Staying on track when going out to eat.

I get asked this question a LOT by clients…
What do I do when I go out to eat? How do I measure? How do I track? How do I REALLY know what’s in my meal? How do I plan for success when I know i’m going to be eating my favorite super carb/fat heavy meal AND drinking?
Here’s my first and best advice - take a deep breath because it’s not going to be perfect, just do the best you can.
When we go out we have no control over cooking oils, amount of salt added in, portion sizes, and ingredients. All we can do is the best we can do and that’s it.
With that being said, there are some hacks that I teach my clients in order to help them be as successful as they can in sticking to their goals while still being able to enjoy themselves and be in the moment.
#1 - PLAN AHEAD. Yes, I realize I sound like a broken record in this, but this is the KEY to success in all things. Look up the menu in advance, decide what you will be having, log it, work the rest of your day around it and STICK TO YOUR PLAN.
#2 - Intermittent Fast that day. Knowing most restaurant food is going to be super carb and fat heavy and lacking in protein - I encourage clients to wait until around 12/1 to eat that day and to keep that meal low carb/fat, high protein. You can even toss your favorite flavored protein shake in your morning coffee to get some added protein in and give yourself some morning calories.
#3 - Reverse Engineer. When logging meals out, there’s always room for error. Do the best you can and log it by ingredient if you have to while utilizing the hand measuring method for portion sizes.
Hand Measuring Method:

• 1 cup = size of your closed fist
  
• 1/2 cup = 1/2 size of your closed fist
  
• 1 tbsp = thumb
  
• 1 tsp = finger tip
  
• 1 oz = inside circle of your palm
  
• 3 oz = entire palm
  

No, it’s not perfect, but it’s something. From there, deconstruct your meal.
For example. Having salmon, rice, veggies, and a glass of chardonnay? Log the salmon in ounces, the rice in cup sizes, the veggies in ounces, and the chard using the divide total cals by 4 rule we learned in our last blog post. Voila!
#4 MINDSET. This is the hardest to overcome. As a society we place a LOT of importance on food - particularly not good for us food. I cannot tell you how many times i’ve planned entire vacations around the food i’ll consume while i’m there. Shift your mindset. Is this meal out really about the food OR is it about the people you’re with and the memories you’ll make? When we start to see food as just fuel for our bodies to function optimally and place less value on it, we start to see progress.
#5 Jump back on the wagon. Blew it? It’s ok. We all have. We are human. Instead of letting that one “bad” meal turn in to a week, month, or year worth of “bad meals”, just get right back on track the next day. Learn the lesson that came with it and move forward, one foot in front of the other.