You’ve made the conscious decision to focus on your health, but now you’re noticing that society often isn’t health-food friendly. Why?
We are very on-the-go, which, unfortunately, necessitates that food be quick and easy to consume in a time crunch. Hence the rise in popularity for fast food joints. But what about sit-down restaurants?
A lot of sit-down restaurants do a relatively good job at having healthier menu options, in addition to the not-so-healthy ones, of course. But when you’re really focusing on your health, these menus look smaller and smaller.
This is especially true, and somewhat frustrating, for anyone on a low carb diet.
Cutting Carbs with a Low Carb Diet
Thankfully, low carb doesn’t mean no carb, so when you’re following this diet you don’t have to completely avoid anything with carbs. This leaves some more meal choices up for debate. But how do you decide from there, or what can you do in the event you find yourself somewhere that doesn’t really have a low carb diet-friendly menu?
Eating at Sit-Down Restaurants
Let’s start with how to order on a low carb diet in a sit-down restaurant. At these places, you will typically have more time to order and eat and will have a waiter or waitress to answer questions. And you will most likely have a question or two when trying to customize a meal to fit your diet.Try asking your server for the following substitutions when you can:
- Salad or veggies instead of starches
- Lettuce wraps instead of bread buns
- When it doubt, eliminate the item altogether
Some additional tips to help keep you on track include: maintaining portion control, keeping an eye on your beverage by opting for water or tea instead of alcohol or soda, know what sauces are in the food and pass on the dessert. If you portioned your meal correctly, you should feel content with passing up a sweet treat that you don’t really have room for anyway.
Eating at Fast Food Joints
Fast food makes healthy eating difficult, period. It doesn’t matter what sort of diet you’re on, from no diet to a low carb diet. The absolute best thing you can do is aim to make simple substitutions no matter where you find yourself eating. Try following these tips to help make it a little bit easier on you:
- Order subs and burgers without the bread (in a bowl or lettuce wrap)
- Choose grilled chicken instead of fried or crispy
- Watch what ingredients are being put in and on your salad
- Eat an egg-based breakfast to feel fuller throughout the day
Be Mindful and Plan Ahead
When you’re on a low carb diet, the best thing you can do is plan ahead. If you know you’re going to be making a road trip, or a long trip, and you’ll need food along the way, try packing your own meal so you know exactly what you’re getting. You can even pack healthy snacks to keep you going along the way. Just make sure you know what the ingredients you are in anything you bring along.
Aim for snacks that are high in natural, healthy fats likes Medium Chain Triglyceried (MCTs). MCT oil is a great source of MCTs that is derived from coconuts. These oils will help keep you feeling energized while you’re out and about. A great source of these energy-boosting MCTS is MCTbar, a high fat, low sugar bar.