Eating Good In The Neighborhood

So after talking about cooking in bulk last week, let's stick with my favorite topic, FOOD, and talk about combining dining out and dieting. Eating at a restaurant and loosing weight usually do not go too well with each other, so when I prepare for a contest, I try to stick to my meal plan 24/7 and avoid eating out as much as possible.

However sometimes you have to bite the bullet and eat at a restaurant, be it for a business lunch or dinner, a social event, a date night with your significant other or while being on the road traveling without any prepared meals. 

So when you do, follow a few simple rules and you will still be able to almost stick to your diet or meal plan 100%. 

The first secret is to find a healthy dish or trying to get healthy/semi-healthy versions of the featured meals without giving in to the multiple temptations from the menu. Looking at the menu beforehand or selecting a restaurant with healthier food options will definitely help.

While this sounds like a no-brainer it is not that easy as it seems. 

The problem with most restaurant meals is that they are oftentimes prepackaged, high in sodium, smothered with butter or fat to increase their taste and most of the times pretty huge. Especially appetizers are usually loaded with carbs, saturated fats and cholesterol. So stay away from them as much as possible. 

A salad might be a healthy alternative, but keep in mind that dressings and toppings, such as cheese, croutons and meats can secretly add hundreds of calories, making a "loaded" salad as "bad" as any other choice on the menu. 

When choosing your food, try to follow the macros of your meal plan as outlined for this specific meal of the day as good as possible. 

If you are having breakfast or lunch at a restaurant, you might even be able to select some starch with your meal to provide you with your required carbohydrates. Since most "pre-contest" bodybuilding diets avoid carbs after a certain time, it will probably highly unlikely that you have to find a good source of carbs at a dinner. 

Good sources of carbs, that most restaurants offer, are sweet potatoes, obviously without any butter or toppings, brown rice, baked potatoes, also without any toppings, or whole grain pasta. 

Bad choices are french fries, mashed potatoes, breads, fried rice, regular pasta, chips, nachos, tortillas, and potato skins. 

 As with the entire meal, portion control is key, especially when it comes down to carbs, so just at the amount that you are supposed to. 

When selecting your source of protein, stick to lean options, such as grilled or steamed chicken breast or white fish and avoid anything breaded or fried. 

 If you decide to eat beef, choose from the extra-lean cuts off the menu that are labeled as "USDA Choice" or "USDA Select", such as eye round roast and steak, sirloin tip side steak, top round roast and steak, bottom round roast and steak or top sirloin steak and avoid "Prime" cuts. 

Vegetables are great fillers and usually available on every restaurant's menu as part of a meal or as a side dish. Broccoli, spinach, green beans and side salads are great choices but should only be steamed and not sautéed, as well as without any seasoning, oils or dressings. 

Gravies, sauces and condiments might add flavor to your meal, but they are also adding calories, so stay away from them or use "healthy" condiments, such as yellow or spicy mustard, hot sauce, vinegar and natural herbs and spices. 

 Another helpful technique which can help you keep your nutrition on track when you have to dine out is the concept of "Pre-Eating"."Pre-Eating" basically means that you have a protein shake mixed in water before the meal to satisfy your protein requirements and/or some fruits and vegetables if you expect the restaurant having lots of unhealthy meal choices. Now you can select an item off the menu that is low in calories and high in fiber, such a big salad without any dressing or toppings, or other vegetable dishes. 

To finish off this post, I want to stress one more time the importance of portion control. As I mentioned before, meals at restaurants have the tendency to be quite sizable and larger in quantity than what you would usually consume. So try to stick to your macros as good as possible, even if it means that you have to leave some food on the plate or get a leftover box. 

Another "food for thought" (just could't resist this one). Not to sound cheap, but not eating out constantly does not only make it much, much easier to stick to your diet, but can also save you some serious money.

Buca di Beppo: $33.00 Chicken Breast with Broccoli

Chili's Grill & Bar: $15.00 Chicken Breast with Broccoli and Rice

6'8" Kitchen: $1.53 Chicken Breast with Broccoli 

Time flies and I am now only two weeks away from my first competition. As the date approaches quickly I am getting more and more excited and work harder and with more focus.

I finally picked the music for my posing routine and had my friend DJ H Mazz remix and shorten the piece to fit the required length of 90 seconds. He did a great job editing it and I am very happy how the track sounds. 

Now with the music in place, I am beginning to put the actual routine together by selecting poses that will show my strong points and arranging them in such a way that the movements form pose to pose are fluent and that they align well with the chosen music. 

Passing the two week mark also meant another slight change in my diet. I added 20gr of Glutamine to my daily list of supplements. I split up the 20gr into three portions and take one before my workout, one after immediately afterwards, and one before bedtime. Glutamine is supposed to support my muscle recovery and stimulate muscle growth. We shall see if it will work as intended and bring a noticeable effect on my physique.

Now it's time to pack and head to the airport. Fabulous Las Vegas is calling. This should be the last major distraction before the show and required a little bit more planning and preparation than the previous trips, but more about that when I get back from "Sin City". Until then,

...stay hungry my friends.