Healthy Eating Habits
There's a huge misconception that if you want to eat healthily, you have to give up everything you love, which is not true! If you try to cut all of these things out of your diet, you'll just be miserable and more likely to binge. For this week's episode, we spoke with the Millennial Nutritionist, Illa Garcia, so we wanted to give a more in-depth on the advice she gave us!
Illa explains that to lose weight, a person needs to maintain a calorie deficit (eating fewer calories than your body needs). She created a super handy fast-food guide that helps choose healthier options! You can sign up for her quick guide here.
Here are her 5 tips:
Look up the online nutritional facts. All you'll have to do is google something like, "Chick-Fil-A's Nutritional Information". By looking at this information, you can see which foods will align with your calorie intake.
Aim for about 25 grams of protein and 400-500 calories per meal. Her biggest tip here is to stick with the a-la-carte menu and skip on the combos.
Add in a fruit or vegetable if available. A lot of restaurants have begun to offer healthier options, so if they do, take advantage of it. By adding a side of fruit or a salad, it'll make the meal better for you and also increase your fiber intake.
If the nutrition information isn't available, choose a lean protein and 1 serving of carbs. The local restaurants may not have their nutritional data easily accessible, but if you stick with a protein and one serving of carbs, you should be able to stay within the necessary calories.
If you're on TikTok, she makes videos that show the small swaps that can be made to help with weight loss. She's talking about Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, In and Out, Olive Garden, and many others.
Here are two examples:
You can still eat Chick-Fil-A! If you're trying to lose some weight, just try to stay with a lower calorie option. In her TikTok, Illa says the better option would be to order a cool wrap with fruit rather than a chicken sandwich with fries!
At chipotle, you should try to go for a salad option. Choose between rice or beans, and then between sour cream or guacamole! Those small changes can cut down the calories in half. (Check out her TikTok about Chipotle here).
So, there you have it, you can eat fast-food, but be aware of the healthier options!