Eating
Out Fast food restaurants often come under fire and are blamed for poor
nutrition. If you are an uninformed consumer this will be true: fast food places
can offer the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's up to you to make the adequate
nutritional choices as opposed to picking the quick non-nutritional fix (Ref.
7, p. 254-257). Let's take the common scenario of lunch,
and you are entering a hamburger place.
| Eating
out: LUNCH | 1. Choose
the grilled chicken item. Do not order the chicken burger, hamburger or chicken
nuggets. 2. Order your grilled chicken without mayonaise
and eat only half the bun. 3. Order a side salad and ask
for dressing on the side, not poured over it. 4. Have a
piece of fruit for dessert (bring an apple or buy one at the corner store.) |
This type of selection fulfills the criteria of:
- having a protein food (about the size of the palm of your hand)
- having
carbohydrate food (a bit of the bun and a salad, as well as the fruit)
- having
a moderate amount of fat intake.
Dinner is
frequently eaten in restaurants.
| Eating
out: DINNER | 1.Study
the menu and pick a choice of protein food that is lean. Look for non-breaded
fish or meat, or choose tofu, if you are in an asian restaurant. 2.
Order a salad. Skip the croutons and order the low fat dressing on the side. 3.
At the time of your order request an extra side vegetable instead of the pasta,
rice or potatoes. 4. Forget the garlic bread or the dinner
buns with butter. 5. Once your meal arrives, eat only the
meat portion you need(remember the palm of your hand measure.)Ask for a doggie
bag for the surplus. You will enjoy it the day after. 6.
Skip dessert, unless it is a piece of fruit. | Even
though you are likely eating breakfast at home, things will be different, when
you are travelling.
| Eating out: BREAKFAST
on the go | 1.
Forgo the pancakes with syrup or the hash browns. 2. If
there is a breakfast bar, have a small helping of oatmeal, eat a portion of scrambled
egg and enjoy same fruit. It may be a little higher in fat than your usual breakfast. 3.
Some restaurants will offer "heart smart" choices like an omelette made
with either egg substitute or more egg whites than egg yolk. This would be a good
choice along with some fruit. 4. Drink tea or coffee with
no sugar, or add sugar substitutes like Splenda (comes in powder form
or as prepackaged mini paper bags). Some cream is O.K. 5.
Remember: No bread, no toast, no ordinary cereal flakes as this would within 1/2
hour be pure sugar in your system starting the hyperinsulism cycle promoting the
syndrome of insulin resistance. |
If you are on the run, and it is
getting late, it is better to have a snack as a touch-up. An apple
and fruit (e.g. mandarin orange), a piece of mozzarella cheese (string cheese
is also handy), and 4 almonds will tide you over till the next larger
meal. Another option is to carry a nutrition bar in your pocket. Look for a product
with a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Some power bars do not
offer you balanced ingredients: either they are too high in carbohydrates or they
over emphasize the amount of protein. One product are Zone Perfect
Food Bars (made by Zone Perfect Nutrition. according to Dr. Barry
Sears' directions) Another option are the Balance Bars.
Weight loss / loss of sugar cravings: For many people a big
part of the accumulation of weight is due to a craving for sugar. However, when
you leave sugar out of your diet and leave out starches aswell, within only 3
to 7 days you get used to your complex carbohydrate/low fat diet. Refined sugar
and overwhelming starchy food intake have been part of the Western diet only for
a bit more than 100 years. It is high time that this is being reversed thus stopping
the trend towards obesity and diabetes. It is because of this that heart attacks,
strokes and high blood pressure had become the number one killer. With a combined
change of our eating habits we can change this trend. |
|
| Disclaimer:
This outline is only a teaching aid to patients and should stimulate
you to ask the right questions when seeing your doctor. However, the responsibility
of treatment stays in the hands of your doctor and you. References: 1.
B. Sears: "The age-free zone".Regan Books, Harper Collins, 2000. Also
see Dr. Sears' site. 2.
B. Sears: "Zone perfect meals in minutes". Regan Books, Harper Also
see Dr. Sears' site. 3.
B.J. Wilcox, D.C. Willcox and M. Suzuki: "The Okinawa Program." Clarkson
Potter,2001, N.Y., U.S.A. 4. E.L. Rossi: The psychobiology of mind-body
healing. Norton &Co., 1986, N.Y., U.S.A. 5. Vitamins and Foods.
Audio-Digest Family Practice Vol 49, Issue 29, Aug.7, 2001. 6. P.C.
McGraw: Life strategies. 1999, Simon&Schuster Source, N.Y., U.S.A. 7.
B. Sears: "The top 100 zone foods". Regan Books, Harper Collins, 2001.
Also see Dr. Sears' site. 8.
Suzanne Somers: "Breakthrough" Eight Steps to Wellness-- Life-altering
Secrets from Today's Cutting-edge Doctors", Crown Publishers, 2008 Last
Modified: Jan. 11, 2012 | |
|
