Popular Topics in South Beach Diet Community Challenges
Week 11 Monday Meeting (March 15)
Topic of the Week: Defensive Dining
For most people following a healthy eating plan, trouble starts when you’re out of your healthy routine. When you venture out of your safe zone, for example, away from your kitchen stocked with South Beach Diet-friendly foods, you’re most apt to make quick and sometimes unhealthy decisions. The secret of successful dieters goes beyond planning ahead. The good news is many restaurants and local convenience stores are expanding their selection of wholesome, nutritious foods. Your best plan of action?
Arm yourself with these healthy eating strategies the next time your dining away from home, whether you're looking at an office cafeteria or buffet, deciding what snacks to buy at a convenience store, or dining out with family and friends at your favorite restaurant. What dining-out strategy works for you? Share with other members now!
Our guest speaker today is Sheri Iodice, a registered dietitian for the South Beach Diet Online. Sheri enjoys uniting her love of good foods with the knowledge of how nutritious choices can affect our lives, and she combines a sensible and realistic approach as she counsels dieters one-on-one and through message boards.
Welcome, Sheri!
Hello, Everyone
Eating out can be an opportunity for success – success at using what you have learned on the South Beach Diet. Think of yourself walking into this situation with a tool kit. In the tool kit are the tips you need to make South Beach friendly choices.
Tool Kit for Success
- Order a “mock-tail” of seltzer and lemon/lime wedges to sip on while others are having cocktails.
- If you wish to have an alcoholic beverage, order a glass of wine with your meal and drink it slowly.
- Skip the breadbasket, if others with you do not mind.
- Instead of an appetizer, select a broth based vegetable soup. Avoid the cream-based chowders and soups.
- If the restaurant does not offer a whole grain starch option - think Phase 1 - order more veggies. Most restaurants are happy to substitute a starch for additional vegetable servings.
- If others in your party are ordering dessert, ask if there is a fruit plate option that you can share with everyone.
- Remember - eating out is a social event, a chance to visit and spend time together. Do not give the food center stage – enjoy the company of your fellow diners and the ambiance of the dining room.
Being creative and having a plan is so important. What other tips would you suggest go into our eating out tool kit?
One tip that I have is that I pack SBD friendly snacks when I am traveling for the plane, that way I can say "No thank you" when they ask if you want a snack. I have even taken a whole wheat wrap with me to the restaurant and asked them to use it in place of their normal wrap. Trying to keep in control is possible with planning.
Hi Sheri and Teresa. thanks for doing this meeting : )
when i have to dine out, like tonite with my daughter and g'son, i make sure i have the majority of my meal eaten before going out. most of the time i just get the salad bar and i bring my own dressing as i know its legal. i eat slowly so the people im with finish first, lol..
Another thing I have learned is that white bread and white potatoes make me tired and sluggish...and too much fat makes me not feel so well also. So if I can remind myself of these things in advance, I can usually make healthy choices.
Take care, and I hope to see you next week!
Another tip is to ask for the To Go Box upfront, so that you box and put out of site protein and any other item that is above the meal limit to eat at another time. That way you are not tempted to eat more than you should.
Carol
I think we all are very surprised to find what restaurants will do if we just pipe up and ask!
Turning50in10 wrote:
One tip that I have is that I pack SBD friendly snacks when I am traveling for the plane, that way I can say "No thank you" when they ask if you want a snack. I have even taken a whole wheat wrap with me to the restaurant and asked them to use it in place of their normal wrap. Trying to keep in control is possible with planning.
Sheri replied:
Fabulous point. A little planning does keep you in control of the choices and not leave you feeling deprived or stuck.
Hi Nite_Owl
You commented: when i have to dine out, like tonite with my daughter and g'son, i make sure i have the majority of my meal eaten before going out. most of the time i just get the salad bar and i bring my own dressing as i know its legal. i eat slowly so the people im with finish first,
Sheri: That's a great idea -- especially if you might be waiting for a table or delayed from eating at your usual time for some reason. Set yourself up for success by not being overly hungry and tempted to eat too much. Also having a couple glasses of water before a meal can fill you up.
I sometimes find eating out to be a huge challenge, because it's a prime opportunity to "treat myself" for whatever I might feel at the moment deserves treating. So one of my "tools" is to remind myself that it's not really a "treat" if it isn't moving me closer to my weight-loss goal.
Sheri:
Thank you for mentioning this. I work with those who frequently dine out quite often. We talk about how eating out these days is not always a special occasion. Sometimes it is a neccessity. So think of the restaurant as an extension of your own kitchen but you don't have to cook. Think about what you would eat at home and how much you would eat at home when you are selecting from the menu.
Another tip is to ask for the To Go Box upfront, so that you box and put out of site protein and any other item that is above the meal limit to eat at another time. That way you are not tempted to eat more than you should.
Sheri --- I agree Carol -- this is a great way to say up front I am going to eat what I need, what everything I see in front of me. Putting some of the food aside or pushing the plate away with food on it can be a powerful statement to yourself and others that you are making changes.
Nite_Owl wrote:
i really hate going out to eat in restaurants. even now im cringing about going out tonite. just dont trust myself unless i cook the food myself. think i prefer the safety of my own home, knowing theres nothing here thats not beachy, lol..
Sheri Replied:
I hear some anxiety in your words -- what could you try tonight that you haven't tried before to be successful and leave the restaurant feeling satisfied?