eat. American restaurants, so overload your plate. It's redicilous. Ordering salads or going to natural food restaurants might help. Wish we did not enjoy eating out so much, i'd be a slimmer cyclist.
What about the "French Paradox"? The French eat foods rich in animal fats (cream, butter, cheese, meat) and they eat white bread and potatoes like nobody's business. They also eat out in restaurants a lot. But most of them are skinny and heart disease is lower than in many other western countries with "healthier" diets. What are the reasons for this?

What about the "French Paradox"? The French eat foods rich in animal fats (cream, butter, cheese, meat) and they eat white bread and potatoes like nobody's business. They also eat out in restaurants a lot. But most of them are skinny and heart disease is lower than in many other western countries with "healthier" diets. What are the reasons for this?

Their plates aren't the size of trash can lids, and their food is high quality instead of salt-laden garbage. Plus, they walk a lot more than we do.

If you "clean your plate" at most America restaurants, you have "overeaten". American portion sizes (like American *sses) are "super-sized".

One trick is to divide your plate in half as soon as you get it. Eat half, and take the rest home for the next day.

Beware the buffet!! Most do have healthy choices, but portion size and temptation are the downfalls.

+1

Buffets are evil. By their very nature, they encourage gluttony (as can easily be seen by the average size of the folks that waddle into them). Just say No to Buffets!

I really doubt this. What are you basing this claim on?

Here is another thing that I read today for class that seems quite interesting.

Intestinal cells do not need insulin to absorb glucose or galactose, in order to cross the intestinal cell membrane glucose and galactose are coupled with sodium, which binds to a membrane protein, and then they are transferred together across the membrane. Then the sodium is pumped back out through a different mechanism, which requires potassium to be pumped in the opposite direction of sodium.


What about the "French Paradox"? The French eat foods rich in animal fats (cream, butter, cheese, meat) and they eat white bread and potatoes like nobody's business. They also eat out in restaurants a lot. But most of them are skinny and heart disease is lower than in many other western countries with "healthier" diets. What are the reasons for this?


I wonder how many calories they consume in a day?

I have also heard that the Europeans make a bigger deal out of meals, and that they are not eaten on the run. People take the time to sit down and take their time to eat a good meal, and not pick it up at a window so they can eat it during the traffic jam on the way to work.

If I was serious about loosing weight and being healthy, then I would not eat out at all.

If I was serious about loosing weight and being healthy, then I would not eat out at all.
That seems a little drastic to me. This is hard for most people--many of us "must" eat out sometimes. Also it is one of the joys of the good life.

I now emphasize "eating for life." That means adopting eating behavior patterns that will work for your entire life.

For example, if you quit eating out in order to lose weight, you'll start eating out again after the weight is lost. Then you'll likely gain the weight back. For me, it's working better to learn how to eat out wisely. That way I can continue to enjoy restaurants for the rest of my life--but not regain the weight. Eating for life is a difficult path at first, but it gets easy eventually.

What about the "French Paradox"? The French eat foods rich in animal fats (cream, butter, cheese, meat) and they eat white bread and potatoes like nobody's business. They also eat out in restaurants a lot. But most of them are skinny and heart disease is lower than in many other western countries with "healthier" diets. What are the reasons for this?
Actually, Roody. I suspect many French don't eat out that much. They seem a pretty frugal bunch. Maybe the older crowd does, more so. The restaurants seem so crowded with the Brits. And if they do overeat, they certainly do work it off. Cycling is huge, along with running , tennis; and even smaller towns have a municipal pool. Our little village of 2100 people even has a well equipped municipally run, exercise facility.
THese people for the most part look anemic. No US style baggy pants here, it's mostly hip huggers for the women and levi 501's for the guys.
I also, do think even tho they eat a lot of animals fats, their food is like sauteed in wine and sun flower oil, no lard to be found here.

I also, do think even tho they eat a lot of animals fats, their food is like sauteed in wine and sun flower oil, no lard to be found here.
ahem -Boudin noir, confit de canard, terrine, pates

I wonder how many calories they consume in a day?

I have also heard that the Europeans make a bigger deal out of meals, and that they are not eaten on the run. People take the time to sit down and take their time to eat a good meal, and not pick it up at a window so they can eat it during the traffic jam on the way to work.
quite simple: small portions no snacks and a little of what you fancy, veg with every meal and enjoy your food dont live to eat don't eat to live, thats the french attitude anyway

ahem -Boudin noir, confit de canard, terrine, pates
poulet or poisson for moi. no, merci. I rarely eat outside of a texas style menu. Except for artichokes. Still, wish I were as thin as these French people tho.

Basically, we are living within a "system" that does not help us to attain health, nutrition and weight goals. Frantic lifestyle, fast foods, eating "on the run", processed food, over sized portions, couch potato entertainment, etc. You get the idea. There have been lots of good ideas in this thread that I have used and will use more often. Now the idea is to understand the system and use it to our advantage where we can. Do that and we can be both apart from and a part of the culture. Oh, and healthier too. :)

It's not hard to determine which restaurants to avoid. Here's an excerpt from the print media.

Al

Group says U.S. restaurants promote "extreme eating"
Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:21 PM ET



By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many U.S. chain restaurants are promoting "extreme eating" with dishes that pack at least a day's worth of calories and fat, without giving customers facts about their orders, a consumer group said on Monday.

Displaying restaurant offerings including a cheese-laden chicken-and-pasta dish they dubbed "Angioplasta," officials at the Center for Science in the Public Interest said such dishes help fuel national epidemics of obesity and heart disease.

They urged local, state and national governments to make restaurants list nutritional data on their menus.

Michael Jacobson, the group's executive director, took aim at "table-service" chain restaurants like Ruby Tuesday's and Uno Chicago Grill. Such places increasingly stuff their dishes with extra unhealthy ingredients, he said.

"What we're finding is that table-service restaurants have launched into a whole new era of extreme eating," Jacobson said. "If we're going to deal with the epidemic of obesity and the tremendous prevalence of heart attacks and strokes, we're going to have to do something about restaurant foods."

Jacobson's group often criticizes at a variety of restaurant foods. Some critics deride the group as self-appointed food police.

Jacobson showed reporters an appetizer offered by Uno Chicago Grill that he said contained 2,050 calories. It was a cross between a pizza and stuffed potato skins, with a deep-dish pizza crust crammed with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, mashed potatoes, bacon and sour cream.

Ruby Tuesday's offers an entree called Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta so loaded with cheese and other stuff that it tipped the scales at 2,060 calories and 128 grams of fat, he said. Jacobson dubbed it "Angioplasta," alluding to angioplasty, a medical procedure to open clogged arteries

One slice of The Cheesecake Factory's Chris's Outrageous Chocolate Cake had 1,380 calories, with layers of cake, brownies, coconut pecan filling and chocolate-chip coconut cheesecake, the group said.

The average daily calorie requirement is about 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men.

Actually, Roody. I suspect many French don't eat out that much. They seem a pretty frugal bunch. Maybe the older crowd does, more so. The restaurants seem so crowded with the Brits. And if they do overeat, they certainly do work it off. Cycling is huge, along with running , tennis; and even smaller towns have a municipal pool. Our little village of 2100 people even has a well equipped municipally run, exercise facility.
THese people for the most part look anemic. No US style baggy pants here, it's mostly hip huggers for the women and levi 501's for the guys.
I also, do think even tho they eat a lot of animals fats, their food is like sauteed in wine and sun flower oil, no lard to be found here.


The French Paradox is more to do with their lower heart attack rates than anything else. Some claim it's due to the wine consumption. I think it's also do to the large amount of walking they do in their every day lives. According to my French friends, obesity is "spreading" in France too. They are just behind the US. The urban French do eat out a lot. I've experienced that myself.

My wife was over there for 10 days a year ago. She lived with a French family. She couldn't believe the preponderance of meat and cheese in their diet. However, one data point does not a trend make. I'm sure that their diet like ours, has regional variations.

They still do a lot of walking compared to the US. They go out almost daily and walk around grocery shopping at the little stores. Apparently, the big food markets aren't there yet. They also appear to not be into processed foods as we are. However, their days are numbered as I understand that McDonalds is very popular there now.

It appears that high fructose corn syrup has not yet penetrated their jams and jellies. I buy French and Swiss products at Publix myself to avoid the stuff. Their Government probably doesn't subsidize corn production as we do (it's not one of their important crops), nor do the have price controls on their sugar (as we do) to keep the prices up as they don't grow cane in France.

Al

When I eat out - I tend to look at the appetizer and salad selections. You would be surprised, but you can do well. I also have been known to just tell the waiter what I want - write it down and tell them "cook this like this" Almost never a problem.

We have a restaurant about 3 kilometers above us - the owner is the chef. When we come in, he personally comes out and takes our order. He knows what we like, how we like it and it is cooked to our specifications. He is an excellent chef.

This is going to kill you - this personalized service is expensive - an average meal for us cost about 6 dollars - the best thing on the menu is 12 dollars (Langostino - giant river prawns) - that includes all beverages by the way.

Are you guys really that civilized up there? :D

Actually, Roody. I suspect many French don't eat out that much. They seem a pretty frugal bunch. Maybe the older crowd does, more so. The restaurants seem so crowded with the Brits. And if they do overeat, they certainly do work it off. Cycling is huge, along with running , tennis; and even smaller towns have a municipal pool. Our little village of 2100 people even has a well equipped municipally run, exercise facility.
THese people for the most part look anemic. No US style baggy pants here, it's mostly hip huggers for the women and levi 501's for the guys.
I also, do think even tho they eat a lot of animals fats, their food is like sauteed in wine and sun flower oil, no lard to be found here.

The secret is in the French Breakfast. Here's the ingredients:

1) an espresso

2) a cigarette


Calories: 0
Calories from fat: 0. :eek:

Probably not. I added a pound over the race weekend, mostly due to bad decisions and a lack of choice. Traveling to races is perilous. So is the DQ Blizzard. 1200 calories per serving :eek:

Also, don't eat at Cracker Barrel too often, delicious but not good for your health. Next race weekends I'm going to be packing food and assiduously avoiding the omnipresent fast food. Now to lose the 2 pounds that crept up on me in the last two weeks.

If you know you're going out for dinner just be extra careful with your diet early in the day. The last thing I want on a fun night out is to be sitting at a table obsessing about fat content.

Here is how I handle it. For breakfast that morning I will have either a protein shake in water and 1-2 packets of sugar-free instant oatmeal. For lunch a can of water-packed tuna and either fruit, rice or more oatmeal (depending on dinner plans). At this point I've basically had zero fat for the day so I can have just about whatever I want within reason.

I skip the appetizer and have a salad w/fat-free dressing. If they don't have fat-free I squeeze a lemon over it. My meal would be ideally a grilled chicken breast over a bed of rice, unless I had that earlier and want change. Salmon is not really low-fat but its good fat (omega-3's). At this point I would probably have whatever I felt like for dessert....or I'd go for a big steak & fries and skip dessert. At the end of the day it all balances out. If you've stuck to your plan beforehand then a nice dinner is not going to kill you, especially 1-2 times a week.

T.G.I. Friday's has great low-fat selections.