Six Easy Steps to Healthy Eating When Dining Out

By Jonathan Ling

If you've been following a diet plan to lose weight or maintain your current body weight, then you need to be very careful about what you eat and drink when you dine out. If you're not careful you will find that you have gained back all the weight you lost. Is it possible to dine out while remaining true to your diet?

Of course it's possible to enjoy a healthy meal at just about any restaurant - even at most fast food places. Follow these six simple guidelines to help you choose the healthiest meal when you are dining out during your next meal.

One: Avoid Starchy Carbohydrates such as potatoes in almost every form. White rice and white bread are two of the most common diet busting culprits found at almost every eatery, along with tortilla chips. Don't order these items as they have almost zero nutritional value, but they will add unnecessary calories which spike your blood sugar levels and eventually trigger your body to store more fat. This is surely not what you want to happen!

Two: Drink water or unsweetened tea. Basically for your beverage you need to avoid drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup for the same reason you need to avoid starchy carbohydrates - unnecessary calories which spike the blood sugar levels. Your best option is a glass of filtered water with a lemon.

[TIP: If you absolutely must have a soda, opt for a diet soda (however these have high sodium and are sweetened with potentially harmful chemicals, which is not healthy in the long run).]

Three: Fresh fruits and vegetables. No matter the entree you order, make sure to choose one with plenty of servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat these items first before choosing to eat any other 'less healthy' items.

Four: Avoid 'heavy' sauces, salad dressing and too much cheese. These items are often hidden diet busters because they add extra fat calories to a meal and most people don't even give a second thought to them. Use sauces and salad dressing in moderation on the side. Limit your cheese consumption as this also adds extra fat to your meal.

Five: Smaller meal portions. Restaurants nowadays are 'super sizing' everything - and we are all paying for it with increased obesity levels everywhere! You do not need to eat everything they put on your plate! Instead, limit your meal size to smaller portions. Take the extra food home to enjoy at another meal tomorrow.

[TIP: Enjoy your meal with a friend or family member and split it with them. Most meals served today are actually large enough for two people!]

Six: Dessert can be a diet killer! Avoid most desserts as they are simply loaded with blood sugar spiking sweetness which triggers your body to respond by storing extra fat.

[TIP: If you have a sweet craving after your meal, choose 'lite' desserts which include fresh fruits instead of cakes, pies and ice cream.]

There you have it! Six super diet tips for eating out at any restaurant and still enjoying your meal without busting your diet. Follow these tips each and every time you go out to eat and you will find that you feel better - and you can enjoy a guilt-free meal out!

Jonathan Ling is a normal guy who lost 30 pounds and learned how to keep it off. During college he was a skinny guy who had a hard time gaining weight. After college, marriage and children, he was a formerly skinny guy who had become overweight (and very very busy). Now he shares his experience and wisdom to help others lose weight and feel great - and enjoy life!

Visit his latest website about heart rate monitor watches, also known as a calorie counter watch.

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Recognizing the Big Causes of Diabetes

By: Shelly Brown

Even though type 1 is not considered hereditary, if someone in your family has it, you may have a genetic predisposition for the condition. So having a parent with the condition does not automatically guarantee that you will as well. It can happen, however. To get ideas to avoid this condition, let your doctor know if any family members have Type 1 diabetes. You can't control your genetics but you can control your overall health.

Pregnancy is one of the reasons diabetes happens. Gestational diabetes is commonplace for some pregnant women.

This is a condition that can last momentarily and be easily taken care of with a proper diet. Women who have babies that weigh nine plus pounds are also more prone to diabetes than those who have babies below nine pounds. Unfortunately there is not a lot you can do to control the weight of your baby (and babies, on average, are being born heavier and heavier every day). Each pregnant woman is tested for gestational diabetes, so she won't have to wonder if maybe she has come down with it. If you end up with diabetes while you're pregnant, you're medical professional will help you find a way to deal with it.

High blood pressure is one of the manageable roots of diabetes. People who are struck with high blood pressure are more prone to contracting Type 2 diabetes. Do what you can to control your cholesterol levels in check and to watch your blood pressure. This means you need to make an effort to lessen your stress and maintain your health. High blood pressure has it's own set of problems, but it is more difficult to manage once you have been diagnosed with diabetes. Maintaining your health is the premium option from keeping diabetes from occurring in your body. As a general rule, diabetes can be avoided. Since type 1 diabetes is determined more by genetics and ethnicity, it is harder to avoid. Type 2 diabetes, however, can be caused by a number of environmental factors that are easy to control. Be upfront with your doctor regarding your risk factors for developing either form of this disease. This disease can be avoided when the doctor has all the pertinent data they need.

Author Resource:-> Installing an electronic pet door is easy! Find out how owning an electronic pet door will make your life easier.

Article From New Ezine Articles

Healthy Body - Healthy Mind

More than two thousand years ago, Hippocrates, the Greek physician and father of medicine, said, "A wise man ought to realize that health is the most valuable possession."

We are obliged to Hippocrates' and others from the past for
reminding us that fitness and health is not just a new and passing phenomenon and neither are the ways to achieve and maintain good health.

The fundamentals of good health, known and proven for so
long, are available to anyone who decides they want to fully enjoy the enormous benefits of healthy living.

The reality of this lesson is brought home in the compelling story from over a century ago of an American boy, sickly and weakened by childhood diseases, who sought a refuge from his physical handicaps in a love of books and reading. As time went on, just as his mind grew strong from his studies, his body continued to fail.

His concerned father at last told his 12-year old son, "You have the mind but not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You must make your body know you will do it!" And the wise father then gave the boy weights and other gymnastic equipment and worked with him to strengthen his frail young body.

Well, this story has a remarkably happy ending. The boy heeded his father's encouragement, and not only worked hard to rebuild his health, but became a superior athlete, graduated from Harvard University and went on to lead a vigorously active life of eminent achievement. This once-sickly boy eventually became the 26th president of the United States. He was Theodore Roosevelt, who at age 42, was and is the youngest man ever to become president.

Throughout his life, Roosevelt practiced what he called, "the
strenuous life." His energetic commitment to physical activities
included boxing, horseback riding, swimming and hiking among others.
Teddy Roosevelt discovered that an important foundation for good
health is movement and activity. He demonstrated that our bodies are
designed to get stronger as they are constantly used and challenged
with purposeful physical activities.

Teddy Roosevelt, incidentally, was a great outdoorsman and probably
knew more about natural science than any other President who has ever
been in office, and some of his most notable achievements were in the
area of conservation. He added about 150 million acres to the
national forests, set up five new national parks, created the first
51 federal bird reservations and established the first four national
game preserves. He loved nature and worked to preserve the
environment for future generations.

Roosevelt undoubtedly agreed with Hippocrates view that, "The first
wealth is health." And with the old proverb that takes Hippocrates
idea one step further by saying, "Health is better than wealth."

Because Teddy Roosevelt's life dramatically exemplifies the
life-changing power of achieving and maintaining good health. The
simple moral to his story is that nothing is more essential to
building a successful life than good health.

As Teddy Roosevelt showed us, the secrets to good health are not
complicated. They are known and waiting for you to discover them and,
most important, to put them into practice. The blessings and joys of
good health and fitness can be yours when you choose to make them
priorities in your life.

Good health, you know, means having the capacity to live life fully
and being able to experience the best that life has to offer. It
means having vigor and energy. It is having the ability to pursue
your dreams with the confidence that you will be able to accomplish
them.

It's doubtful that Teddy Roosevelt would have accomplished much in
his life had it not been for the words of advice from his father
about developing his body in addition to his mind. It's worth
thinking about, especially these days when so many of us live
sedentary existences. We can only go where our bodies can take us,
and our bodies need exercise to stay healthy and strong. So remember:
build both your body and your mind. They're a powerful combination.
Teddy Roosevelt proved it.

Action to be taken: Commit to a firm set of health related goals and
get yourself in the best physical shape starting today.

Everything Counts!

Gary Ryan Blair

Gary Ryan Blair is President of The GoalsGuy. A visionary and gifted conceptual thinker, Gary is highly regarded as a speaker, consultant, strategic planner, and coach. Visit The GoalsGuy at http://www.GoalsGuy.com as well as their new lifestyle brand at http://www.GotGoals.com

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