Eat Out Lose Fat

Copyright 2010 and Beyond. Fitness VIP Studios, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 1 1


Eat Out, Lose Fat

The Savvy Guide to Leaning

Out While Dining Out

Arnel Ricafranca

www.1000CalorieChallenge.com


Legal Disclaimer

The information presented in this work is by no way intended as medical advice or as a substitute

for medical counseling. The information should be used in conjunction with the guidance and

care of your physician. Consult your physician before beginning this program as you would with

any exercise and nutrition program. If you choose not to obtain the consent of your physician

and/or work with your physician throughout the duration of your time using the

recommendations in the program, you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your actions.

By continuing with the program you recognize that despite all precautions on the part of Fitness

VIP Studios, LLC, there are risks of injury or illness which can occur because of your use of the

aforementioned information and you expressly assume such risks and waive, relinquish and

release any claim which you may have against Fitness VIP Studios, LLC, or its affiliates as a

result of any future physical injury or illness incurred in connection with, or as a result of, the use

or misuse of the program.


Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Big Problem With Eating Out ......................................................... 5

Chapter 2: Prepping For The Meal Out .................................................................. 7

Chapter 3: Navigating Dine-In Restaurant Menus .................................................. 9

Cajun Food ........................................................................................................ 10

Chinese Food .................................................................................................... 11

French Food ...................................................................................................... 13

Greek Food ....................................................................................................... 14

Indian Food ....................................................................................................... 16

Italian Food ....................................................................................................... 18

Japanese Food .................................................................................................. 20

Mexican Food ................................................................................................... 21

Steakhouses ...................................................................................................... 23

Thai Food .......................................................................................................... 25

Vietnamese Food .............................................................................................. 27

Chapter 4: Finding Healthy Items In Fast Food Restaurants ................................. 29

Fast Food Burger Joints ..................................................................................... 30

Fast Food Sandwich or Pita Restaurants ........................................................... 32

Taco Fast Food Restaurants .............................................................................. 34

Pizzerias ............................................................................................................ 35

Chapter 5: Don't Let Drinks Destroy Your Diet ..................................................... 37

Chapter 6: Your Take Home Message .................................................................. 39

Request Changes .............................................................................................. 39

About Arnel Ricafranca ........................................................................................ 42


Chapter 1: The Big Problem With Eating Out

As soon as you make achieving maximum fat loss your main priority, one immediate

threat comes into play – eating out. For most people, visiting a restaurant with a group

of friends or family has become a favorite pastime and a way they love to enjoy good

conversation along with usually, good food.

Unfortunately, while this may put them in a good mood and be a positive experience for

their social life, it isn't going to have a positive impact on their healthy eating and weight

loss program. In more cases than not, the foods you choose while eating out, whether

it's at a sit-down type of restaurant or a local drive-thru, are really going to wreak havoc

on your diet.

And we're not just talking putting you a hundred or so calories over your daily intake.

We're talking downright disastrous. If you don't choose wisely you may in fact

completely offset an entire week’s worth of hard work resulting in you showing very little

progress.

Over time, these fast food and restaurant meals have become loaded with fat, sugar, as

well as calories, and lack the proper nutrition that's vital for your overall functioning. The

sad fact of reality, is that eating out is one of the biggest causes for the obesity rates we

see today. People everywhere have become lazy with their cooking habits and are

much more quick to turn to take-out, take-in, or eat-in meals where they don't have to lift

much more than a restaurant menu.

Fortunately, with our help in this guide, we're going to show you how it is possible to

have a meal in a restaurant or fast food establishment without completely breaking your

diet. We're not saying that you should opt to eat out on a very regular basis as that not

only becomes expensive but even with the following changes you still may struggle to

see maximum results, but what we are saying is that you can still enjoy a meal out with

your friends or family without having to worry that you're really sacrificing your efforts.


It all comes down to learning the menu, understanding how to order smartly, and then

making sure to plan the rest of your day and the time following that meal out to

maximize the amount of fat loss that takes place.

When you can do this, then those restaurant meals can be integrated into your fat loss

plan and something you no longer need to fear. Without these strategies however, you

should be in fear because if you don't choose wisely, it's quite possible to gain almost a

pound of body fat over the course of a day if you're really unwise.

Restaurants are not out to appeal to your sense of health and wellness, they're out to

appeal to your taste buds and what satisfies most people's taste buds is butter, fat,

sugar, and calories.

That's what they know will keep most people coming back for more when we're living in

an instant-gratification environment where most people have a very difficult time saying

'no' to what tastes good in favour for saying 'yes' to what will make them look good in

the long run.

So let's get right into it and show you how you can navigate through various restaurants

and fast food places while keeping your overall weight loss mission intact.


Chapter 2: Prepping For The Meal Out

Now in some cases you may be in the situation where you realize ahead of time that

you will be eating out later in the day and can really maximize your ability to continue to

burn fat.

When it's a spontaneous meal out then there really isn't much you can do in terms of

pre-planning to accommodate for it, especially if it's a later meal in the day, but when

you know in the morning that you're going out to eat for dinner at your favourite

restaurant, there are some key things you should be doing.

Modifying Prior Meals

The very first thing you should do if you know that you're headed out to eat later that

day is start adjusting a few of your earlier meals. Since you should be on some type of

pre-planned meal schedule for maximum results, you already know what you're eating

with each and every meal you have.

Since you can assume that you likely will go over your calorie budget at least slightly

with the meal out, you now want to try and 'bank' those calories from earlier meals to

accommodate for this. By doing so you can still maintain the same weight loss daily

calorie intake, really making sure that this meal out does not set you back in progress.

You should never begin cutting out protein from your meals since this nutrient needs to

form the base of all the meals you eat a day. It is absolutely required on a fat loss plan,

but what you can reduce back on is the added carbohydrates or dietary fat with those

meals.

For example, if your typical meal consists of a grilled chicken breast, a cup of brown

rice, and one cup of steamed vegetables, just for this day eliminate that brown rice and

have another cup of steamed vegetables in its place.

This should save you approximately 150 calories total that you can then add to the meal

you're eating out, expanding your total calorie allotment there.


Do this for two to three meals throughout the day and you'll easily have more calories to

'spend' on that meal out in the restaurant.

Getting In Your Exercise – Even If It's Unscheduled

Next, if you're planning a meal out, make sure you do take the time to get in a workout

this day. This will help to rev your metabolism so you're burning more calories all

throughout the course of the day, helping to work off the meal that you'll be eating out

later on.

Try if you can to add a bit more additional activity as well – take the stairs a few times at

work, take a 15 minute walk at lunch rather than reading your favorite online magazine,

or get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way home instead.

All of these things will easily contribute an extra 100 or so calories burned to your day

so you can then afford to add to that meal while maintaining the same usual calorie

deficit. Even better, perform one of my explosive workouts to really spike up your

metabolism.

Having a Small Protein Based Snack Beforehand

Finally, the third thing that you should be doing before you head out to eat is have a

small snack that's pretty much strictly protein (possibly with some added fiber from

vegetables) about thirty to sixty minutes beforehand.

What this is going to do is really blunt hunger levels so you're not ravenous as soon as

you get to the restaurant and devour whatever contents are in the bread basket in a

matter of minutes. It's also going to help you not let hunger choose your menu selection

for you but tame your stomach so you can think clearly about the healthiest choice to be

ordering.

By simply having a small 100-150 protein-based snack before you go, you could save

yourself 500 or more calories throughout the course of the dinner meal.

If you can do all of these three things before you head out for that meal, you're already

one foot ahead in winning the game of restaurant eating.


Chapter 3: Navigating Dine-In Restaurant

Menus

Once you're sitting inside the restaurant and have the menu open browsing through all

the tantalizing dishes laid out in front of you, it's important that you can learn how to

navigate the menu and spot which dishes are going to be the most loaded with fat and

calories.

Each cuisine type of restaurant will have their own 'rules' for what's going to be highest

in calories and most likely to damage your weight loss efforts so it's vital that you take

where you're at into consideration as you feast your eyes upon the menu.

Let's have a quick look at the various cuisine types you may come across so you can

better assess what you should and should not be ordering.

Are you ready for this?

Let’s get started......


Cajun Food

If you have a taste for spicy foods, there's no doubt about it, you're going to find yourself

in a Cajun type of restaurant at some point or another. Cajun food is typically very spicy

and can be very high in saturated and trans fats, along with high in cholesterol and

sodium as well. While Cajun food may taste great, it's not going to be so great for your

waistline.

General Tips For Eating Cajun

Avoid any type of fried seafood or other meals

Avoid 'hush puppies', which are essential small balls of fried dough – fat and

carbs wrapped up neatly in one small package

Be very careful when ordering 'blackened' entrees as these are often dosed in

butter or oil throughout the cooking process and then covered in spices which

can make them seem to be healthier.

Be sure to ask for any gravy or sauce that's served with your dish on the side to

save significant calories in your meal

If you can follow these tips, you'll already be gearing towards some of the healthier

items on the menu. As you browse through the list, the healthiest options will be:

Boiled crawfish, shrimp, or any other type of seafood

Creole or jambalaya (preferably without sausage)

Turkey or roast beef sandwiches without gravy

Beans with Rice (also without sausage added in).

On the flip side, the menu items that you should avoid at all costs include:

Fried crawfish, shrimp, or other seafood

Gumbo, which is often made with very high calorie cream or sauce

Fried shrimp or oyster Po'Boy sandwiches

Rice dishes containing chicken gizzards, livers, butter, and other high-fat

ingredients


Any dishes with sausage

Cajun food can be tricky to navigate because often some selections won't appear to be

high fat naturally (like say a hamburger or pizza would be) however don't be fooled, the

way they are cooked can make them really high in fat and calories so something you

need to be on the lookout for.

Chinese Food

A favourite type of cuisine among many, Chinese food actually does offer many

nutritious options if you can understand how to choose correctly. If you can't however,

then you're easily in for more fat and calories than you bargained for so you really must

tread carefully.

General Tips For Eating Chinese

Always opt for dishes that contain the most vegetables – preferably steamed as

you can virtually eat an unlimited amount of these without significantly impacting

your daily calorie totals

Try and substitute chicken for duck as often as possible as it's a leaner, healthier

source of protein

Avoid any added noodles on top of the dish by requesting they are left off to

avoid taking in additional fat and calories


Always request from the server that the chef uses less oil throughout the cooking

process and avoids adding soy sauce, MSG, or salt. These can quickly bloat you

and make it appear as though you've gained weight overnight.

Since many Chinese restaurants offer more of an a la carte menu where you can mix

and match a variety of dishes, it tends to be quite a bit easier to prepare yourself a

healthy meal if you choose the right selections. As you look over the menu, here are

some of the healthier options to keep in mind:

War-Won-Ton, plain Won-ton, or vegetable soup – especially when made with

chicken rather than pork

Steamed dumplings

Broiled, boiled, or steamed stir-fries with sauce ordered on the side

Steamed rice (usually you cannot find brown rice. However if you can, be sure to

request it)

Plum sauce, duck sauce, or sweet and sour sauce tend to be lower in calories

The main types of dishes that you want to be sure to avoid if you hope to maintain a

lower calorie intake at this meal include:

Egg drop soup, which is very high in cholesterol and fat

Egg rolls or fried wontons

Any type of 'fried' entrée (Ginger Fried Beef for example)

Entrees that contain a high amount of cashews or peanuts – while these are

healthy nuts, they add up in calories very fast

Fried rice

Lobster sauce, oyster sauce, and bean sauce are the higher calorie varieties of

sauces to stay away from

One of the biggest problems with Chinese food is the sodium and MSG content that's

often found so be sure you do make the extra effort to request the chef go easy on the

soy sauce and avoid MSG if at all possible.


French Food

If French food is what you prefer, then the main things you're going to have to watch out

for when eating out are sauces, high amounts of carbohydrates from bread, pasta, and

potatoes, as well as a lack of protein content overall as many dishes don't contain all

that much meat.

If you can choose wisely and then also make sure to keep portion sizes on the smaller

size while getting in that protein-based snack we talked about in the second chapter,

you'll be able to eat French and still maintain your weight loss.

General Guidelines For Eating French

Avoid any type of entrée that sounds quite rich in nature, especially the desserts

as well as meals loaded with sauce

Choose the simplest types of dishes you can find that often only contain a few

ingredients

Request that the chef uses less butter throughout the cooking process to

significantly reduce back on the overall fat and calories.

If you want to stay slim while eating French foods, you must eat lightly. That's the key

when navigating the menu, so keep the following menu choices in mind:

Appetizers that should contain lower levels of salt such as steamed mussels

Mixed green salad with vinaigrette dressing (and request that this be on the side

as well)

French bread without butter

Bordelaise sauce or anything else that is wine and not cream based

Lightly sautéed, crispy vegetables

Chocolate pudding that's made with skim milk (ask your server how it's prepared)

Peaches or other fruits in a light wine sauce


As you can notice from the above, not many of these contain very much protein at all,

so that's really something that you must be aware of. The main dishes that you should

be avoiding as they are high in sugar or fat include:

Appetizers that contain olives, capers, or anchovies

Pate

French Onion Soup

Croissants

Rich, creamy-based sauces

Hollandaise, Mornay, Bechamel, or Bearnaise sauce

Anything that is described as "au gratin"

Chocolate Mouse

Crème caramel

All of those items are going to have large quantities of butter or cream added to them

throughout the cooking process and will really pack on the weight quickly. What's worse

is that high fat dishes are the easiest to store as body fat because unlike high-

carbohydrate foods, high-fat foods cannot get stored in the muscle tissue, but will go

directly to body fat when the energy intake exceeds the energy requirements.

While you may not think of French foods as that unhealthy, it is really one type of

cuisine that has the lowest amount of healthy options as far as North American eating

establishments go.

Greek Food

The next restaurant cuisine type that must be covered is Greek food. The Greek's are

known for their high consumption of olives and olive oil and while this is a healthy form

of fat, if you're not careful it can really increase the total calorie content of your dish

quite significantly.

When eating Greek then the key is also keeping portion sizes reasonable and then also

incorporating as many vegetables into the dish as possible.


General Guidelines For Eating Greek

Ask for all dressings and sauces on the side so you can control how much is

added

Avoid any type of phyllo dishes – while it seems like it would be healthy since

these are so thin, they are actually very high in overall butter content

Watch out for dishes that contain a lot of added cheese as those calories quickly

add up as well

While navigating the Greek menu, if you see any of the following dish options, these will

be your best bet to order for your meal:

Appetizers that include rice or vegetables

'Dolmas', which are a rice mixture that's wrapped in grape leaves

Tzatziki, which is a yogurt and cucumber appetizer

Roasted lamb or chicken

Shish Kabob prepare with lamb or chicken

Couscous or bulgur wheat

Chicken pita sandwich

Plaki, which is fish that's cooked in tomatoes, onions, and garlic

Fresh fruit and yogurt


On the other side of the equation, the following are some of the main dishes to avoid:

Meat-stuffed appetizers

Fried calamari or other fried seafood

Baba Ganoosh, which is an eggplant appetizer

Moussaka, which is a type of beef casserole or any other type of creamy or

cheesy entrée

Gyro

Spinach pie (Spanakopita)

Pastries that contain cream cheese, almonds, or other types of nuts

If you can keep these points in mind as you look over the menu, you should be headed

on the right track. Greek salad with the dressing on the side is typically a safe bet to

order since then you can also pick through it and leave any of the higher fat, higher

calorie ingredients you don't want on the plate (such as high amounts of olives).

Indian Food

More and more people are starting to discover how much they love eating Indian food

and are starting to include this regularly on the list of restaurant cuisines they frequent.

Fortunately, if you choose correctly there are a number of healthy choices available

however if you're not careful, you can really do your diet in as well.

General Guidelines For Eating Indian

Try and start with a salad wherever possible to fill up first before the main course

Choose chicken or seafood rather than opting for beef or lamb

Avoid dishes that contain 'ghee', which is a type of butter that's very high in fat

and calories

Skip the soup if you are concerned about the sodium content in your diet

Try and focus your meals around protein and vegetables to cut back on the total

calories and carbohydrates consumed


If you can learn how to navigate the Indian restaurant menu properly, there are quite a

few specific dishes that you can choose from that suite a variety of taste buds. Some of

the main dishes to keep an eye out for that will be safer to order while sticking with your

fat loss diet include:

Papadum or Papad, which are crispy, thin lentil wafers

Chicken or beef tikka or tandoori, both of which are cooked using lower calorie

methods in a variety of spices that don't add additional fat or calories. You may

want to request that this be made with less butter however just to be sure as

some restaurants will still use a larger quantity

Any vegetable, chicken, or fish based curry

Shish kabob's made from chicken, vegetables, and seafood

Gobhi Matar Tamatar, which is a blend of cauliflower, peas, and tomatoes

Matar Pulao, which is rice pilaf with peas

Steamed rice

Chapati or Naan, but be sure to have without butter and just on its own

Fortunately Indian foods tend to have quite strong tastes on their own without a lot of

deep frying or added fats due to the spices that are used. You should be fully satisfied

with any of the above dishes and will have a much healthier meal at that.

The following however are dishes that you should be watching out for as they do

contain more calories and will put a much larger dent in your healthy eating plan.

Samosas, which is stuffed and fried vegetable turnover

Korma, which is braised meat with a rich yogurt cream sauce and is very high in

fat

Any type of curry that's made with coconut milk or cream

Pakora, which is a form of deep-fried dough with vegetables

Saaq paneer, which is spinach with cheese and a cream sauce – quite a deadly

combination

Any type of rice dishes that are heavy in sauce

Fried or stuffed breads, especially if they contain cheese


If you can avoid these dishes then you shouldn't have too many problems eating healthy

while having Indian foods. Cheese and cream sauces are the big things to watch out

for with this type of cuisine so put those forthright on your radar.

Italian Food

Probably one of the most popular types of cuisines that people eat out at is Italian. This

type of food usually appeals to almost every taste bud preference and since

carbohydrates are notoriously craved by dieters everywhere, it's no wonder why this

would be a popular choice.

Keeping portion sizes under control is going to be the biggest key for this type of

restaurant and then making sure you make some smart selections.

General Guidelines For Eating Italian

Avoid ordering a pasta appetizer and a pasta main entrée as that will really

overload your carbohydrate intake

Try ordering a half order or having half boxed up before it hits the table

Choose tomato based sauces rather than cream based sauces

Avoid putting on added Parmesan cheese at the table

Order without any bacon bits or cheese toppings

If you're having pizza, choose leaner toppings such as vegetables, chicken, and

shrimp and ask for the chef to go lighter on the cheese


The good news with Italian food is that if you choose wisely, it does tend to be slightly

lower in fat and since carbohydrates do help stimulate the metabolism while you're on a

low calorie diet, you actually can benefit from having those extra carbohydrates in there

for that meal. Just don't use this as an excuse to go crazy or you could still find yourself

adding body fat because of it.

The following dishes are going to be your best choice options for healthy fare that's

lower in fat:

Any type of grilled or roasted peppers

Minestrone or vegetable, tomato-based soup

Pasta primavera with garden vegetables

Pasta with white or red clam sauce

Pasta with marsala or marinara sauce

Thin crust pizza with mostly vegetable toppings

Greens salad with dressing on the side

Piccata dishes

Italian ices for dessert

Most of these tend to be on the lighter side however can be lower in protein so you may

want to request to have a grilled chicken breast on the side if offered. If not, try and get

in a solid source of protein before or after the meal (save room by eating less at the

table) so you can be sure you don't miss out on your protein needs.

Moving on, on the list of the foods that you'll want to watch out for, the big ones include:

Fried calamari or garlic shrimp

Cheese or meat filled pastas (ravioli for example)

Pasta with butter or cream sauces

Parmigiana which is a dish that has been floured, fried, and then baked – really

upping the overall fat and calories in this dish

Italian pastries for dessert


Usually appetizers should be avoided when visiting Italian restaurants as 90% of the

time they will be a combination of high-fat and high-carb, both of which will wreak havoc

on your diet.

If you must get an appetizer, stick to a simple salad or minestrone soup and then order

a half order for your main entrée. That should help keep your total calorie count much

lower.

Japanese Food

Opposing Chinese restaurants for oriental cuisine and you have Japanese fare. This is

often a favourite among many people as well, especially those who tend to crave sushi.

The good news is that when you choose properly, Japanese food can actually be

remarkably healthy so if you learn to navigate through the menu, this can actually be a

regular stand-by in your diet.

General Guidelines For Eating Japanese

One of the biggest things to watch for with this food is the use of soy sauce, so

whenever possible aim to request that it's made with less or a reduced salt

variety

Even better is to ask for all the sauces to be on the side so you can use a very

light hand when applying them

Try and avoid any food that has been deep-fried, breaded, or battered as these

are going to be the varieties that pack away the greatest number of calories.

Since Japanese is known for their raw fish consumption and fish is naturally a very

healthy food to eat, this does make it top of the list for weight loss diets. You'll be

getting a strictly high-quality source of protein without any added fats and will have no

problem maintaining your diet.

The following food choices at a Japanese restaurant will be great options:

Grilled shrimp or vegetable sushi

Nabemono casseroles


Yosenabe, which is seafood in a vegetable broth

Shabu-Shabu, which is sliced beef and noodles served with a dipping sauce

Steamed vegetables

Sukiyaki, which is beef and rice

Su Udon soup

Grilled chicken or beef teriyaki

Sushimi, which is raw fish without the rice

Moving on to the unhealthier items when you choose to eat Japanese, the following

menu choices are deep-fried or battered, or contain a lot more carbohydrates than what

you'll typically want to take in when dining out.

Vegetable tempura - is battered and fried vegetables

Shrimp tempura - battered and fried shrimp

Chicken tempura – battered and fried chicken

Tonkatsu – breaded pork cutlet

Oyako Domburi – chicken omelette that's served over white rice

Chawan Mushi – chicken and shrimp in egg custard

California Rolls if prepared with full fat mayonnaise

As much as possible when eating Japanese, try and stick with fish dishes that only use

rice as a side and not added as a large component of the entire meal. This will also

help to keep calories and simple carbohydrates down.

Mexican Food

If you think salsa when you think of Mexican food then you likely already have a fairly

healthy perception of this variety of food in your mind.

Be careful however as there are many fattier and higher calorie options when eating

Mexican that can really damage your diet.

When choosing correctly, you can eat well but when you don't, it's a whole other ball

game.


General Guidelines For Eating Mexican

Right off the start ask your server to skip bringing fried tortilla chips to snack on

as an appetizer which will quickly contribute both fat and calories to the meal

Always ask for salsa in replacement of sour cream for your dishes when possible

Select veracruz sauce rather than cream or cheese sauces for the main entrée

If you're ordering a taco salad, be sure to leave the shell, which contains the

most fat and calories on your plate

Mexican foods are usually quite spicy which will work to your advantage because most

people will stop eating sooner. Just do watch out though because with all the added

sour cream and cheese in many dishes, you could easily end up with over a thousand

calories at your meal.

Here are some of the healthier picks that you should choose off the menu in order to

maximize nutrition while still keeping the taste:

Corn tortillas eaten in moderation

Grilled shrimp, fish, or chicken breast as your main protein source

Frijoles a la charra

Beans with Spanish Rice


Salsa or pica de gallo for added flavours to your dish

Cilantro seasoning or jalapeno peppers

Chicken fajitas with plenty of onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce –

order in a soft tortilla whenever possible to cut back on the overall fat and ask for

no cheese or sour cream

Taco or Fajita salad without sour cream

Chicken or beef enchiladas with salsa and no sour cream

When it comes to eating healthy at a Mexican restaurant, one of the top things that you

should do is request the meal 'without'. Cheese, sour cream, as well as hard tortilla

shells are all what you want to do without.

Some of the other meals that will put quite a large dent in your diet include:

Entrees made with flour tortillas

Nachos smothered in cheese

Carnitas, which is fried beef or pork

Refried beans

Quesadillas that have been prepared with full fat cheese and served with sour

cream

Chalupas and tacos

Flautas or other specialty wraps such as burritos

If you can do your best to avoid all of those foods from the diet then you shouldn't have

too many problems when eating Mexican. A better choice would always be preparing

the Mexican food yourself and serving it with reduced fat sour cream and cheese if you

really cannot do without those ingredients.

Steakhouses

For some people, nothing screams eating out more than sitting down to a nice juicy

steak and potatoes at their favourite steakhouse. While steak can be a healthy protein

source and worked into a diet, you do have to be careful here because many steak


meals pack in far more calories than you would have ever imagined. No one really

needs a 12 oz or greater steak, yet usually that's what these restaurants are serving up.

General Guidelines For Eating At A Steakhouse

Always order the smallest size steak available – remember 3 oz is your 'typical'

serving size

If you are up for it, consider having seafood rather than steak, which is much

lower in fat and calories

Be careful of how many sides you have with your steak – aim to have mostly

vegetables with a very small amount of carbohydrates on the plate

Fortunately, many steakhouses can easily cater your meal to your own personal

requests so it's not that hard to sub in certain foods for others. This allows you to create

your own meal to an extent so you get a much better offering of foods that would

traditionally be on your diet plan.

Here are some of the better menu items to consider ordering:

Leaner cuts of steak such as London broil, filet mignon, round or flank steak, as

well as sirloin tip

Baked potato or brown rice, not prepared with butter

Green salad with dressing on the side

Steamed vegetables

Grilled chicken or fish

Angel food cake or sherbet if having dessert

Any of these will nicely fit into your diet plan and help satisfy your hunger as well.

Unlike other restaurants where there is often a lot of fat and calories added to the

cooking process, for the most part many of the items at the steakhouse are grilled or

stir-fried, making it a far healthier choice.

There are a few menu items that you do need to be on the lookout for however as they

can break your diet quickly. The list of ones to avoid includes:


Fattier cuts of meat such as rib eye, porterhouse, and T-bone steak

French fries

Scalloped, mashed, or au gratin potatoes

Caesar salad

Fried vegetables

Pie or cheesecake

These menu choices will be far higher in fat and calories due to the creamy ingredients

added or the deep fried cooking processes. As much as you can, be sure you avoid

these altogether as there really isn't much of a way to make them healthier in a

restaurant.

Thai Food

Thai food is another type of cuisine that's growing in popularity like Indian food, and

does offer some healthy choices when you're smart in looking over the menu. Thai food

dishes also typically contain more vegetables than other cuisine types so in that regard

they are already one step ahead of the competition.

General Guidelines For Eating Thai Food

Aim for lighter, stir-fry dishes as well as spring rolls

Stay away from entrees that contain heavy sauces as often these are much

higher in sugar content


Lookout for any dishes that are cooked in vegetable oil rather than coconut oil or

lard

Always opt for chicken or seafood over duck

Avoid entrees that are mad with coconut milk as it's very high in overall fat

content

Limit the use of soy sauce in order to watch sodium intake

Often at Thai food restaurants you can actually pick and choose from the sauces that

are included in your meal so it's slightly easier to customize eating in these restaurants

than if you were at a Chinese or French restaurant for example.

The following menu choices are going to offer the least amount of calories while

providing you with the most nutritional quality so are what you should always try to lean

towards:

Fresh spring rolls served with small amounts of sweet and sour sauce

Stir-fried dishes and request that they go easy on the sauce

Tom yam goong – a hot and sour shrimp soup

Nuea pad prik, which is a dish containing pepper steak

Pad Thai, which is a mixture of noodles stir-fried with ground peanuts, bean

sprouts, egg, tofu, as well as scallions

Steamed rice or sticky rice (in limited portions as it is still very high in

carbohydrates)

Fruit ice

As long as you can maximize the intake of vegetables in your meal while minimizing the

amount of rice or noodles you take in (which are far higher in overall simple

carbohydrates), you'll do well eating at a Thai restaurant.

The main dishes that you should be sure to avoid so that you don't add extra fat and

calories to your menu plan are:

Fried spring rolls with heavy dipping sauce

Anything made with coconut milk


Tom ka gai, which is chicken in coconut milk soup

Gaeng keow wan gai, which is a type of curry chicken with eggplant that's also

very high in fat content

Gaeng ped gai – red curry chicken

Fried rice

Gluay kaeg dessert, which is bananas that are sliced and dipped in coconut

batter and then fried up

Coconut ice cream

As you can see coconut is a frequent ingredient in many Thai dishes and something you

definitely do want to work to avoid because it will boost the fat and calorie content very

rapidly. Stick to lighter based sauces that are made more from vegetable stock and

ones that tend to have a slightly sweeter taste to them rather than a creamy texture.

Vietnamese Food

Finally the last type of food that you may find yourself eating if you choose to go out for

a meal is Vietnamese. This type of cuisine also can be very healthy when chosen

correctly so take some time to learn what you should and shouldn't be eating off the

menu. Unless you're familiar with the names of the different meals, it will be very

difficult to navigate through these ones.

General Guidelines For Eating Vietnamese

Try and avoid any very sweet sauces as they are typically higher in sugar

Limit the amount of pork that you order as it will be higher in fat than chicken or

fish dishes

Choose steamed foods over fried

Here are some of the menu items that will be healthier choices:

Canh Chua Tom, which is spicy and sour shrimp soup

Fresh spring rolls


Bo Xa lui Nuong, which is grilled beef with lemon grass in rice paper with

vegetables

Ca Hap, which is steamed whole fish

Ca kho to, which is fish that's been steamed with caramel sauce

Lychee fruit for dessert

These foods are much lighter tasting and will fare better nutritionally than the following

menu items that contain more sugar, fat, and calories.

Banh michien voitom which stands for fried shrimp toast

Fried spring rolls

Vit quay, which is roast duck and is higher in fat than chicken or fish

Ca-ri ga or curry chicken

Banh dua ca ra men, which is a classic Vietnamese dessert that's made from

coconut flan with caramel

All of these menu choices should be avoided when eating Vietnamese food as they will

quickly boost your daily calorie intake and make it difficult to lose weight. Unfortunately

many people won't recognize the names of those dishes so will order them anyway

without really realizing what they are taking in.

So by now you should have a pretty solid idea of what dishes you should choose when

eating out in a sit-down restaurant. It's really important that you do take the time to look

through the menu and choose those that are going to best suite the type of diet you're

on as well as provide you the psychological enjoyment of eating out.

If you're very strict on your diet then you may really want to opt for something simple like

grilled chicken and a salad if you can specially order it, but if you're able to have some

flexibility, do try and order something that you'll enjoy and is healthy since it will help to

put the fun back in eating again – which is important in its own right.

As long as you aren't out on a regular basis you shouldn't find it's too damaging to your

diet and you can indulge slightly, particularly if you did the three things we discussed in

chapter two to get ready for eating out.


Also keep in mind that more and more restaurants are starting to realize that people are

watching what they eat more carefully and are adapting their menu as such.

They're becoming more accommodating with the way they are preparing their dishes so

if you do take the time to ask a chef to make a few adjustments to your meal, typically

they will have no problem doing so.

The sad thing is that most people are too afraid to ask, so instead they'll just 'live' with

the fact that they are going to take in more fat, sugar, and calories.

Don't be one of those people – I urge you to speak up because it will make a dramatic

difference in your progress.

Next we're going to take a quick look through some of the Fast Food menu options to

help you better assess what to order when you're eating on the run.

Chapter 4: Finding Healthy Items In Fast Food

Restaurants

At some point or another, there's a very good chance that you're going to find yourself

sitting at a fast food drive thru, getting ready to place an order on the run. Whether it's

because a craving for a hamburger with fries hit or because you just don't have time to

prepare something yourself, with a

fast food restaurant on just about

every city block, the options are

limitless.

Unfortunately, healthy fast food

meals are hard to come by, so

unless you're really paying attention

to what you order off the menu and

making a few special requests


when you place your order, you're going to end up with more fat and calories than you

bargained for.

Let's have a look at the common fast food restaurant chains so you can learn exactly

how to steer through the billboard menus and order something that's going to fill you up

and help you stick with your diet.

Fast Food Burger Joints

By far and away, the number one type of fast food restaurant is one that serves up the

classic meal – a hamburger and fries.

Only in today's age we don't just have a hamburger, we have Big Macs, Quarter

Pounders, Whoppers, Double Whoppers, and finally, the king daddy of all burgers, the

Triple Whopper With Cheese. Choose that last one and you've just eaten a 'whopping'

1250 calories. Guess they don't call it that for no reason.

To put this into perspective, for a 125 pound woman who is trying to lose those last 5

stubborn pounds, this is as many calories as she should eat over the course of the

entire day.

Choose wrongly at these restaurants and you are in big trouble – and that doesn't even

factor in fries added to that.


General Guidelines For Burger Fast Food Restaurants

Choose single patty burgers without cheese

Choose grilled chicken rather than a hamburger altogether

Request that your sandwich be prepared without 'special sauce' or mayonnaise

Feel free to add on moderate amounts of ketchup, relish, and as many

vegetables as you'd like

Consider some of the wraps now available for a typically healthier alternative

By following these guidelines, you'll do much better when eating at fast food hamburger

restaurants. More specifically, here are the menu items that you should feel safe

eating. Remember, even with these you may want to make some alterations such as

having it without the bun, asking for no cheese, or swapping out the sauces as

mentioned directly above.

Single patty burger

Grilled chicken burger

Grilled chicken wrap

Chili (where applicable)

Baked potato with salsa (hold the sour cream and bacon bits)

Salad without dressing or noodles (preferably with grilled chicken if not having a

sandwich)

Most of these menu items will provide you with a nice mix of carbohydrates and protein,

while keeping fat on the lower side of things. All also typically contain between 200 and

300 calories, so can quite easily fit into almost any diet plan.

Now, when it comes to poor choices, the options are plentiful. Here are some of the

main things you'll want to stay away from:

Double or triple patty hamburgers and cheeseburgers

Crispy fried chicken sandwiches

Bacon Burgers

French Fries


Onion Rings

Hash Browns

Baked potatoes with sour cream

Spicy battered chicken

Chicken Fries

Chili Fries

Poutine (fries with gravy and cheese)

Some veggie burgers that come with cheese and don't offer a lot in the way of

protein

Milkshakes

All of these will easily add up to 500 or more calories per serving and will not help you

win the war against fat loss. In addition to that many contain high amounts of trans and

saturated fats, both of which will really harm your long-term health.

Fast Food Sandwich or Pita Restaurants

The next type of restaurant that we come to are fast food sandwich restaurants. These

are places such as Subway, Quizno's, Extreme Pita, or Pita Pit. They are classified as

being the healthier alternative to a burger joint but if you're not careful, they too can do

quite a bit of harm.

General Guidelines For Sandwich And Pita Restaurants

Choose smaller sized sandwiches to keep the calorie count reasonable

Choose chicken, turkey, and ham sandwiches over beef, pepperoni, sausage, or

salami

Limit the use of cheese and mayonnaise

Load up on as many vegetables as possible

The nice thing about most sandwich and pita restaurants is that everything is prepared

right there in front of you so it's not all that difficult to really have a say in exactly what

goes on your sandwich. As long as you can understand healthy ingredients from

unhealthy ingredients, you can create a sandwich that works within your calorie budget.


Here are some of the better options to choose from:

Whole wheat small grilled chicken pita without cheese

Whole wheat small (or 6 inch) grilled chicken sub without cheese

Whole wheat turkey sub without cheese

Whole wheat ham sub without cheese

Chicken or vegetable clear broth-based soup

Each place may have their own variation on the different types of chicken, turkey, or

ham toppings to choose from such as teriyaki, honey mustard, grilled, and so on but as

long as you stay away from too much additional sauce added and ensure that it's not a

fried or breaded variety, then you should be choosing a healthier option.

On the other side of things, the following are some of the unhealthy options that you're

going to want to make sure to stay away from.

Meatball sub sandwich

Steak sandwich

Pizza sandwich

Cheesesteak sub

Bacon and ***** Sub (any variety with bacon)

Tuna sub or pita

Spicy Italian Sub

BLT sub or pita

All of these varieties will contain a great deal more fat than you were likely planning on

having. If you opt for the large sub or pita, you'll take in almost twice as much as you

planned for as well, really upping the damage this meal has done. A large Chicken and

Bacon Ranch sandwich from Subway for example will pack in 1140 calories – almost as

much as the Triple Whopper above.

This is far too many calories for anyone to have in a single meal regardless of their body

weight so something that you definitely should be turning away from.


So keep these points in mind when choosing fast food restaurants. Most important will

be portion control and then after that making sure to avoid special sauces or mayo as

well as cheese. Then if you can be sure to choose leaner cuts of meats and plenty of

vegetables, you can rest assured you're choosing healthier.

Taco Fast Food Restaurants

Moving on, our next type of fast food restaurant is the Taco or Mexican eatery. These

are typically not quite as popular as hamburger restaurants are, however enough

people are still visiting them so they must be included.

General Guidelines For Eating Mexican Fast Food

Always choose a soft shell taco over a hard shell and make sure you don't have

both in the same meal

Request for the meal to come without sour cream or guacamole

Limit the use of cheese

Try and always order the smallest size available to save on calories

Generally speaking, a single soft taco is relatively lower in calories compared to most

sandwiches and burgers so it can be a calorie conscious option provided you eat just

one.


The following are some of the healthier options for when you choose to dine Mexican

style:

Grilled steak soft taco

Grilled chicken soft taco

Mexican Rice

As you can see there aren't a lot of options at the Mexican fast food restaurant, but in

the end this will make ordering quite simple if you do plan to stay healthier.

On the other hand, the following menu items you really want to avoid because they are

much higher in fat and calories:

Bean burritos

Double Decker taco

Chicken or Steak taco salad

Cheese Quesadilla

Gordita Baja in Beef, Chicken, or Steak

7 Layer Burrito

Nachos

Usually these contain too many fried shells, too many carbohydrates from all the beans

they contain, or they have a lot of added fats from sour cream, cheese, and other

sauces. When it comes to Mexican food, simple is usually best.

Pizzerias

Finally, the last type of fast food that many people will choose to eat is pizza. While you

don't see many pizza drive-thrus around, pizzerias are still relatively quick to go sit-in or

if you like, you can have them ordered and delivered right to your door.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of pizza, there aren't really many 'healthy' options that

you can choose from. They all are going to put a rather large dent in your overall diet.

But, if you do make a few healthier choices then you can minimize the damage and still

get a variety of nutrients.


General Guidelines For Eating At Pizzerias

Choose the thinnest crust available and never order stuffed crust

Opt for mostly vegetable choices over meat

Choose shrimp, chicken, or ham for toppings

Request for less cheese to be used

Each and every pizza place will differ in the exact variety of pizzas that they offer but

mostly you will find quite similar variations so it's just a matter of looking off their menu

and choosing the combination that's the healthiest.

The best choices for pizza's include:

Ham and Pineapple

Ham

Grilled Chicken (if available)

Vegetarian

Shrimp and Mushroom

Peppers

Eggplant

Tomato and basil

The choices for pizza that you're mostly going to want to avoid because they pack in far

more fat and calories include:

Beef and Onion

Double Cheese

Pepperoni as well as Pepperoni and Mushroom

The Deluxe or Special (often called a different name depending on location)

Bacon and Cheese

Meat Lovers

Thick Crust

Stuffed crust


These will contain far more fat and calories so even just a single slice could really put

you over your daily calorie target. For best results, avoid these if possible.

So there you have the brief run-down on fast food restaurants. Because fast food menu

options typically contain less 'hidden' ingredients that can go in at the back of the

kitchen (if it's fried, you'll know it), generally it's slightly easier to make a healthier choice

if the option is available. In some cases though, the healthy pickings are few and far in

between so that does make it more challenging. Fortunately there are more fast food

restaurants coming out with 'healthy choice' menu's which are making it easier for the

dieter to choose something that will fit in with their diet nicely.

Chapter 5: Don't Let Drinks Destroy Your Diet

One thing that must be mentioned so it's not overlooked is the impact that beverages

can have on the diet. Many people put so much time and effort into watching what

they're eating in terms of food that they overlook what they're drinking.

Keep in mind some beverage choices can easily contain more calories than the

meal itself, so it's important that you don't overrule this.

For beverages, you're never going to go wrong with water. If there's one drink you

should have, water is it. It's calorie free, contains no additives, and will help hydrate the

body. Perfect!

Apart from water, your next calorie-free/low calorie option would be diet soda, but these

are not ideal due to their high content of artificial sweeteners. Some research says that

artificial sweeteners may cause cancer. My overall opinion: If it is chemically made in a

lab, then it doesn’t belong in your body.

Regular soda is incredibly bad because of the high amount of fructose it contains, so

you definitely do not want to be drinking that.


Also be sure that you're watching out for many of the fruit cocktail like beverages

because while these may seem healthy since they claim to have real fruit juice, they

aren't. Instead they're packed with real sugar and can easily provide you with 300 or

more calories per serving.

Your best bet (besides water) is just plain un-sweetened ice tea with a squeeze of

lemon and a sprig of mint for just a little touch of flavor. It contains 0 calories (assuming

that you don’t add sugar) that is not only refreshing but has added health benefit from

the tea properties.

Even if you add a teaspoon of sugar to add a little bit of taste, you are still far better than

drinking a glass of soda that may contains 27 grams of sugar for every 8 ounces. That

is equivalent to almost 7 teaspoons of sugar.

Think about that for a second...

Not ideal if you want your body to burn body fat all day long.

Moving on, another topic some people need to address is alcohol consumption. It's not

unusual to find yourself ordering a beer, a glass of wine, or some other alcohol

beverage when you go to a dine-in restaurant, so what's the verdict on that and your

weight loss goals?


The verdict is that you should be ideally avoiding this too. Alcohol contains 7 calories

per gram and no real nutrition so it's easily going to put you over your daily calorie

intake if you're not careful.

What's more is that it can increase your inhibitions so you eat more at the meal, really

amplifying the damage it creates.

If you absolutely must drink, at least do yourself a favor and opt for a simple glass of

wine or something like Vodka and water or diet soda.

It's by no means a healthy and smart choice, but it's smarter than choosing a mixed

cocktail beverage or creamy liquor, which packs away far more calories.

Beverages can really add up quickly so be sure that you are taking these into account at

all times. If you're going to have a meal out, you're far better off not overdoing it with the

alcohol as then you're really just setting yourself up for trouble from two different

accounts.

Chapter 6: Your Take Home Message

So to conclude your guide to eating healthfully and with maximum fat loss in mind while

at a sit-down or fast food restaurant, here are the main points to remember.

Request Changes


Never, ever be afraid to request changes to your meal – this could make or break the

positive impact that meal has on your body. Some of the most common alterations you

should consider asking for include:

Getting sauce or dressing on the side

Getting half the order to-go (take it home for another time)

Removing all the high fat 'special sauces' or mayonnaise

Asking for no cheese or less cheese

Doubling up on the vegetables while reducing back on the noodles or rice.

Requesting it's prepared using less butter or no butter.

Swapping a salad for a pasta side.

Always order the smallest serving of steak possible at a steakhouse

Try and avoid alcohol if possible, and if you must consume it, stick to one glass

of wine or vodka/rye with diet soda or water.

Avoid all gourmet coffee or smoothie drinks as these typically contain upwards of

300-700 calories per serving.

When it comes to choosing your meal off the menu, here are some further quick tips to

keep in mind:

Always order grilled. – Battered, breaded, tempera, fried, stuffed, or pan-fried

are all words you should avoid.

Cheese will not be a healthy addition at any restaurant, so whenever possible

order a dish that comes without cheese added or baked in.

Always opt for tomato based sauces over cream sauces.

Stay away from dishes that come in a flaky or pastry-like crust.

Choose salads that do not contain noodles, bacon bits, any type of cheese,

croutons, or whole eggs. If nuts are included, ask to have it on the side and

sprinkle them on yourself. They are healthy but only in limited doses.

Consider a broth based vegetable soup to start the meal to help reduce the

number of calories you take in later on


Generally speaking, fish without any type of batter or cream sauce will be a

smarter option.

Choose grilled chicken sandwiches most often when ordering fast food.

Consider baked potatoes but only served with salsa rather than sour cream.

Always order the smallest sandwich available - large sandwiches pack in more

calories than many burgers

If you can keep these points in mind, you stand a fairly good chance of coming out of

your meal out with your diet in tact. Remember, nothing tastes as good as looking great

feels, so always repeat this mantra to yourself when you're tempted to give in to that

item that you know is riddled with fat, sugar, and calories.


About Arnel Ricafranca

Arnel went from 14.6% to 4.7% body fat in 16 weeks

Arnel Ricafranca entered the fitness scene for the first time by transforming his own

body and posting daily updates throughout his journey for the world to see. Millions of

people watched his body transformation while inspiring them to do the same thing.

Arnel also publishes an online fitness newsletter called ”Abs Secrets” that is enjoyed by

half a million readers in over 170 countries. In additional, Arnel was awarded by the

"President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports" for helping America get fit and

healthy.

He is constantly researching new and innovative training strategies from reading over

527 research papers, training hundreds of in-person clients, and working with

thousands of clients online.

He has a degree in Exercise Science with multiple personal training and nutrition

certifications to boot. His goal is to provide you with the most effective workout system

to accelerate fat loss through real research and real life testing.

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