Want Fries With That Mister

Yes, my healthy diet has at times suffered at the hands of fast
food, I admit it – I am addicted to fast food – it makes me feel
good, it makes us all feel good, that’s why its everywhere and
thats why the fast food chains make millions.

But let’s face it, it’s not that simple to be disciplined and no
one’s going to go to a restaurant with friends and tell the
restaurant that they can’t eat that rice because its white rice
and it’ll send my blood sugar levels sky high and release
insulin into my body, can I have basmati instead ? – well, maybe
just the hardcore diet enthusiasts.

So what to do about fast food nutrition – well, I am going to
give you my five most important principles for choosing food
generally, but also quick things to look for when you’re out in
order to complement your healthy diet:

1. Find Out How The Food Was Cooked. It’s not the actual food
that matters, it’s the way it was cooked. Little things like
this can make a world of difference.

2. Drink Lots Of Water. When you’re out, have a water bottle
close by – you’d be surprised what a difference it makes.

3. If it doesn’t look natural, then it probably won’t do your
diet much good. Generally the more processed a food is, the more
likely that it will be absorbed into your body very quickly and
will not give you sustained energy. If it looks like it’s gone
through a lot of processes before reaching you, then give it a
miss.

4. Steer away from unhealthy fats and highly processed carbs
when you eat out. This is nothing new, don’t eat those fries
with that burger. But I have two very good reasons for saying
this. If you successfully navigate your way away from these two
– you will be doing a lot for keeping bad cholesterol levels at
bay and staving off accidental over-consumption of calories. 5.
Go for raw. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that
the food you’ve just eaten is burning calories even as you sit
at the café talking with friends. It’s even confidence building
to know that you have a healthy diet. The food that will do this
is quite often raw and are adorned with fat burning principles
because they have low energy density (as described above). So
step back from those fries, and consider that there are plenty
of satisfying, tasty and healthy alternatives when snacking or
dining out. Instituting these healthy diet principles will mean
that your social life and weight loss goals are not an either /
or situation.

References:

Elizabeth A Bell and Barbara J Rolls Energy density of foods
affects energy intake across multiple levels of fat content in
lean and obese women Am J Clin Nutr 73: 1010-1018.

Prentice AM, Jebb SA. Fast foods, energy density and obesity: a
possible mechanistic link. Obes Rev. 2003 Nov;4(4):187-94.

Weil, A., (2000) Eating Well for Optimum Health p. 77-78

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