Can I have a cheat meal?
There isn’t a need for a cheat meal, and a flexible dieting practice instead facilitates a more balanced approach, we aim to move away from the mindset of a 'cheat meal'. If you want your favourite take-out or dine-out meal, instead, you can track this into your overall intake for the day so that you are still keeping sight of your goals but allowing yourself to enjoy the meal you want.
How do I track a dine-out meal?
There are a few ways to track a takeout meal - for items that we have in our database, such as Mcdonald's, KFC, and Subway; you can accurately track these meals per item of the menu. e.g. 1 x McDonald's Cheeseburger, 1 x McDonald's Small Fries, 1 x McDonald's Sweet 'N' Sour Sauce etc.
For meals that you're unsure of the quantity of each item, you can guesstimate if the meal doesn't have too many components. A Beef Burger can be tracked as; 1 x Burger Bun, 150g x Beef Mince (full fat), 1 x Cheese Slice (full fat), 20g Lettuce, 20g Tomato, 20g Onion, 20g x Sauce (full fat) etc. you just need to track all the items in the meal.
A steak and chips could be tracked as 300g x (type) of Steak, 1 x Regular Hot Chips, 10g Olive Oil (used to cook the steak), 1 x Side Salad, 100mL x Pub Style Gravy. Make sure to always be generous with your portions/calories.
If you cannot track via either method above, you can just leave a calorie allowance. There is a 'Calorie Allowance' entry in the database to make this easier for you. You want to leave a generous calorie allowance to ensure that you can enjoy the event without having to restrict yourself. Leaving 1000 calories is quite generous, but anywhere from about 800 is advised on the day of your dining out experience.
Next, you want to ensure that the remaining calories throughout your day are high in protein, high volume and fibre for satiety and micronutrients but are also low in calories so that you can maximise your bang for your calorie buck. Hitting within 30g of your protein target and over 20g in fibre is ideal. For example, if the event is a dinner, you could opt for:
Breakfast = egg white omelette loaded with veggies.
Lunch = Chicken or Tuna salad with lots of low-calorie veggies.
Snacks = protein bars, protein smoothies, fruit, high protein yoghurt or vegetable sticks.
What if I want to have alcohol?
This is more than fine; you just need to track the alcohol either on top of your dine-out meal or in your day if you're not dining out as well. We suggest opting for lower-calorie beverages such as:
Vodka Soda/Diet Drink = 69 calories each.
Champagne = 88 calories per glass.
Red/White wine = 128 calories per glass.
Corona Light Beer = 99 calories per bottle.
The rules still apply in terms of hitting your calories/macros if including alcohol too.
What's the best option to choose when dining out?
We'd always suggest lean meat with a side of veggies. Try to avoid anything too deep fried, breaded or crumbed, or creamy - as these can really increase the calorie content of the meal.
Top tips for dining out
Our tops tips:
Order simple; the less ingredient, the easier to track: Steak & Chips, Eggs on Toast.
Track via the app - will ensure accuracy.
Pre-plan your day - ensure you’re hitting fibre and protein requirements, most importantly.
Leave ample calories - dine-out meals tend to be high in calories, so ensure you are leaving around 800-1000 calories.
Ask for dressings on the side.
If having alcohol, think smart - vodka soda, champagne, wine etc
Go to places that have the nutritional information in our app, e.g. Grill’d, Subway, Sumo Salad, Sushi Train etc
Have a read of our blogs on dining out: