Don't Let Eating Out Derail Your health
In the culture we live in now, it is becoming more and more common to dine out, lunches at cafes, dinner at a restaurant. In Adelaide we are completely spoilt for choice, value for money and food styles and I know this is becoming more and more the norm world-wide. When you travel you also tend to eat out, well, all the time really, don’t you? Unless you make a large effort to go to a supermarket and bring food back to your room.
So how do we do this and still maintain a level of health?
There is no doubt that eating out will put on the pounds and not in a good way. Most restaurants will use vegetable oils, cheap butter and even if they advertise olive oil…most are low grade. None of these fats are good for your body. They contribute higher levels of triglycerides leading to clogged arteries, diabetes and heart disease amongst other things….yet, damn it…we want to eat out!
Like all healthy lifestyle factors, it comes down to choice.
Your choice.
You have the power to eat out, enjoy the company and not gain the pounds. You just need a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of guidance and all the pressure is off.
In a perfect world …..
……… we would all be able to go to a restaurant, order one glass of quality red wine. Ignore the bread. Order a large serve of vegetables or salad and get a serving of protein to join that. All with only quality extra virgin olive oil as a sauce. OR as apparently the French do, go out and order, but eat only a tiny portion of the meal.
BUT… it’s not ALWAYS that easy …
If you can do the above…wonderful, you are fantastic and you don’t need to read further. However, if like me, you are a little less self controlled…well, come this way …. lets real world this …..
Being able to comfortably and easily order healthily when out can’t be forced and rushed…else you are plunged in denial and a binge will come sooner or later….thats a for sure win bet.
Lets make it all painless. Its just like adjusting to a new diet, which really shouldn’t be a diet but a way of eating for life. A new way of eating is best done in stages else you really will rebound straight back and probably past your previous weight.
First - we take this is stages.
This is how I would coach you to do the dinning out (contact me if you would like help with this. Being accountable to someone is really useful)
Play imagine if …
At first, just read the menu and pick out exactly what you would order, if you were picking a meal that looked like the suggested one above. Don’t order it, order what you want, just make sure you have picked what you would if you were right into this. You’ll be surprised that this is actually fine and doesn’t make you feel guilty or anything.
Do this each dining out visit till you are ready to move forward. NO RUSH.
Pretend …
… do exactly as before but this time imagine the plate in front of you and imagine you eating it and jump your mind ahead to how you will feel when you get home tonight. How you feel mentally and physically from having a vegetable based meal that doesn’t require some supersonic digestion. Remember too, that because you did what you set out to do you will get a serotonin dump of happiness because you achieved what you set out to do. (Make sure it only takes a minute of your time at the most)
Then order as you normally would like to. Do this for at least 5-10 dining out visits. Make a list and tick off the times you do this.
Get Veged up!
Now this time you will order as normal BUT with an extra large bowl of vegetables. Eat as many or little as you can. All are ticks on your list….. again 5 -10 visits
Next Habit …
Order as last time but try to just eat the meat and vegetables and skip the white starches. Bread, rice white potatoes and pasta.
Now try to do the above without the sugary or calorific sauces. If you feel brave, order yours without any sauce or oil and bring your own organic olive oil. Organic, unheated olive oil has so many health benefits.
TIPS
Definitely go through each stage at least 5 times each or more if you don’t feel its really easy to do. Take your time to go through each stage (days, weeks, months)…it doesn’t matter, it only matters that you do it most of the time (ie, 95% of the time you eat out, else you are not forming a permanent habit). Move on ONLY when you are positive you actually WANT to and not that you feel you MUST or SHOULD move forward. This is about your HEALTH, not aesthetics (always remember you look your best, your glowing best, when you are healthy)
IMPORTANT:
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to this is the embarrassment or peer pressure of ordering a little differently around friends/ family, even to the waiter/ess. So just say you’ve been having some stomach issues/ pain/ allergies when you eat certain foods, and you are avoiding it for now. Everyone understands that. Friends and family want whats best for you but they generally don’t realise that ‘just this once’ isn’t the most supportive phrase to a healthy body. If they think it will cause you pain or discomfort, no one will press you further.
Finally -
Make the commitment now
Choose a better meal. There are so many temptations…sooo many…and they taste wonderful….however, is that really worth the aches, pains, inflammation, chronic disease? I sound alarmist, but thats exactly what is being invited in. Its easy to ignore because the change is so gradual and we can all get away with it for a while till suddenly we can’t.
So commit to yourself out of respect for your body. Choose healthier, start small. Your healthy body will thank you for it as you will FEEL fantastic ….
…… and enjoy many fun times out with friends for years to come.
Please comment below if you try this and let me know how you went. I’d love to hear some stories :-)
Further ideas on eating out choices:
Statins - villan or hero?
Are you already taking statins? Know someone who does? Been recommended that you need to? Are you just curious?
There is a LOT of controversy about Statins. My aim with the following is to simplify the main information that I have found from current, and I believe, reliable sources. I understand that the topic is ‘hot’ and widely debated and also extremely confusing for us plebs out there, which is why I wantedto research this for some clarity about the basic premise. Do we need Statins? Are they evil? What are they really for?
Explaining cholesterol is out of the spectrum of this brief blog. I am currently working on a cholesterol blog, till then please search on the net or blow your mind with an extraordinarily detailed explanation of cholesterol from go to woe with Dr Peter Attia here.
So what are Statins?
Statins are a group of medications that have been created to help lower cholesterol for those with heart disease. These are some common ones
- atorvastatin (Lipitor),
- fluvastatin (Lescol, Lescol XL),
- lovastatin (Mevacor, Altoprev),
- pravastatin (Pravachol),
- rosuvastatin (Crestor),
- simvastatin (Zocor),
- pitavastatin (Livalo).
Side effects
- Headache
- Nausea vomiting
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea
- There are also severe side effects associated with the liver, although they are rare.
When are you prescribed them?
Traditionally Statins were prescribed for those who had had a heart attack, stroke, athlerosclerosis, genetic disposition or whose LDL levels were in the dangerously high category. The controversy and outcry seems to have started when many countries decided to make it standard that anyone with a family history of heart disease were offered it even if their LDL C and triglyceride levels were low, or anyone who’s LDL had reached a point that was considered upper normal previously. So from about 190 mg/dl (8-9 mm) to anyone over 130 mg/dl. A handy reference range is here
What does a Statin actually do?
In a nutshell, Statins lower LDL and decrease general inflammation. The jury is still out whether its the LDL lowering effect or the anti-inflammatory effect that has the benefit. Regardless, we know they work. LINK
Thats it, case closed
Well…. kind of….
As in the beginning of this post I listed several of the Statins available, there are many options and they are stronger, weaker, and have different effects with different people, so you may need to try several before you find one that works with you.
So, yes they do lower LDL, in particular, they predominantly lower the larger particles of LDL in cholesterol, not so much the smaller particles.
One of the most important numbers to have taken if you suspect you are at risk, is the NUMBER of LDL particles the are being transported. These particles are different sizes and the smaller ones tend to be cleared less by the body and seem to be the ones that cause trouble. However, this is not entirely proven, as smaller particles also tend to at the same time to increase the number of LDL particles in the cholesterol. As you can imagine, you can fit a lot more smaller objects in an area than you can larger. Like a jar with tomatoes, when thats full, you could fit some cherry tomatoes and increase the overall tomato number.
So Statins clear more of the larger particles which has an overall effect of lowering the LDL particle numbers , and thats very important as is the anti-inflammatory affect.
The troublesome part of statins is that they lower cholesterol synthesis in other parts of the body Cholesterol is vital for the production of hormones, such as sex hormones, vitamin D, cortisol. No cholesterol, no life. This is why you would want to use a statin only if you were in the high risk group and not necessarily if you didn’t have those risk factors
When should you question it?
World expert Dr Ronald Krauss has been leading many studies for decades on statins, heart disease and factors that will lower them. His opinion is that people are put on statins too prematurely and that possibly is why there is suddenly studies showing increases of diabetes and Parkinson’s for those who take statins long term.
In a nutshell, if you have LDL below 150 and have had no history of heart disease, perhaps this is the time to question Statins and get your LDL particle number measured.
If you are in the extreme level of LDL, high blood pressure, previous heart disease history, then it would appear statins are a good option. The fact is that they lower LDL in general and that has been conclusively proven to lower your risk and at this point, that is the most important thing.
Are there other options for the established high risk person?
(I MUST reiterate that I am no doctor. Ask your doctor about anything you are thinking of trying and please heed their advise. Heart disease is extremely complicated and individual, some work well with one thing, some with others)
- To minimise risks of heart disease and if you not already at risk or if you are right in the middle of the risk zone and had had an episode already, so …. all of us, then a healthy diet filled with whole unpackaged foods and daily exercises will definitely be of benefit. Unfortunately, as we have found after the egg cholesterol myth was busted, diet has a small impact on cholesterol levels. Diet alone will not be enough to lower substantially the LDL level in those that have established heart disease. That said it WILL improve your life and health in other ways that are extremely important. Exercise also will not fix a high LDL, but it will help your health tremendously. The healthier your lifestyle is, the better you will live. I think thats really what we all want. A decent age but to be healthy, happy and vital to the end and not crawling slowly to the finish line.
- Dr Peter Attia will sometimes put his patients on a PCSK9 inhibitor instead of statins
- Niacin is also sometimes prescribed as it has a cholesterol and triglyceride lowering effect while preserving HDL.
- Bergamot is an interesting one. It lowers cholesterol while preserving HDL as well. This doctor has used it successful in conjunction with statins
If you are on Statins
I’ll assume you have established a diagnosis of heart disease.
- There seems to be a high blood sugar side affect in statins that could lead to diabetes. A whole foods diet is important. One that focuses on protein, certain fats and vegetables for the majority of your intake will keep these levels lower. Bitter melon is a superb extract you can get at health food stores. Take 2 with food and it will work to stabilise your blood sugar (do not take this if you are on blood sugar lowering medication). Exercise is particularly useful to balance blood sugar levels and a casual stroll after your biggest meals is perfect to keep the levels down, not to mention its fabulous for digestion, casual though, not a power walk!
From: https://www.drcolinobrien.ca
- Keep the healthy fats up! Statins effect on lowering cholesterol has ramifications for the vital role cholesterol plays in making our hormones. We need cholesterol to live and function.
- Have a look at the Mediterranean diet, there's good research out there that indicates that is helpful.
- Dr Krauss has lead some research on a high fat diet that has been efficacious
- Take a liver supplement with milk thistle to help the liver process the statin and cholesterols. Great supplement, we should all take that, a general detox to keep our liver as clean as possible.
- There's been talk of CoQ10 and Vitamin K2. Statins can lower our amounts of it. Jarrow CoQ10 has been tested and has been given the tick for delivering what it says, 200mg is good. Plus a good K2 supplement, around 180mcg.
- It can affect the production of Vitamin D, so supplementation is useful and can mitigate the muscle weakening effects in many.
- Another reason for exercise. Statins can cause muscle wasting. Counter act that with a good strength program (you are never too old for this!)
Useful Tests
- Ask your doctor for the LDL-P NMR test or information on it if you are interested. This is not a free test. We priced it recently at $180 AUS. However, if you see your LDL is not extreme and you are otherwise healthy and relatively lean, this is a worthwhile investment to make.
- Get regular ALT tests to ensure the liver is coping with the medication
- Get a regular blood glucose test to keep a check on the levels
- Regular checks of Vitamin D levels
I hope you feel a bit more certain about Statins. I certainly do. Before I had looked into this properly, I was definitely on the “statins are dangerous, bad, evil” bandwagon. Knowing some people going through this has made me look deeper and I am so very grateful for that. Its been a good reminder to keep reading, never assume you know, and check all sides of a tale. Statins I feel, have their place when your health is seriously at risk. They don’t take the place of a healthy diet and lifestyle, they work together, and by keeping an eye on how your body is responding to them with regular tests and inner checks, you should avoid much of the down sides.
If you want help with a diet and exercise plan that will work well with your health situation please contact me. I can create something for you or help you implement what you have been advised to do. You don’t have to go through that uncertain how to activate a plan like that, I can help you. If I can’t, be assured I shall let you know and recommend you to others. Your health is the most important thing you have, you are IN CONTROL!
Cheers for now! :-)
Good Podcasts to listen to
Let me know if you come across others that are particularly relevant