🥘 7 Rules for Ordering Out and Staying on Track

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7 Rules for Ordering Out and Staying on Track

Eating out doesn't have to be a setback for your fitness goals. Whether you're dealing with business lunches, social dinners, or just a night off from cooking, you can still make choices that align with your health objectives. The key is to have a game plan.

Here are seven simple rules to help you navigate restaurant menus and stay on track with your nutrition goals.

1. Load Up on Veggies: Make vegetables a significant part of your meal. They're low in calories but high in nutrients and fiber, helping you feel satisfied without overdoing it.

2. Focus on Protein: Opt for lean options like grilled chicken, fish, or tofu. This helps keep you full and supports muscle maintenance.

3. Watch the Extras: Be mindful of add-ons like dressings, sauces, and toppings. Ask for these on the side so you can control the amount you consume. You can also ask for a bit of olive oil and lemon wedges and use that as your dressing.

4. Smart Carb Choices: If you're including carbs, go for baked potato or steamed rice options. Most of the restaurants offer both or one of these options.

5. Customize Your Order: Don't be afraid to ask for substitutions or modifications. Most restaurants are happy to accommodate requests like "grilled instead of fried" or "extra vegetables instead of fries."

6. Limit The Fat: Always ask them to use as little fat or oil as possible.

7. Stay Hydrated: Drink water throughout your meal. It helps you feel full and can prevent you from mistaking thirst for hunger. Plus, it helps you avoid calorie-laden drinks.

Is It Too Late to Start Weight Lifting?

"I'm in my 60s and have never lifted weights before. Is it too late for me to start?"

Absolutely not! It's never too late to start weightlifting, and in fact, it can be incredibly beneficial, especially as we age. Here's why:

1. Muscle Preservation: After 30, we naturally lose muscle mass. Weight lifting can slow or even reverse this process.

2. Bone Health: Resistance training helps maintain bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

3. Metabolic Boost: More muscle means a higher resting metabolic rate, aiding in weight management.

4. Improved Balance and Coordination: This reduces the risk of falls and injuries.

5. Enhanced Quality of Life: Strength training can make daily activities easier and more enjoyable.

6. Lower Odds of All-Cause Mortality: Studies show that exercise is associated with a lower risk of early death.

While strength training is very beneficial, here are a few steps you need to keep in mind when starting out.

• Master the form: Start with no or low weight to master the form first before adding more weight.

• Warm up first: Start every workout by warming up with a 5-minute walk or elliptical.

• Add stretching: Add stretching routines or yoga lessons throughout the week to make sure you stay flexible.

• Do not overdo weights: Lifting high weights might seem rewarding, but you can get amazing results with moderate weights. Do not focus on increasing the weights as your main goal.

The Hidden Factor in Nutrition: Understanding Bioavailability

You might have heard this term around the internet.

Bioavailability is a fancy term for a simple concept: it's the amount of a nutrient that your body can actually absorb and use from the food you eat.

Think of it this way: Just because a food contains a certain amount of a nutrient doesn't mean your body can use all of it. Bioavailability is about how much of that nutrient actually makes it into your system to do its job.

A Simple Example: Let's take iron as an example:

1. Spinach contains iron, but only about 2-20% of it can be absorbed by your body.

2. On the other hand, iron from red meat is much more bioavailable - your body can absorb 15-35% of it.

This doesn't mean spinach isn't good for you. It just means you might need to eat more of it to get the same amount of usable iron compared to a smaller portion of red meat.

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Publisher: Ryan Engel

Editor: Michael Pender

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