To Your Health
January, 2012 (Vol. 06, Issue 01) |
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Dine Out and Lose Weight
Every time people go to their favorite restaurants they face the inevitable task of choosing a healthy meal. Fries or a salad? Broccoli or fried calamari?
How do people who want to maintain a fit lifestyle make sure they don't blow their goals out the window at their favorite eatery?
This month the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior decided to find out. The study, which included 35 healthy women age 40 to 59 who ate an average of 5.6 times a week were assigned to attend six weekly sessions that focused on education and mindful eating meditations designed to help people consume less fat and fewer calories while eating out and prevent weight gain. The study included a group that did not take part in this experiment.
So, how did it turn out?
The women who were taught all about portion size and mindful eating when eating out ended up eating fewer calories and also consumed less fat in comparison to the control group. These women also lost weight, 3.7 pounds of average, according to the study.
This study proves the key to maintaining an even losing weight while eating out is knowing the facts about calories and portion control.
Luckily, a lot of restaurants are jumping on the education bandwagon by letting their patrons know how many calories they are consuming in the menus. When this information is not available, people need to make sure they take time out to learn the key principles highlighted in this study - eat being mindful of portion size and calories. Only then many will be able to unlock the secret to long-time success when it comes to weight loss.
