Dining Out On The South Beach Diet

Dining out on the south beach diet is not overly difficult to do. In fact, it's one of the easiest diet plans you can dine out with, as long as you understand the difference between good carbs and bad carbs. You do need to be a little choosy with where you're dining out on the south beach diet though, because some restaurants are disasters waiting to happen.

Italian restaurants for instance, usually have meals all laden heavily with pasta and bread. These two things can derail your progress on the south beach diet plan if you're not careful. There are steps you can take though, which will help minimize the impact of various foods you eat when dining out on the south beach diet plan.

If you go to an Italian restaurant for instance, try ordering half sized meals instead of full ones. You don't want to end up eating a huge bowl of pasta with cream sauce, because this will be a very heavy carbohydrate load and it will spike your blood sugar levels very fast. These are the worst kinds of carbs to eat, because quick rises in blood sugar are a large part of what made you gain so much fat in the first place.

So if you must have pasta, make sure it's a very small amount. Try balancing it out, or counteracting it a bit, with a healthy does of tomatoe sauce and meat. Order extra vegetables too, or a large side salad, and eat as much of that as you can to help fill you up and help counteract the sugar rise the pasta will give you.

Italian restaurants are also famous for providing endless bread baskets too, and these are again the wrong kinds of carbs to be eating. If you must have bread and it's at all possible, go for the whole grain breads or the sourdough. Put a little olive oil or real butter on the bread too, because these will help slow down the absorption of the simple starches from the bread.

In most places though, dining out on the south beach diet is not too difficult at all. Try to avoid the bread basket if there is one of course, and try starting with some clear broth soup before your meal comes. This will help take the edge off your hunger, and make sure you don't over eat when the main course arrives.

Order good quality meats without breading. Grilled, baked or broiled is always your best choice. If the meat usually comes with a sauce or gravy on it, ask the waiter to bring that on the side. This can often help you eat less of it, or none at all if you'd like.

Avoid potatoes and rice when dining out on the south beach diet too though. Replace those menu items with a double order of vegetables, or a larger salad instead. Drizzle a bit of olive oil or vinegar on your salad too, and this will help further reduce the impact from any simple carbs you may be eating with the meal.

It's ok to eat dessert when dining out on the south beach diet too, as long as you're reasonable with it. Try for something light such as fruit if you can, and even add a spoon or two of ice cream to it if you must. If this is a special occasion though and you don't do it often, feel free to order the rich chocolate cake if you really want it. A good way to help yourself not eat too much of it though, is to share it with everyone else at the table. Take just a few bites yourself, then hand it off for everyone else to try.