#1 Thing to Avoid While Dining Out

Last night I enjoyed a fine, healthy meal at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

Now, you’re probably reacting to my above statement in either one of two ways:

1) You’re a bit naive and believe that veggies + protein + rice automatically = healthy.

2) You know that most entrees at P.F. Chang’s are loaded with hidden fat and carbs and are wondering just how I managed to grab a “healthy” meal there.

Well, I ordered Mongolia Beef, which normally would bring in just over 1,000 calories along with 45 grams of fat and 90 grams of carbs.  Not exactly the “healthiest” nutrition profile…

Little side note:  Let’s say, for example, I ordered a regular 3 course meal, consisting of a steamed dumpling appetizer, Mongolian beef entree, and then I went ahead and treated myself to dessert.

Calorie total:  2,472

And that meal isn’t even that BIG.  But it sure does pack in well over a day’s worth of calories for most people.  Just an example of how a reasonable meal at most restaurants is six-pack suicide.

I digress.

So, I managed to bring the fat and carb content of my beef entree down by about 70% and dropped the total calories by 50% all while eating the exact same amount of food, just with a couple swaps.

First, I made the obvious decision and opted for brown rice over white, which truthfully didn’t do a whole lot to save calories, but it did up the meal’s fiber and overall nutritional content.

Second, and here’s where I saved practically ALL the calories, I requested that my entree be prepared with chicken broth, as opposed to the corn starch and canola oil “sauce” that it’s normally mixed with.  In the end, I wound up eating the SAME exact amount of food, but less than HALF the calories.

Which brings me to the crux of this blog post – The #1 thing to avoid at restaurants – the SAUCES.

A huge portion of the sugars and crappy fats are found in the sauces served at restaurants.

• The dressings on the salads…
• The sugar/butter mixture drenching the vegetables you special ordered to be “healthy”…
• The cream sauces on the pasta…
• The starchy/fat-laden sauces used in stir fries…
• The cream/butter/sugar-laden sauces served a-top otherwise lean cuts of fish, chicken, and beef…

Do yourself a HUGE favor – next time you’re dining out, be mindful to avoid the sauces.  You’ll save yourself a tremendous amount of calories without sacrificing volume whatsoever.

• For salad dressing, go with oil/vinegar.
• For pasta sauce, ask your server if they have a low-fat tomato sauce (most do).
• For stir fries, request that they prepare your meal with chicken broth (and grab that asian flavor from low-calorie soy sauce instead).
• For your veggies, ask for a bit of butter on the side so that you’re in control of applying it.
• For protein sources, skip the sauces for seasonings

Simple tip, but one that will probably save you 10-20 lbs worth of calories over the next few months.

If you want to learn about 4 other “health” foods you should NEVER eat if you want to lose fat, click below to watch the video my friend Isabel put together for you:

Enjoy the tips!

Joel