Even powerful women like us need to lose weight sometimes. We diet. We go to maintenance phase. We are working out. But when we go out to eat, we eat things we would never bring in the house: bread, potatoes, dessert – just a bit here and there but here comes the poofy belly again.
Then going back to strict maintenance isn’t enough. It’s time for another diet. Sigh.
When I need to lose weight, I eat lots of fish, tofu and veggies. High fiber, no sugar cereal with fresh ground flax seed, a small amount of fresh fruit and skim milk or light “silk” for breakfast. Fish or tofu with veggies and a small amount of brown rice for lunch. NO carbs for dinner – more fish or tofu with veggies.
I prefer Zero tolerance on sugar. I find it easier to “just say no”. I can get vicarious pleasure from smelling my companion’s desserts. Leading up to this diet, I was sampling desserts and had developed a craving.
Every year that goes by, brings less wiggle room in what I can eat. And dieting takes longer. This time it took a full month for any weight loss to kick in.
Diets are harder for women. Usually, men have a higher percentage of lean muscle mass which makes it easier for most men to lose weight more quickly. Any diet and maintenance of weight must include very regular exercise. I try to get 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise every day and light weight training 2 – 3 times a week.
The issue of how to enjoy eating out without gaining weight came up in a discussion about the new Los Angeles restaurant CRAFT on http://SingularCity.com and inspired this post. It is possible to have a wonderful meal at CRAFT and other great restaurants without gaining weight simply by following my ordering guidelines:
How to Order Well:
Don’t Order List Key Menu Words:
Butter (butter sauce, cooked in butter)
Fried (the only exception is fried tofu)
Pasta
Rice (with the exception of brown rice)
Cream
Bread (includes buns, sandwich bread, croutons and phylo wrappings)
Tortilla
Cheese
White Potato
Sauce (caution for anything with the word sauce – ASK if it is heavy)
Dessert: except for fresh fruit, tell them you don’t need a dusting of sugar
Corn
Go easy on beans
Go easy on salad dressing
Do Choose These Menu Items List:
Fish
Vegetables
Tofu
SMALL portions of white chicken, turkey or pork meat
Brown rice (small portions)
Yam (small portion, no butter, no maple syrup)
Fruit (not canned)
Olive Oil
Beverages:
During the diet phase, I keep alcoholic beverage consumption to once at most twice a week, keeping quantity to reasonable limits.
If you like tonic drinks, use diet tonic.
Drink lots of water.
Just forget about fruit juice, soda and any sugary drinks.
Especially if you are at a fine restaurant, your waiter should be able to assist you if you explain what you want to avoid. Be careful with fish advice. Fish oil is good for you. Don’t let the waiter steer you to a species of fish that is dry.
I have had several jobs in the food & beverage industry and learned how to order out of necessity.