Alisa Daglio  Body Makeover Expert

     Fast lifestyle and fast food add up to fast fat.  Now many fast food chains are publicizing their nutritional guidelines and the results are staggering.  A Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich from Hardees contains 800 calories, 37 grams of fat, and 1,890 mg of sodium.  The Tendercrisp single serving chicken garden salad from Burger King contains 410 calories, 22 grams of fat and 1080 mg of sodium. A single serving of Chili's Restaurant appetizer "Awesome Blossom" contains 2,710 calories, 203 grams of fat and 6360 mg of sodium. A single serving of Chili's Classic nachos with fajita beef contains 1740 calories, 127 grams of fat, and 2730 mg of sodium.  The healthier Chili's "guiltless grill" menu offers a Guiltless Black Bean Burger containing 650 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 1,940 mg of sodium.

     It is very clear that certain fast foods, even though they proclaim that they are healthy, are absolutely not.  Everything is relative and although the salad from Burger King has far fewer calories, the fat content is awfully high with 22 grams.  Likewise, the guiltless Black Bean Burger's 1,940 mgs of sodium is all you need for an entire day.  There is still hope and a light at the end of the tunnel that isn't a train.  Most restaurants (not fast food joints) still have many options available that will keep you on your healthy program.  The key is not to be afraid to ask your server to prepare your food with minimal fat, oil and salt.  Remember, it is better to eat something even if it is not on your diet than not to eat all, just choose wisely.  Also choose fish, steak, or shellfish over chicken (usually chicken is marinated overnight in sodium based broth) and ask that no salt be added.  

Below are some tips on eating out successfully:

Order Sashimi

Order fish broiled or grilled

Order seafood en brochette, grilled, broiled or steamed

Order vegetables en brochette, grilled, boiled or steamed

Order plain baked potato; you may add salsa, vinegar, lemon or lime juice

Order salad with lemon, vinegar, and/or herbs

The following is what you would expect food to contain NATURALY:

Turkey breast 3.0 oz has 0.55g of fat, 77mgs sodium

Chicken breast 3.0 oz has 0.55g of fat, 65 mgs sodium

Fish, haddock, cooked, dry heat 3.0 oz has 0.79g of fat, 88mgs sodium

Crustaceans, shrimp, mixed species, cooked, moist heat 3.0 oz has 0.92g of fat and 155 mgs sodium

Pork, fresh, loin, whole, separable lean and fat, cooked, broiled 3.0 oz has 11.83g of fat

     If you are going out for social reasons, and do not want to risk jeopardizing your progress, eat a meal beforehand, then order a salad and pick at it throughout the meal.

When traveling, sometimes it can be difficult to get the right meals in at the correct times.       Do the best you can and select the proper choices from the menu.  Remember, it pays to be picky.  If you are forced to eat out, opt for foods low in fat and worry less about the sodium.  Fat is difficult to break down, so when consumed, it can have negative effects on metabolism (which you are working so hard to speed up).   Because it is so difficult to break down, your body most often will simply store it away.  For some people, such as kids, or people with a tendency towards severe low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, a little healthy fat, such as the fat found in olive oil, or salmon, can help to keep the metabolism in check, and keep blood sugar from burning off too quickly. 

     If you are forced to eat off your program for only a day or two, select fatty foods and keep your sodium intake as low as possible.  When you eat fatty foods, the fat floats in your blood stream for a couple of days.  You will be able to add some activity and exercise to possibly burn it off.  However, with salt, you retain water, and gain 3 to 4 pounds in water weight.  Thus masking weight loss, therefore it is very important to limit salt intake to the minimum that is naturally occurring in food. 

     Ultimately, eating out is possible, it just takes practice building new healthy habits. Try frequenting your favorite places so they know to expect your "special order" with low salt and fat.  I have about five places near work and another five near my home that I am known by name, or as "no salt, please."