What to eat when you're out and about often

seandominguez

Hey all,

First post here at MyFitnessPal. I'm a coffee shop dweller. I work off of my laptop most of the time and I'm only at home to sleep. I often get hungry where I'm at and, since we live in the good ol' US of A, most meals are pretty huge. What do you guys do to cope with being out often? Also, I'm a terrible cook (would love some advice on that), so tupperware to haul food around isn't really an option (for now at least).

I'm guessing a lot of responses will say to eat at places where I know the amount of calories I'm consuming, but that's tough too because that basically means just eat at fast food restaurants.

Advice?

bms34b

Unfortunately, if you're not willing to change where you eat, there's not much anyone can do for you. It's necessary to know how many calories you're putting into your body if you want to follow a calorie restrictive diet.

In general, though, my best advice would be to drink skim milk based drinks with no added syrups (aka iced latte with skim) so you get some protein in, and eat any fresh fruit or prepackaged and labeled food they're selling instead of pastries. Fruit especially is easy to grab and eat on the go and requires absolutely no cooking.

As for bigger meals, if you're eating at coffee shops, maybe try Panera. It has a coffee shop atmosphere and not only sells healthy food, but has easily accessible nutritional information.

Good luck!

slkehl

I'm also a coffee shop dweller. I usually just get regular or iced coffee since the fancy drinks tend to have a lot of calories in them. For snacks, I'll bring almonds and granola bars. For meals, I'll bring sandwiches and yogurt.

Learning to cook and bringing it in a container will save you a bundle. Focus on learning a few things. Pasta, for example, is easy. Just boil the water and toss it in for 7 min. And you can buy premade sauce.

seandominguez

Thanks ladies Will definitely stock up more on fruit and, what the hell, I love pesto sauce so I'll learn a few things in the kitchen.

kel665

Not sure about coffee shops where you are but here most of them have something healthy-ish, maybe go for a salad sandwich or fruit salad, ask for the wholemeal bread and leave out the butter.
Also ask for a skim milk cappuccino or just the lower calorie coffees and don't add sugar.

purple_tux1

Estimate. If you don't know the exact calories, estimate it. If you need to bring along a cup measurment, tablespoon and teaspoon along to help you with the estimating, then so be it. You'll soon get good at eyeballing things. Obviously you will need to trim calories wherever you can. Salads are often a good choice. Don't be afraid to ask them to hold the mayo on your sandwich, use wholegrains etc, or wrap 1/2 of your order up to go. A coffee out can be calorie laden once you add all the cream and sugar. Againk, don't be afraid to ask questions about what's in your food.

Other than that, it's up to you. Dieting is a commitment and it's not always easy.

roguestates

I've learned to love (good quality) black coffee, so there aren't a lot of calories there. Cappucinos and lattes (sans syrups) are also low-cal. If there's full service at the cafe, look for grilled dishes: poultry or seafood atop low-starch veggies. Avoid muffins and whatnot... those things are surprisingly calorie-dense.

Honestly, though, I eat well during my other meals and just eat more carefully when eating out. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.

Since you're working/browsing as you eat, try to be more mindful of your eating. I'm now learning to eat MUCH more slowly when I'm simultaneously working, so I can learn the proper hunger cues of my body. The more slowly I eat, the clearer the fullness signals are

edit: forgot a word

BrianSharpe

Notwithstanding what your mother told you, you don't need to clean your plate.

If you're at a restaurant when the smallest serving size is big enough to feed a family of 4 for a month eat slowly and don't feel compelled to eat it all. Go for lower calorie, higher protein choices (grilled chicken, poached salmon) - they'll help you feel full longer, eat your vegetables and skip the fries. Drink water with your meals and ship desserts.

BelindaDuvessa

You're working at a computer....do you happen to have internet access? You'd be surprised at the places that *DO* have their calories posted. It's not just the fast food places.

Go for leaner cooking methods while eating out, such as grilling. Order lean meats and veggies, without all the additives of cheese, sauces, and breads. Eat oil based dressings instead of the creamier ones. Take time off from your work to concentrate on eating, and place half of it in a to go box to eat later (even if it's the same establishment). That will save you money and calories.

woodsygirl

There are healthy options at many coffee shops, if you frequent Starbucks I think they have their calories (http://www.starbucks.com/menu/catalog/nutrition?food=all#view_control=nutrition). I would opt for the packages of nuts, kind bars, bananas, most of their Bistro Boxes are not bad choices either.

If you are some place that does sandwiches, opt for something with lean meats and veggies and then leave most of the bread.

I'm on the go most days, usually I bring a single serve pack of nuts (200 cals), a quest bar (for the protein), and a bag of veggies that doesn't need to stay in the fridge (carrots, radishes, etc). You could also bring your own apple.