by J. Brian Keith
The more you understand about any subject, the
more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you'll find that
the subject of staying at home and losing
weight is certainly no exception.
It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper
into the subject of staying at home and losing weight. What you learn
may give you the confidence you need to
venture into new areas.
Some interesting new research indicates that you
are better off staying home than eating in a restaurant, if you are
trying to lose weight. Given the fact that as
many as two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and many people spend at
least part of their day in restaurants, the
findings are particularly troubling.
According to Dr. Caroline Cederquist, a physician
specializing in weight management, in 1978, less than 20 percent of the
calories Americans consumed were eaten outside
the home. As late as 2003, the number had climbed to 50 percent.
Cederquist says that restaurant food tends to
be higher in calories because it relies so much on salt, sugar, and oil.
Also, restaurant portions tend to be larger,
making it difficult to make healthy choices. It has been estimated that
restaurant servings tend to be three to four times
greater than typical serving sizes. Another problem is that restaurants
often serve bread or rolls with a meal, which can cause
dieters to pack on the pounds.
Restaurant appetizers tend to be extremely high in
calories. For instance, a basket of fried onions can pack a whopping
2,000 calories. Now, while you might not
devour the entire basket yourself, chances are you will have a good
share of it if it is passed around the table.
A number of restaurants now offer free refills of
soda. Soda glasses also tend to be large, meaning that you are receiving
greater servings of this sugary beverage. Just
the soda alone can put you far over your daily recommended allowance of
calories for weight loss.
Another problem is that we have been conditioned
to clean our plates. With plate sizes growing in restaurants, this
becomes a critical weight issue. You may feel
morally obligated to eat everything that’s placed in front of you—even
if your weight and health will suffer as a
result.
Once people become accustomed to large portions
when eating out, they tend to increase their portion sizes at home as
well. As a result, dieters can be sabotaged
both in restaurants and at home. If you eat out more than once a week,
toning down your portion sizes can be
particular difficult.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to any dieter is
the restaurant buffet. There are so many different foods being offered,
it is difficult to limit yourself. Also, since
you can go back to the buffet as many times as you want, you may be
tempted to overindulge. As a result,
dieticians recommend either avoiding the restaurant buffet altogether,
or limiting your second portions to fruits and
vegetables.
Yet another problem is the type of entrees served
in restaurants. They tend to be rich in fat and calories. Fettucini
Alfredo, prime rib, and fried chicken can all
cause you to gain weight. A number of restaurants are now designating
low-fat entrees on their menus, a trend which
bodes well for the future. However, this experiment is still limited to
a small portion of restaurants - it has not
yet become a widespread trend.
Of course, eating out does not necessarily mean
eating at restaurants. It can also mean eating in the car, where you may
be prone to non-nutritious snacking, or eating
at parties held at the homes of your friends and relatives. At parties,
diet-saboteurs such as potato chips and
cookies tend to be plentiful; at times, you may find such goodies hard
to resist. Eating at home shortly before a
party may be the best way to avoid gaining unwanted pounds.
What can you do if you are forced to eat out
several times a week? Make sure that you stick to your diet plan. Don’t
be tempted to indulge in the wrong kinds of
foods “just this once.” Select entrees that are accompanied by
vegetables, and resist the urge to order
dessert. Consider eating only half of your entrée and boxing up the
rest for your next meal. And don’t starve yourself prior to
eating out. Such a tactic will cause you to overeat once you get to the
restaurant.
Following sensible eating patterns, both at
restaurants and at home, will help you to achieve your ideal weight.
There are also very good carbo
blocker diet pills available which actively can assist you on
losing weight without having to think too much about the food you eat.
Now you can be a confident expert on staying at
home and losing weight. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have
something to bring to the table next time you
join a discussion on staying at home and losing weight. .
