The 17 Day Diet (32 page)

•
Lentil soup

•
Salad or vegetables with yogurt dressing

Italian

•
Minestrone

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Vegetable antipasto

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Mussels with marinara sauce

•
Chicken marsala

•
Clams with marinara sauce

•
Spaghetti squash with marinara (some Italian restaurants have this variety of squash on their menus; it makes a delicious, low-calorie substitute for pasta)

•
Chicken cacciatore

•
Veal piccata

•
Grilled chicken or fish entrees

Mexican

•
Grilled foods such as chicken or fish

•
Salsa

•
Pico de gallo

•
Tortilla soup

•
Black or red beans

•
Black bean soup

•
Mexican rice

•
Chili with beans

•
Salad, dressing on the side

Stay healthy but leave room to be flexible when you eat out: Eating is an integral—and fun—part of life, and life can be unpredictable. An unexpected change in your daily eating plan isn’t the end of the world. In fact, you can enjoy dining out even more if you remember that it’s your total diet that counts, not individual meals. You’re always going to eat out at restaurants. Hopefully, you’ll eat a little differently most of the time.

Review:

•
Be prepared before you go out to eat at a restaurant. Check out online menus and decide what you will order.

•
Sit in a quiet spot (people eat more in noisy restaurants) and be the first to order, so that you’re not influenced by what your friends order.

•
Be assertive with the wait staff. Ask how foods are prepared, and request that your order be made according to low-fat, low-calorie preparation methods.

•
Make a meal out of appetizers, since appetizer portions are often smaller than entrees.

•
Order salad dressing on the side, or bring your own.

•
Enjoy alcohol in moderation, since it can increase your appetite and lower your inhibitions.

•
Practice portion control. Don’t eat the whole thing; take some home for lunch or dinner the next day.

•
Try the three-bite rule, especially for desserts.

CHECK-UP: DR. MIKE’S RESTAURANT QUIZ—How Much Do You Know about Nutrition at Popular Restaurants?

I
f you’re trying to reduce the calories and fat in your diet, dining out can be a challenge. Take my quiz to test your restaurant smarts.

1.
Which 6-inch sandwich at Subway has the
fewest
calories?

A.
Subway Club

B.
Tuna Salad

C.
Roast Beef

D.
Steak and Cheese

2.
Which breakfast item at McDonald’s has the
most
calories?

A.
Steak, Egg, and Cheese Bagel

B.
Hot Cakes with syrup

C.
Egg McMuffin

D.
Sausage Burrito

3.
Which salad at Subway has the
most
calories?

A.
Black Forest Ham Salad with Fat-Free Italian Dressing

B.
Turkey Breast Salad with Fat-Free Italian Dressing

C.
Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Salad with Fat-Free Italian Dressing

D.
Veggie Delite Salad with Fat-Free Italian Dressing

4.
Which of the following from TCBY has the
fewest
calories?

A.
½ cup of no-sugar-added vanilla frozen yogurt

B.
½ cup of orange sorbet

5.
Of the types of pizza you can order at Pizza Hut, which variety has the
most
calories (based on
¹
/
₈
medium 12-inch pizza)?

A.
Cheese Pan Pizza

B.
Medium Cheese Thin N Crispy Pizza

C.
Hand Tossed Cheese Pizza

D.
Veggie Lover’s Pan Pizza

6.
What is the average calorie count of a 20-ounce Stay Healthy smoothie at Smoothie King?

A.
362 calories

B.
248 calories

C.
422 calories

D.
195 calories

7.
Which muffin at Dunkin Donuts has the
most
calories?

A.
Corn Muffin

B.
Coffee Cake Muffin

C.
Blueberry Muffin

D.
Honey Bran Raisin Muffin

8.
What is the
lowest
-calorie plate you can order at Boston Market?

A.
Baked Whitefish

B.
Beef Brisket

C.
Half Rotisserie Chicken

D.
Pastry Top Turkey Pot Pie

9.
What is the average calorie count of a seafood entree at Captain D’s Seafood?

A.
223

B.
758

C.
589

D.
350

10.
Which 16-ounce drink at Starbucks has the
most
calories?

A.
Hot Chocolate

B.
Flavored Latte

C.
Cappuccino

D.
Caffe Mocha

How did you do? The answers may surprise you:

1.
The correct answer is C (Roast Beef) at 310 calories. The Subway Club sandwich weighs in at 320 calories; the Steak and Cheese sandwich, 380 calories; and the Tuna Salad sandwich, 530 calories.

2.
The correct answer is A (Steak, Egg and Cheese Bagel). It has 660 calories. Hot Cakes have 530 calories. The Egg McMuffin and the Sausage Burrito have 300 calories each.

3.
The correct answer is C (Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Salad with Fat-Free Italian dressing) at 235 calories. The Black Forest Ham Salad and the Turkey Breast Salad with Fat-Free Italian have 145 calories each. The Veggie Delite Salad contains 85 calories.

4.
The correct answer is A (½ cup no-sugar-added vanilla frozen yogurt) at 80 calories. The ½ cup of orange sorbet contains 100 calories.

5.
The correct answer is A (a slice of Cheese Pan Pizza) at 240 calories. The slice of Medium Thin N Crispy Cheese Pizza has 190 Calories; the slice of Hand Tossed Cheese Pizza, 220; and the Veggie Lover’s Pan Pizza, 230 calories.

6.
The correct answer is C (422 calories). The lowest calorie smoothie in the Get Healthy category is Blueberry Heaven at 325 calories; the highest calorie smoothie is the Kiwi Island Treat at 498 calories.

7.
The correct answer is B (Coffee Cake Muffin) at 630 calories. The Corn Muffin has 490 calories. The Blueberry Muffin and the Honey Bran Raisin Muffin have 480 calories each.

8.
The correct answer is B (Beef Brisket, 4 ounces). It has 230 calories. The Baked Whitefish has 470 calories; the Half Rotisserie Chicken, 640 calories; and the Pastry Top Turkey Pot Pie, 790 calories.

9.
The correct answer is A (223 calories). Seafood entrees range from 28 calories for 4 Scampi Shrimp to 770 calories for ½ pound of clams at this restaurant.

10.
The correct answer is A (Hot Chocolate) at 300 calories. The Flavored Latte has 250 calories; Cappuccino, 120 calories; and Caffe Mocha, 260 calories.

Source: Nutritional guides at restaurants, as of early 2011.

THE 17 MINUTE WORKOUT: Burning Off a Super Burger

S
uper burgers at fast food joints can rack up almost 600 calories a serving. Here’s a look at how you can burn all that off.

•
Participate in a 90-minute aerobics dance class (five 17-minute cycles).