Someone asked me the other day, “how do I choose the healthiest meal when dining at a restaurant?” This person also asked me, “what’s better to choose; fat or carbs?”
Carbs can have a positive or negative impact on your body hormonally; carbs will increase your insulin response. Insulin does 2 things; build muscle or store fat. After a workout consuming a carb will help build muscle as your muscles are insulin sensitive. BUT, when your muscles are not insulin sensitive these carbs will be stored as fat/adipose tissue on your body.
Fat is hormonally neutral on your body, as long as it’s not consumed with a carb.
So, the main takeaway is to watch your carb intake. Watching your carbs and limiting them will help you make the best choice. Always go low-carb.
Here’s some ideas of what you can do to make your dining options fat loss friendly:
– Skip the bread basket, ask the waiter to omit it
– Toss the bun of your sandwich or burger
– Chicken breast or lean steak filet with a side of veggies
– Skip the chips and tortillas at a Mexican restaurant, order fajitas or taco salad, 1-3 bites of beans
– Breakfast options: plain oatmeal, egg whites, turkey bacon
– Grilled chicken salad with lots of veggies and choose a low carb dressing like; ranch, italian, any of the vinegarettes or red wine vinegar.
Here’s another tip: I always have stevia with me in my purse. I use the liquid bottle version to sweeten my oatmeal, iced tea, coffee and anything else. This helps me eliminate the extra calories and carbs that table sugar brings.