TIPS for Eating Out

Its Friday and I'm sure your weekend is packed with picnics, graduation parties, birthday parties or dinner at a restaurant. As I'm writing this sentence my blood pressure is already starting to rise because I know that all of these things are filled with high fat, sugary, and hard to resist temptations. The last birthday party I went to the menu consisted of nachos, subs, candy, cake, ice cream, enchiladas, high calorie lemonade and I am sure many other things that I tried not to look at. So needless to say there was not much for me to choose from. I did my best to keep it clean. People kept giving me weird stares and offering me cake and cookies. I politely declined and drank my water and ate my fruit. When I got home I prepared myself a healthy snack.

To keep from having to stress every time you go out in public to a restaurant or an event here are some tips fromTosca Reno's Stripped book to keep your blood pressure in check!

Planning is best, when you are out you always need a game plan. You should avoid eating out as much as possible because once you enter a restaurant you surrender control over what is in your food.

1. Develop an "I don't have to eat it all!" Mindset. Make up your mind before you go that you don't have to get the most bang for your buck by cleaning your plate. KEEP YOUR GOAL IN MIND.

2. Satisfy hunger only-Don't Gorge. Eat for the purpose of satisfying your hunger, but no more.

3. Start small and green. Start your meal with a salad, without dressing. Use a spritz of lemon or some balsamic vinegar.

4. Broth is best. When there is no salad option have a broth based soup.

5. NO BREAD PLEASE! Remember this is not helping you achieve your 10 pound weight loss goal.

6. Clean Cooking techniques rock! Look for entree options featuring steamed or raw veggies and grilled, baked or roasted meats or fish. If they aren't listed, ask the server to prepare it that way. Oh and don't always trust the low fat or fat free symbols.

7. Portion control is in. Have a good look at your plate when it arrives. Ask for a doggie bag and split your meal in half.

8. Fletcherize. The practice of chewing each mouthful a min of 25 times. It gives your body a chance to recognize when you are becoming full. (This is very hard to do when you are with kids, because you never know when they have had enough and you will have to leave your meal behind to take the kids out).

9. Zero Tolerance. You want to avoid alcohol because sugar can derail you in the most powerful way. Have sparkling water with lemon or lime slices.

10. Stop before the end. Think of your plan to shed those pounds, if you can't resist something sweet ask for a dish of fresh fruit and leave it at that!

If you doubt your ability to resist restaurant offerings then pre-eat! Then when you go to a restaurant or social event you don't have to worry about what's on the menu and you can focus on socializing.

If you can't resist the dessert table then pack a few clean cookies in a Ziploc bag and pull them out with your coffee while everyone else is eating their sugar laden cookies and cake. If you have to go through a drive through, familiarize yourself with the menu. Never super size and make smart food choices by ordering grilled chicken and a side salad. Cut up the chicken and place on salad and go with olive and vinegar dressing or, low fat balsamic.

One of the most difficult things to manage while following a healthy lifestyle is your social life. So surround yourself with family and friends that support what you are doing and are not sabotaging your efforts. Instead of going out drinking or to a restaurant here are some alternatives.

Meet a friend at the gym
Have a game night at home with healthy clean snacks
Batters up- organize a kickball or softball game in your neighborhood or with the kids.
Volunteer together at a local charity
Meet at the park for a walk or bike ride
Do a Zumba Class together

Go to a free "Fit Club Class" -coming soon: to sign up message me.

Eating clean and creating a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to mean that you are becoming a boring person. There is so much more to experience than food and drinks! Live outside the box and you will have people wondering what you are doing because your energy and personality are on fire!!!

21 Day Fix Grocery List

I can honestly say that I might be in love with the 21 day fix meal plan!  Well okay I will be totally honest I AM IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRE PROCESS.  Lets face it, it's easy, its simple, its basically fool proof.  If you stick to the things on the list of approved foods and you keep it basic you can't go wrong.  Plus I really dislike counting calories so the fact that I can tally up my containers and check it off each day is much more my style.  Now 4 rounds into the fix I don't even use the containers anymore.  I can see very clearly what a proper portion size should look like on my plate.  My body really has a much better system of regulating my feelings of fullness and I truly do have energy. 

The thing that I really like is that it perfectly aligns with clean eating!  I still follow the exact same guide of having a protein an a complex carb at each meal. 

So I get asked questions all the time about what a grocery list should look like.  While I can't tell you to go out and buy EVERYTHING on this list, I am going to give you an idea of the general things that you are going to be using on a daily basis for the fix.  The quick reference guide below really helps as well.

Proteins (red)

So when you hit up the store stick to lean proteins like

Fish- Salmon & Tilapia

Fresh Chicken Breast

Turkey Breast

Eggs

Lean Ground Turkey

Pork Tenderloin

Flank Steak

Protein Powder

Veggie Burgers

In all conscience I stay away from red meat, processed lunch meats, turkey bacon and ham slices.  I know it's on the list but when it comes to clean eating and nutritional value the things I have listed above are much better options.  Turkey bacon, lunch meat, and ham all are higher in sodium and can cause you to retain water. 

Fruits (purple)

Apples

Pears

Berries like Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries

Oranges

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Kiwi

I usually stayed away from bananas, mangos and grapes during the fix because they are still a good source of natural sugar but they also tend to be on the higher side.  So if I do have one of those I only do 1 per day.  As you get closer to your weight loss goal this becomes very important to shedding those last few pesky pounds.

Vegetables (green)

Green Beans

Celery

Asparagus

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Spinach

Peppers

Onions

Tomaos

Squash

cucumbers

Lettuce

I also typically do not eat carrots because they are also higher in sugar.  I stay away from corn as a vegetable and if I eat it then it goes into the starch category.

Complex Carbohydrates  (Yellow)

Brown Rice

Quinoa

Oatmeal (not instant in the packet) Rolled Instant Oats

Sweet Potatoes

Red Skin potatoes

Black Beans

Pinto Beans

Couscous

Ezekiel Bread

Whole Grain Tortillas

I know that on the complex carbohydrate list there are bagels, toast, pancakes, waffles and other breads.  But what I can say is this, from a nutritional standpoint even whole grain still turns to sugar in your stomach, it will not keep you full and offers little benefits.  Think of food as fuel.  Quinoa, sweet potatoes, Ezekiel bread are great sources of whole grains that are very natural and will give you fiber, fullness and nutrients where a waffle or piece of toast is more of a filler.  Again, you can pick and choose and yes it is allowed but its up to you to decide how you want your results to play out.

Blue

Healthy Fats and Cheese (blue)

Unsweetened Coconut

Raw Unsalted Almonds

Raw Unsalted Cashews

Hummus

Goat Cheese

Feta Cheese

Avocado

This is definitely a category that I used to go way over!  I used to eat hummus, almonds and cheese all in one day and it was totally killing my progress.  I actually eliminated cheese from my diet and saw that I was less bloated and more lean during that time.

List of other ingredients that I used frequently:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Coconut Oil

All Natural Peanut Butter, only ingredients are peanuts and a little salt.

Almond Butter

Almond Milk if you want that for your Shakeology

Chia Seeds

Sea Salt

Pepper

Chili Powder

Onion Salt

Garlic Powder

Garlic

Seltzer Water- Love the Deer Park and La Croix if you have a hard time drinking water.

Green Tea

Honey

Greek Yogurt

Cinnamon

Slivered Almonds

If you would like more support in your 21 day fix journey or you would like to start your 21 day fix journey please complete the application below to be considered for my next 21 day fix accountability, support/challenge group!