Excellent blog today, Joel, keep up the great work!
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
Related Posts
30 comments - add yours
Hi Joel,
Thanks for the tips. Dining out is a great pastime for many people, and also a good (or bad) nutrition trap. You can’t really control how they prepare the foods but you can definitely “demand” or insist how you want your food done.
Great post.
I’ve found a number of restaurants that have been quite happy to cook your food the way you like it. Many people may be afraid to ask for something a little different from the menu but it’s in your waistlines best interests.
Yes, excellent post. I have another idea, though. If you wanna go out to dinner and wanto to eat everything whithout counting the calories, just do a fasting all day long. This way you will be able to absorb all the calories without converting much of it to fat. Works well for me. This is an adapted feeding based on the Extreme Fat Loss Diet. Keep BCAA intake during the day and do a weight training before the dinner. Again, works well for me. Just an idea.
Thanks
Say Joel, this is a dead on tip… I use this trick at PF Changs all the time… nice work bro…
Sounds interesting, i dont eat out often unless the wife wants to go, but i never actually calculated the nutrition content of the food i’m being served. It always seemed like an 8oz steak was just an 8oz steak but idk anymore..
Another great tip for restaurants that serve up large portions is to ask them to bring a to-go-box with your meal so you can immediately box up half of it. Works great for those that have trouble with knowing when to stop eating.
Jayson
10-20lbs in 2 months???
how often do you eat out?
one thing you may be forgetting (if you dine out frequently) is the source of the raw product. most restaurants do not use fresh ingredients, and thier meats are likely not of the free range variety, if thier broth is from powder, it is likely to have yeast or msg as well (sorry to ruin the party…)
ps are you sure you were eating beef?
Anything to keep the calories down at a restaurant is important to know. Good tip.
I wonder why there are less obese people among the Chinese though…
Great article joel as always
Quick question though, how do we go from the previous article listing soy as detrimental to health to suggesting soy sauce as a healthy alternative?
Joel, very informative post for those who are unaware of the hidden calories at restaurants.
After discovering these tips I noticed I am not as fearful about eating at restaurants any more.
The only suggestion i have to people is to stay strong and DEMAND what you want…alot of times at restaurants they will make a big deal if you ‘change’ your order, especially when it comes to making a healthier choice such as no butter or an alternative sauce..
But in the end it is YOU who is paying for the meal so just be sure you get what you want and dont take no for an answer.
this tip is more useful for ppl who dine out a lot…for ppl like me, who dine out occasionally, i dont really mind the extra calories, coz i know its a one-off…rather than fuss about every item on the menu and how to make it skinny, i just want to relax w/ friends and not have to think about my waistline every second of the day that God sends…if i consume too many calories during that meal out, i’ll just make it up the next day by controlling my portions/ controlling what i eat/ fasting. i think ppl can think too much about a good thing and end up turning it into a bad thing i.e. an obsession. great to be health-conscious, just dont let it take over ur life.
hi
could you please tell us what you would recommend the daily intake for protein,fat,carbs exc in grams are for say an 80 kilo man trying to lose body fat or gain muscle i think a lot of people are struggeling with this!!!!
thanks
Hi Joel
This is my first post on the blog so a big hello
Yes great tip on avoiding the sauces they can be a nightmare. I also ask for extra veggies to fill me up quicker and make sure my carbs are on the side because I tend to find that the moment it is on my plate I have to eat it and finish the lot. Obviously some mind games going on there
Cheers
Hey Joel.
Awesome tips, the secret is always in the sauce.
But how do you know if they actually cooked the food the way you like it? You know with chicken broth instead of corn starch and canola oil.
Any tips on that?
Hi Joel, I like your post. I’m already trying to do your advice but I’m still avoiding eating out as more as I can because I know some people who use to work in kitchen and more than 1 told me that they often use to do “special treatments” for picky customers like us. I avoid all the food chain restaurants because of that. I’m probably paranoing but sometime, its better eating crap than not knowing what we eat…
Really?
I’ve never had any problem asking for certain preparations. Maybe that’s because I make sure my tone indicates asking, not demanding, and I go a bit overboard praising and thanking the server for taking such good care of me. Demand your changes too firmly or with too much attitude & I guarantee you’ll get the “special treatment” someone else referred to above.
Nice post. Some of the sauces, like salad dressing, are easy to recognize, but I would not have thought of sauce on my veggies or heavy stuff in my stirfry. Thanks!
How about some healthy recipes for sauces??
I can see avoiding the sugar part of the sauces but there’s nothing wrong with butter and cream. Most soy sauce contains wheat which should also be avoided in my opinion.
@ Joel Marion:
Lol…so true…even Panda Express doesn’t cook the traditional chinese way
being a Chinese American myself, I LOVE chinese food, but I no longer go for the starchy rice and noodles anymore (yup, even the brown rice)…my “healthy” weakness, though, is a particular braised eggplant dish…however, I have that entree replace what would’ve been a side of rice and/or noodles
Good thing I don’t eat chinese anymore, at least not in the restaurant. I cook it myself and it’s much better then what they serve. I know that in the US u have tons of restaurants but here in Croatia we don’t have so many. Though the one that we have in my hometown is not as good as I would like. I noticed the same think that Joel did, but I stopped eating there and solved my problems :D. I got the recipes on the net and started cooking for myself, I love me some chinese food :)
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...