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How To Eat Healthy When Eating Out

We live in one of the best cities, from our stunning views and parks that make for amazing workouts to our food!  

In fact, San Francisco has officially been called “obsessed” with food.

Unfortunately, eating at food trucks, restaurants and cafes all the time can take a toll on our waistline, fitness goals and general health. We’ve all been there: restaurant overkill. Maybe you have family or friends visiting and want to show them of your favorite restaurants. Or it’s a busy week at work, so you lean on your comfort take out a little too much. It doesn’t take long to start to feel the effects.

So what’s a San Francisco foodie to do?

Here’s how to enjoy our city’s’ culinary scene and keep yourself feeling healthy:

Eat takeout and restaurant food in moderation. Make a goal to reduce the number of meals you eat out on a weekly basis. For example, if you often buy lunch out, try to save restaurants for the weekends only. Or if you always pick up breakfast at the cafe, try a 5 day challenge of home-made breakfasts. If you’re looking for easy ideas to cook, try this or this for breakfast or this for dinner.   

At BootCampSF, we don’t do short term diets or harsh restrictions. It really is about what you eat most of the time. So if you can truly minimize your indulgent meals to 1-2 times per week, then you can fully enjoy that Friday Delfina Pizzeria date or Sunday Aziza brunch. 

However, if you’re finding yourself traveling or work or social engagements require you to make dining out more than an occasional treat, here are some tips on how to make the best of it:

1. Start with something green. Ok, this might be old news, but we could all use the reminder. Starting with the salad or vegetable appetizer is always a good idea.

2. Order the simplest dish.  It can be hard to tell what the best choice is…the chicken or the fish dish? Here’s how to choose: pick the dish with the least amount of added ingredients. Anything that’s a protein and couple sides will be a better choice than the chicken or pasta in a 10 ingredient sauce. 

3. Pick your battles: booze vs. dessert. Alcohol and desserts are the two quickest ways to pack on the extra sugar and calories. If you think you’re going to order that second glass of wine, skip the dessert. Or if that chocolate pot de creme is calling your name, share it with a friend and skip the second drink.

Try these three, simple tips next time you’re dining out to help you feel healthy and enjoy your meal.

In the meantime, we challenge you to set a goal to reduce the number of meals you eat out. Set a goal, write it down and hold yourself accountable by telling us in the comments below!