15 Apr Eating Out on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD)
While we encourage all of our Trimmers to follow the weight loss protocol as closely as possible, sometimes things pop up that make it difficult and you may find yourself eating out on HCG.
Do your best to plan the beginning of your program around already scheduled events, attempt to avoid eating out as much as possible, or at least for the first couple of weeks while you get a better idea of what your portion sizes should look like.
This will make ‘guesstimating’ a little easier while you’re out and about.
Eating Out on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD)
Sometimes that friend’s birthday dinner is unavoidable and you just need to know what to do!?? Here are some guidelines to follow if you must eat out.
Step 1:
Check out the restaurant’s menu before the big event. If you plan ahead of time, it will help to avoid ordering something impulsively (especially if your bestie just ordered the prawn linguine… ugh… how cruel!)
Step 2:
Choose your protein. Here you are looking for protein grilled fish, eye fillet steak, grilled chicken, undressed prawns, crab or lobster. Be that person who says ‘no sauce’, it’s only while you’re on the diet. Does it come with veggies or salad?
Step 3:
Choose your greens. A lot of restaurants serve steamed broccoli or vegetables on the side. Great! Get that. Salads are a great option too, just remember to hold the dressing.
Step 4:
Caution… Usually, you will be served about 200g of protein. Ask for a takeaway container at the start of your meal so you can immediately section up your dinner and save the rest for tomorrow. If the waiter places bread on the table, be sure to palm that off to your friends right away.
Step 5:
Drink water…. Waitttttt…. What? Yes. You can do it… Drink water, or sparkling water, or black tea. If you absolutely must must must have a drink, make it a vodka soda but note that one drink totals 64 calories. You can see the impact that would have while on the VLCD (500cal) phase of the diet. Ever crave greasy bacon and eggs when you’re hungover? It’s not worth it and can really muck you up.
Step 6:
Sweep it under the rug. Don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon. We often find Trimmers trying to “recover” from their indulgence by eating less the following 2 days. Don’t do this, it will do more damage to your results anyways. Just know that tomorrow is a new day, start fresh as usual and carry on as if nothing happened.
Eating on the go
Obviously “fast” food and disorganised habits are everything you are currently trying to rectify for helping you establish healthy eating habits for good, but… things come up. You might be running late from a meeting and won’t make it to the office that afternoon, you might have left your prepared meal sitting on the kitchen bench as you raced out of the house this morning… Here are some last resort options for you.
McDonalds
Order the Classic Grilled Chicken Salad
This salad only has approximately 40 grams of chicken in it, so you will need to add an extra serve of chicken to be able to keep your protein and energy levels up.
Avoid the dressing: keep a lemon in your handbag for a duration of the program, that way you can easily add zing to a meal when you need it.
Avoid the cheese: Ask for no cheese, onion or cucumber and they should be able to make your salad fresh. That way you will be sticking pretty closely to the regular diet protocol (sticking to one vegetable per meal)
Subway
Order the Chicken Strips
Chicken Strips total 71 grams of chicken which is pretty close to your 100g requirement. You can order an extra serve but don’t be tempted to eat all the chicken, you should dispose of ¼ of your chicken before you dig in.
You will never be able to make up enough calories with lettuce alone in these circumstances so order a couple of serves of tomato to beef up your salad bowl a little. Again no dressing, no cheese!
Woolies / Coles / IGA
DIY salad bowl
Run into a supermarket and grab a pre-packaged salad bowl or a bag of salad mix.
Purchase 100g of your protein from the deli (roast beef / sliced chicken breast).
No dressing, no cheese! Spice it up with your emergency lemon and some salt and pepper.
Dr Simeons HCG Diet weight loss protocol has some very strict guidelines to follow to ensure you achieve the best results from your diet. If you do deviate from the Trim N Healthy detox plan by eating more fats, oils or carbohydrates you will notice a difference in your results. You will likely see some reduction in your weight, but it will absolutely slow down your progress and impact your momentum.
Keep going – you’re doing great!