Health and Beauty - Eat without ruining your diet
Eat without ruining your diet
Eating out can play havoc with your diet. But it’s still possible to enjoy yourself and your food without piling on the pounds. Check out our top tips for dining out and find out how celebs like Cat Deeley stay in shape despite endless hospitality.Drink plenty of water
As tempting as it might be, try to refrain from ordering fizzy drinks – they’re loaded with sugar, even the ‘light’ versions. Cat Deeley maintains that drinking plenty of water keeps her in shape. Don’t over-indulge in too much wine with your meal; you might end up eating more than you thought you had and will definitely be piling on the calories.
Order a side order of vegetables
Louise Redknapp keeps in shape by eating plenty of vegetables. If you need a side order with your main meal opt for a portion of steamed vegetables rather than a baked potato, rice or fries. Vegetables will be just as filling but have fewer calories.
Choose salad for a starter
Kelly Brook reportedly sticks to salads to keep her sexy curves in shape. Salads make better starters than most soups, which are often high in salt. Creamed soups and chowders often contain a lot of fat. You might also be tempted to fill up on a couple of slices of crusty bread if you have soup. When you’re ordering a salad it’s worth asking for any dressing to be served
on the side though. This allows you to choose how much or how little of the dressing you have and helps you to keep control your calorie intake.
Take your time when eating
Ever gulped down a huge meal only to finish and still be hungry? It takes your body 20 minutes to register that it’s no longer hungry – plenty of time to carry on eating more, unnecessarily. Demi Moore makes sure she doesn’t eat more than she needs to by chewing food properly, taking smaller mouthfuls and taking a break in between courses. This gives your body time
to digest food properly.
Grill without butter or oil
Jordan lost her baby bulge in record time by sticking to a diet of filling juices during the day and grilled fish or chicken with plenty of salad or vegetables in the evening. Don’t be afraid to ask that grilled food be cooked without loads of butter or oil when you’re out. You’ll be surprised
at how accommodating restaurants can be.
Choose the healthy option for dessert
You don't need to deprive yourself of a dessert when you eat out, just be sensible about what you choose. Try something less fattening like sorbet or fresh berries. J.Lo finishes off a meal with sliced fruit, rather than a calorie-laden chocolate fudge brownie smothered in cream.
Stick to boiled or steamed rice
If, like ex-Atomic Kitten star Liz McClarnon, you like Chinese food, you can save calories by swapping a tasty portion of egg fried rice for steamed or boiled rice. It’s much lower in fat than fried rice and very filling, so you’ll only need a small portion. It’s best to steer clear of any deep-fried dishes like prawn toast or spring rolls. Tasty as they may be they are oozing with calories. Go for steamed or stir-fried dishes like beef in oyster sauce and you’ll keep your calorie intake to a minimum.
Go easy on creamy curries
Kerry Katona is a huge fan of curries, but creamy sauces such as masala and pasanda won’t help your diet. Tandoori, tikka or bhuna dishes are equally as tasty but contain less calories as they're made with sauces using yoghurt rather than cream. Another great tip when going out for a curry is to choose carefully when ordering side dishes. Naan breads may taste delicious but
that taste comes at a price – they’re very high in fat as well as calories, as are other deep-fried starters such as bhajis, pakoras or poppadums. An excellent alternative to naan is chapatti; it’s cooked without fat and is great for dipping in your curry.
Don’t over eat
It might sound like a stupid suggestion, but don’t feel obliged to eat everything on your plate. Only eat until you are full, a rule Liz Hurley is reported to stick to religiously. Once you’ve finished, cover any leftovers with a napkin and then forget about it.
Don’t miss meals
Not eating during the day because you’re going out for a big meal in the evening might seem like a good way to save your calories, but it could have disastrous results. For starters, you might end up binge eating when you go out because you’ve been staving yourself. Try eating small amounts of healthy food throughout the day. Anna Friel snacks on dried fruit and nuts between meals, which keeps her metabolism working and her blood sugar stable.
WHAT’S IN
PREBIOTICS: Types of dietary fibre now being added to foods like breakfast cereal which help to quell hunger. Look out for this word on labels.
TEA: Packed with heart-benefiting antioxidants; four cups a day may help to lower the risk of heart disease and have 66 calories in total.
A NEW SHAPE YOGURT: It contains extra fibre and protein, known as “EFP”,
which has been proven to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Just 64 calories per pot.
WHAT’S OUT
FIBRE-RICH FLAP-JACKS: They may contain oats but with 345 calories a serving
they are hardly healthy.
CAFÉ LATTES: A “grande” version packs in 265 calories a cup – and that’s
without sugar.
GREEK YOGURT (family-size 500ml pot): With 575 calories and a massive 51gr of fat, they certainly won’t help your waistline.
FEEL FULL WITH FIBRE
High-fibre foods such as brown rice and wholemeal bread don’t just expand in our stomachs: they also trigger hormones that tell our brains we’ve had enough to eat.
DID YOU KNOW?
Having hot chillies before a meal could mean you eat 10 per cent less. See if tomato juice mixed with Tabasco sauce works for you.
BY GUM!
Chewing gum helps fight the craving for sweets and suppresses the appetite. Stick to sugar-free brands with only three calories per stick, compared with 10 calories per stick in regular gum.
CREDIT: 20 minutes of house cleaning = DEBIT: 2 scoops strawberry sorbet (157 calories)
