More and more people are eating out than ever before. That wouldn’t be a problem, except for a few things. You have no way of knowing exactly what goes into each dish you’re ordering, and restaurants are noted for using lots of salt and fat to make their food taste better. A more recent problem is restaurants have been steadily increasing their portion sizes, and that means even more calories. While home-cooked fare can be more healthy, nobody is saying you should never eat out. Instead, it’s better to know how to keep from packing on the pounds when dining out.

Did you know restaurants will add butter or oil to some entrees just to make them look better? A pat of butter is often applied to meat when it’s done to give it a shiny finish. Grilled entrees may be brushed with oil before cooking to keep them from sticking, and again after cooking for that shiny look. That means you could be eating extra calories without even knowing about it. And if they use saturated fats (such as butter), then it can have a negative impact on your health as well. It’s also a common practice to add butter to steamed vegetables, largely for the same reasons.

Rubs and marinades often contain sugar, salt or oil in some combination. Those on low carbohydrate diets may be surprised to find out that their marinated chicken breast is hiding a tablespoon of sugar. Salt isn’t good for those with high blood pressure. Oils are the most calorie-dense and can add to your daily intake quickly. Vinegar marinades will usually be your best bet.

If you’re on a diet, then try to avoid cream sauces. These are usually made with heavy cream and loaded with extra calories. Even sauces that contain flour will usually have a lot of added fat, with the typical ratio being one tablespoon of fat to one tablespoon of flour for each cup of liquid. A better choice would be a vegetable based sauce, such as marinara.

Mixed drinks before dinner can be another source of extra calories. The trick is to order drinks that are mixed with plain soda water. Fruit juices add extra calories as they are mostly sugar. Of course you could always skip the pre-dinner cocktail and eliminate those calories completely. Water, coffee and tea are all calorie-free alternatives.

As mentioned earlier, portion sizes in restaurants are getting bigger. In fact they can be three to four times as much as the recommended serving sizes. For example, a serving of meat is only three ounces. But if you order a fifteen ounce steak, then you are having five times as much as you should. You can always see if somebody else at the table would like to share it with you. You may still have more than a serving, but you will be keeping it under control to some extent.

The main thing to remember is that eating out doesn’t have to mean gaining weight. As long as you know a few tips for losing weight when dining out, you can have a good time without feeling guilty about it.

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Want some quick weight loss tips? Who the heck doesn’t? I wish it could be quick, then all I would have to do is snap my fingers and 50 pounds would be gone. The reality of the situation is that if you have a significant amount of weight to lose then it will take some time to get it off and keep it off.

Dedication, perseverance and learning to change the way you live your life. If you are over weight then you undoubtedly do not get enough exercise and do not eat right. Here is where you need to start. Either take in fewer calories over the course of the day or get up and get moving. Even just a little bit. Get off your duff and take a walk around the block. The first one may be a little tough but the more you do it the better it will be.

You probably will not be able to go for a thirty minute walk right off the bat so you will have to work up to that. Ask a friend to go with you so you do not have to do this all by yourself. Most likely your friend can use a little more exercise herself so you will be killing two birds with one stone.

The other side of the equation is to eat healthier and watch portion sizes. I know someone who lost 25 pounds in 6 months just by cutting her portion sizes in half. Another way to lose weight kinda fast is to cut out the pop you drink. Did you know if you stop drinking pop you can lose 38 pounds in a year without doing anything else? That’s right no extra exercise or futzing with your diet, just 38 pounds gone by just quitting the pop. Find yourself a good sparkling mineral water (without all the flavorings and artificial sweeteners, that’s a whole other article.)

Once you start losing the weight the best way to keep it off is to get yourself into a maintenance mode of working out. By this time you should have your routine down to a science and know what it takes to get a good work out. You know the level of intensity you need. You know what you need to do and you are doing it day in and day out. The old way of eating is a thing of the past and you look better than you have in years.

There are so many recipes out there you do not have to try to come up with anything new to cook. If you want to stay away from carbs, go to the library and take out a book about reducing the amount of carbs you take in in a day. It really is not that hard to do. The experts say to stay away from all the white stuff, white sugar, white flour, white rice. So what do you do if your recipe calls for white rice? either use the brown rice or substitute mashed up seasoned cauliflower, looks just like white rice and is much better for you.

Try all these quick weight loss tips and see if they do not work for you.

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