Eating Out With A Difference
I love eating out (everyone does), be it with family or friends, eating out is always welcome. Do I gain weight by eating out, of course I do, but who cares as long as I can eat my favorite chicken burgers, extra cheese pizzas, pork fried rice, the list continues. No wonder I look more like a balloon than a human being, and my waistline keeps increasing every day.
It was only after my weight shot up 6 pounds in a month that I realized I have to do something about it, high time indeed. This was when I made up my mind to continue to "eat out" but make healthier choices while doing so. I started with healthy eating by ordering food with lots of fruits and vegetables, the healthiest option, and chicken, now, I can't stop eating chicken for heaven's sake!! Lean fish, lean cuts of mutton, veggie sauces rather than creamy ones, and, so on.
Soon the delis became my favorite, as at most of the places I had the freedom to create my own sandwich, though I am not very fond of the activity. So, now I could have healthy options like whole wheat bread, pumpernickel or rye, anything which is not pure white bread. Next came the stuffing of the sandwich, it's my sandwich so chicken has to be there. I cut out on the quantity of chicken initially and later substituted it with low-fat ham or low-fat turkey. I stayed away from salami, pepperoni, Geneva, as all of them are high in salt and fat. Now comes the veggie part, hey, now I have started eating a lot of vegetables, and I was surprised to know that I actually liked this alternative healthy eating.
I preferred to load the sandwich with lots of tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, all of which are rich in nutrients. For condiments my choices became mustard or olive or vinegar instead of mayo. When I was in China, I came to know that their meals are completely different from our modern Chinese versions. They had lots of rice and vegetables and not so much of sugary sauces (without which "our Chinese recipes" are incomplete).
The next time I went out to a Chinese restaurant back home, I stayed away from the deep fried and sugary sweet options. The options that were left were those which are actually eaten in China, with less of meat and sauces, no worries, and there were lots of healthy and tasty veggie options still left on the menu card. I just can't resist Italian food. I mean who can stay away from a pizza. But I had to eat the right type of Italian food; after all I was trying to manage weight. I started ordering pasta with marinara sauce instead of the usual creamy white sauce or butter sauce as part of my healthy eating routine. In all honesty, healthy eating tips needn't always be taken from others but the idea is to understand where the fault lies and makes suitable changes. As such, if you feel lethargic even after a meal, then your meal isn't nutritious and you need to make way for healthy eating.