How to implement a low GI diet? Tips for choosing meals when dining out

Eating out of the home is another challenge you face when trying to lose weight. Because eating out does not allow you to fully control the types of ingredients and cooking methods like cooking at home. However, if you follow the selection tips in this chapter and spend a little more time thinking, you can still meet the green light principle when eating out.

Usually, people go to a restaurant to dine with family, friends or colleagues. You don't want to spoil everyone's mood because of your concerns about food. When dining together, your friends and family may encourage you to "live life to the fullest", which often means you will make the wrong food choices, drink too much and indulge in desserts. The best way to avoid this kind of situation is to tell them honestly, "I am losing weight to improve my health," to gain their support.

【fast food】

Most mainstream fast-food restaurants have added low-fat and low-calorie items to their menus. However, you still need to pay attention to the sodium (salt) content of these products, as manufacturers often increase the amount of sodium-containing condiments to make up for the loss of flavor due to the reduction in fat. Remember, salt causes your body to retain water, which is definitely not a good thing if you're trying to lose weight and keep your blood pressure stable.

If you are not sure how much sodium a food contains, you can ask your restaurant waiter for the nutritional information sheet of the product. Most chain restaurants will provide this information.

The basic principles of fast food

Principle 1:

When eating a burger or sandwich, always choose an open-faced option; if such an option is not available, do not eat the top layer of bread.

Principle 2:

When enjoying a salad, use no more than one-third of the salad dressing. Because the amount of sauces provided by the store is often much larger than what you need, these sauces will add unnecessary calories and sodium to your meal. Please choose light sauce or vinaigrette, and avoid thick and smooth sauce

【All-you-can-eat buffet restaurant】

The results of this kind of restaurant can be very good or very bad, it all depends on your self-control. Before you start picking up your food, it's best to take a quick look at all the dishes. In this way, you can first filter out the foods that best meet the green light principles and choose them as your food.

In addition, drink a glass of water before eating and start with a salad. Regardless of your personality type, you should review the content of Chapter 7 to review the specific things you need to pay attention to when dining.

【Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine】

When eating regular Taiwanese food or set meals, you will probably encounter a lot of challenges. Try to avoid fried dishes or dishes with sweet and sour seasonings, as these dishes are often very high in sodium. In addition, the rice used in Chinese and Taiwanese cuisines is mostly sticky red rice, which has a higher GI value than long rice (such as Indian basmati rice). You can choose to steam or stir-fry vegetables to slightly balance out the above shortcomings.

【Japanese cuisine】

If you exclude sushi and tempura, Japanese cuisine as a whole is very consistent with the green light diet principles. Nigiri sushi is a red light item because it includes vinegared rice, and you can order sashimi instead. Additionally, you have to be careful with the amount of soy sauce you use, as soy sauce is a liquid form of salt and is a great choice for stir-fries like beef and vegetables, as well as grilled fish. You can also choose healthy, low-fat Japanese hot pot dishes where the ingredients are stewed in broth.

【10 party meals , easy way to enjoy low GI eating out】**

If you are eating out for a gathering with a few close friends, you may not be able to choose the restaurant according to your personal wishes. Faced with this situation, there are still some small ways to resolve this kind of eating out problem. With the following ten tips, you can eat healthily, take care of your waistline and avoid gaining weight no matter what type of restaurant you dine in.

Tip 1:

If possible, have a small bowl of Green Light Cold Brew High Fiber Cereal (such as Whole Bran Cereal) with skim milk with added sugar before you go out to eat. Or you can pair your high-fiber cereal with a few tablespoons of fat-free fruit yogurt, which is how I often eat it.

This small bowl of cereal flakes can not only fill the stomach first, but the fiber in the cereal flakes can also help reduce the increase in the GI value during later meals.

Tip 2:

The first thing to do after sitting down in a restaurant is to drink a glass of water, which can make you feel fuller.

Tip 3:

Please chew slowly so that your brain has time to receive the message that you are full. Every time you take a bite of food, please stop what you are doing and savor the taste of the food in your mouth.

Tip 4:

You often forget that bread before the meal is also a food that you must eat less, so when everyone has taken the bread in the basket, please ask the waiter to remove it. Because the longer the bread is on the table, the more likely you are to succumb to the temptation and eat it.

Tip 5:

Order soup or salad and ask the server to bring it to you as quickly as possible. This will keep you from having to starve while others chow down on their appetizers. For soups, please choose soups with vegetables or beans as the base. The more obvious the particles of vegetables and beans are, the better. Avoid ordering thick soups containing cream, such as French cream soup.

When it comes to salads, there's just one golden rule to remember: always have a small jar of healthy salad dressing with you. This way you don't have to use the salad dressing provided by the restaurant. Avoid ordering a Caesar salad, as the dressing is already mixed into the lettuce and has the same calories as the burger.

Tip 6:

Since it's unlikely that every restaurant uses fresh potatoes, and you can't be sure what type of rice they serve, you can ask the store to replace it with double the amount of vegetables. So far, no restaurant has refused my request.

Tip 7:

Stick to the principle of eating low-fat meat and poultry, and you can remove the skin if necessary. In addition, there are a few points to note: duck meat itself usually contains a lot of fat; although fish and shellfish are a good choice, never order seafood dishes wrapped in batter; the calories provided by the fat and flour of tempura far exceed the calories of the original ingredients.

"Portion" is another key point to pay attention to, because restaurants often give you quite large main dishes, so after you have eaten 110 to 170 grams of meat (about the size of a deck of cards), please do not eat the rest of the meat on the plate. If you don’t like the feeling of wasting food, you can also choose to share a main course with friends. This is a very popular way of dining now.

Tip 8:

When enjoying a salad, ask the restaurant if they have a green light dressing or condiment to go with it.

Tip 9:

For dessert, fresh fruits and berries are your best bet without ice cream. If you really want something sweet, you can sprinkle some coffee/tea sugar substitute packets on the fruits. Most restaurant desserts are a dietary disaster, so I recommend that you avoid them.

If you must have a piece of birthday cake, you can share it with others. Take a few bites of cake and then have a cup of decaffeinated coffee. This will not only satisfy your cravings but also minimize the harm caused by the dessert to you.

Tip 10:

Drink only decaffeinated coffee. Served with a decaf cappuccino made with skim milk, this is a favorite in our family.

This article is from Caishi Culture's "Low GI Diet Bible [10th Anniversary Best-Selling Edition]"