0:00
You're listening to episode number 16 of the Fat Fuelled Female podcast.
0:08
Welcome to the fat fueled female podcast. I'm your host Marja Chow, a holistic nutritionist, personal trainer and proud dog mama of two. I am obsessed with helping women achieve their goals, feel confident in their skin and become empowered health advocates. This podcast is designed to help ambitious women thrive on a low carb, high fat lifestyle. So tune in each week as we talk all aspects of nutrition, improving your fitness enhancing your mindset so that you can take inspired action, and live your best life all starting from the inside out. I'm so happy to have you here. Now let's get started.
0:51
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Fat Fuelled Female Podcast. Today we're going to talk about the problems with eating out at restaurants. And I'm going to give you five key tips you can implement when eating out.
1:07
And listen, I'm not saying avoid eating out all the time or cook all your food at home. Being social and having nights out with loved ones or girls nights or with your lover or your partner are so freakin important. I always say to my clients 80/20 70/30 90/10 Whether it's 80% of the time you nutrition is on point you're eating high quality, nutrient dense foo and then 20% You give yourself some wiggle room you give yourself some leeway.
1:39
Whatever works with you and your lifestyle. I'm a little bit more strict. I'm like a 90/10 kind of gal. That's just my belief system, my paradigm. If I'm at a restaurant I won't eat any of the meat unless it's ethically raised grass fed grass finished organic or wild caught fish.
2:01
You know, I just don't support CAFOs confined animal feeding operations. If you believe in energy, that animal from when it was born to when it was slaughtered its main emotion was fear. And these animals are treated so in humanely and they are fed a genetically modified diet usually corn and soy which they are not supposed to be eating. So I'm just going to leave it at that life is about choice. And you get to choose what you decide to put into your body. So getting back to the restaurant.
2:32
First thing, if it's not ethically sourced meat, I'll move down the chain and I'll see what type of fish they have. If it's wild caught fish, I'll go for that. And if they don't have that, I will just choose a vegetarian option.
2:46
My deeper purpose is really I help raise awareness about nutrition so that women can break free of the dieting culture, and societal norms. And so that our future generations specifically little girls can grow up in a world where they listen and love their body's and understand that food is the most powerful medicine on the planet.
3:12
I think a lot of the time people are not educated about nutrition, because we don't learn anything really in school, which I think is ridiculous. But that could be you know, a whole nother episode.
3:25
So people will have this thing about dieting culture and be like, stop or don't label food as good and bad. You don't want to have an unhealthy relationship with food.
3:37
And yo, I understand that all too well as someone who suffered from multiple eating disorders and chronic dieting for so many years.
3:49
But what I want you to consider is when you know better, you do better. I didn't know anything about nutrition growing up as a little girl. It was a completely different world.
4:02
There was no social media, you know, computers, you couldn't just Google everything that wasn't really a thing when I was growing up. So I didn't really have much education around nutrition at all. And I like to think if I was that little girl now, if I just had a speck of information of what I knew today, how my relationship with food and dieting and body image would be so freakin different.
4:29
And I don't regret everything anything I went through all the pain and all the trial and error and all the body image and dieting and roller coaster of emotions and all the things I went through. I don't regret any of it because it shaped me into the woman I am today. And without that experience, I wouldn't be such a strong health advocate on nutrition and women empowerment and being your own health advocate and being your own physician from within.
4:57
So again like our future Generation, if I can prevent one little girl, obviously, I'd like to prevent more than one little girl from making all the mistakes I made, then that is a reward in itself.
5:11
And when you are more educated about nutrition, and you are more connected to your body and trust your body, you just stop eating foods that make you feel like shit.
5:24
And that make you feel like garbage. So remember, not everything is diet, culture, and being restrictive. We're also bio individual, we are such bio individual creatures, that we all react and respond differently to different protocols and different foods.
5:44
And it's about being intuitive and intentional with your body. And really seeing how you feel after your meals and, and after eating certain types of food.
5:56
Remember, like, you're not supposed to feel tired after meals, you're not supposed to have crappy energy every day, you're not, it's not supposed to be hard for you to get up in the morning and get out of bed. You're not supposed to have crazy sugar cravings, people just get so accustomed to feeling like this all the time. And just because a symptom symptom is common, does not mean it's normal.
6:23
And, you know, one of my pet peeves is when people say, Yeah, my back hurts, or my knee hurts, or I'm just so tired all the time. I'm not like how I used to be in my 20s.
6:34
And it's like, that's like kind of a cop out, it doesn't have to be that way. Just because you are getting older, doesn't mean your body has to break down. It's like when I'm in my 50, 60, 70,80s. I want to feel as amazing as I do in my 30s if not even more, more energized.
6:53
And I still want to be doing all the physical activity and movement I'm doing today. And it's called biohacking. It's called taking responsibility for your health and for your life.
7:06
And not being a statistic going against the grain. And knowing you are in control of your biology, and how well or how unwell you choose to live. So I'm going a little bit off topic here, but I just get really passionate about this stuff.
7:22
So everyone's digestive capacity and reaction to food is so different. And I believe eating well, most of the time, remember 70/30 80/20 90/10, whatever makes it feel like a lifestyle for you where you feel balanced, where you don't feel restricted, where you don't feel like you're on a diet, I believe eating, while most of the time is the greatest form of self respect, and self love.
7:50
And if you're trying to repair your gut, or reduce inflammation in your body, lower your blood sugar, maybe you got some labs done at your doctor and your fasting glucose is elevated, it's going to take time, right, you have to spend time removing foods that don't support your health goals.
8:09
Now, that doesn't mean it's going to be forever. But you have to know that in order to heal, and bring your body back to homeostasis back to a place more of balance, it's gonna take time because these symptoms didn't just maybe they're just coming to the surface, but they probably been brewing in your body like low grade inflammation for some time.
8:34
And I always like to say this, you can't just sprinkle glitter on garbage, it's still going to smell like crap.
8:43
In today's society, we want quick results easy way out. And what I want to offer you is if you look at your timeline from a bird's eye view, right, look at your entire timeline from when you were born to however, old you are now, okay.
8:58
And you if you were to spend three months, six months, one year, a year and a half, whatever it is, and fully understand how to support your body. That's really like a speck in your entire timeline for you to have greater control and understanding and a higher quality of life.
9:20
But many people they're not willing to put in the work. And they just get stuck in this vicious cycle of doing surface level actions. And when you do surface level actions, you just get surface level results.
9:32
And we all know those results don't last. I also like to you know explain it in this type of way with your body. I use a lot of analogies and metaphors when I work with clients when I teach my students so most of us own a car or know how to drive a car right? And we get in our cars every day.
9:52
We turn the engine on and off we go. So when something is wrong with our vehicle, we take it to the mechanic or we take it to the dealership and we get it fixed right away. Now I want you to think of your body as a car, you can live your life driving your car, you know, every day, pretty unaware, almost in autopilot, and not really having the awareness of how your car functions.
10:15
Or you could lift up the hood of the car, and really understand how it works. And how to make your car aka your body run optimally, how to support your organ health, your digestive track, your brain health.
10:32
And what is one thing that if one thing that every human being in the world would be a better human being if they had.....
10:44
Better freakin energy, if you have more energy, you can perform better in all areas your life because you're able to do things because you feel better.
10:55
And how do we feel better and have better energy by taking ownership and eating better quality foods and being more intentional and aware about our own bodies and our nutrition.
11:06
So would you like I like to say it like this. Like, wouldn't you want to have your body running like a high functioning Ferrari that is, or over I don't know, a 1985 Pinto. And, you know, as I said that episode, when you know better, you will do better.
11:28
Okay, so I think that's a perfect segue into the problem with eating out at restaurants. Did you know that those who eat don't regularly consume on average 20 to 50% more calories than those who eat in and make their own food at home.
11:45
It's the added oils, the sugars, the marinates, the dressings, that's why prepping your meals and going to the grocery store and knowing exactly what's in your food is going to be more effective in you reaching your goals and also saving you money.
12:00
But you know, as I said, Life is about finding your balance, spending time with family members and friends and loved ones and girls nights and date night. All of these aspects are just as important with overall health and wellness.
12:15
We need to feel connected and understood and be around people we love and trust and want to spend quality time with.
12:25
So the number one problem with eating at restaurants. This is the main reason actually is the oils they cook with referred to as omega 6, linoleic acid found in corn, canola, soybean, sofar, cottonseed, and sunflower.
12:41
So the problem with these oils is they promote inflammation. So they are pro inflammatory. And they're highly heavily processed. So during the Industrial refining of these oils, extreme high heat pressure and often bleaching agents are used to turn the seeds into liquid. So think of it like a soybean.
13:08
Like think about how much force and how many soybeans you would actually have to crush to get liquid opposed to an olive, like if you took an olive and just like squashed it down. It would be pretty moist and pretty wet. Right? So it's kind of gross.
13:25
If you if you think about these seeds, they're not actually supposed to be oils, right? Like in nature, they would never be in oil because they just don't constitute what an oil would be.
13:39
So these oils are used at most restaurants to cook with usually canola, soybean or corn oil. So if you're eating a salad, I would say nine times out of 10 the dressings usually going to be canola oil.
13:54
And even if you are fine dining at a restaurant, and I love how more restaurants are having grass fed beef on the menu oranic chicken and I always order those if they're they're on like Boooyah Yes, awesome. I can actually eat meat Not in my house, I can actually go out and get a grass fed steak.
14:15
But the thing is, most places are not cooking it in good quality oil. So you're getting the better quality meat, but they're not cooking it and butter or ghee or coconut oil or tallow which is Beff fat. They're generally cooking it in canola.
14:33
So side note, when you cook your food at home, you want to cook it in saturated fat. Why? Because saturated fats are far more stable. So fats have different smoke points.
14:46
So it's important you kind of know your smoke points in your oils. Because this smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which the oil starts to break down and produce harmful freeriders coals and we're fatty acids become oxidized.
15:03
So it's like premature aging essentially. And you know, when you see chefs in like movies or kitchens, they usually have like, like a cast iron pan, there's this like massive flame going up at high heat. And, you know, when I see that I'm like, aka, that's just fat oxidation, especially if they're cooking with unstable pro inflammatory oils, linoleic acid, Omega three.
15:31
So the problem, again, is the oils. So even if you're getting sablefish, or and it's wild caught, and you're getting wild caught salmon, and you're getting chicken or steak or beef, and it's an ethically sourced protein, a lot of the times the oils they're cooking with isn't ideal. And just having that awareness is the most important thing, right?
15:57
Like when I go out and eat at restaurants, I'm like this is to nourish my soul, and being social, and enjoying quality time with people I care about and want to sit down with and enjoy a meal.
16:10
But I'm going out there knowing that, hey, my food is probably not going to be how, what my standards are, and that's okay, right.
16:19
So, here are my five tips on what to do when eating out. So number one, ask the server about the ingredients. Okay, if you have any sort of dairy allergies, gluten sensitivities, obviously, you know, your body best. Ask about those and what can be substituted? What can make your meal more healthy, that's going to work for you modify the crap out of the menu, that's what I do. You're the one eating it.
16:50
I have had clients who have resistance with this or like, I don't want to come across as being high maintenance or picky. And this is when you should be the most picky. It's your body. It's your money, and you're paying for the meal. Listen, we can be super high maintenance with who colors our hair. Well, I'm just speaking for myself, who colors your hair, who does my nails, who cuts my dog's hair, who washes my car, what company I that comes in and cleans my carpets because I want to make sure it's the least amount of toxic ingredients.
17:25
Like we can be so picky with superficial stuff. And you know, of course, you want to have nice hair, nice hair, nice nails, I get that. But why are we not being more picky with what can change us on a cellular level? How much can prevent us from being sick, or being well, right. So be picky AF, right.
17:52
Pay attention to what you are putting into your body. And as I said, eating well, is the greatest form of self love you can do for yourself. It's the greatest form of respect. And what I also want to say that I didn't touch on this.
18:09
So when you eat those pro inflammatory oils, you want to think of all your cells, they have something referred to as a cell membrane, a cell wall, and I explained it to my clients like this, okay.
18:22
When you go to a nightclub, the bouncer you want your bouncer to be so you own the nightclub. You want the bouncer to be like pretty fit, pretty intimidating. He's gonna determine who comes into the club, you don't want people that are over intoxicated, you don't want people that are going to start fights.
18:40
You want that bouncer to have a high sense of awareness of who's coming in out of your establishment, right? You don't want a bouncer who's like really skinny has, like, you know, not a very intimidating voice softly spoken. And people are just going to kind of walk all over yeah, whatever, buddy. I'm going in anyways. Right.
18:59
So this is the example I give of the cell wall, you want your cell wall to be intimidating, you want your cell wall to be strong, and your cell wall is derived a fat, a lot of it being saturated fat. So we want strong saturated fat and high quality fat to determine what comes in and out of our cell. And when you are having a lot of those pro inflammatory Omega six, they are not good for our cell wall, they are not going to be that protective barrier of what we allow in and out of ourselves.
19:34
So that is why we really want to pay attention and reduce the amount of omega six coming into our nutrition.
19:43
So tip number two, ask for all the dressings and sauces to be put on the site or substituted right like nine times out of 10. I'm going to tell you if you're going to chain restaurant, it's going to be canola oil, ask questions, what type of oil are you using?
20:00
If you're okay with doing an olive oil, again, restaurant olive oil, you don't know all fats can become rancid, whether they're like exposed to too much heat, they are exposed to too much light.
20:13
It's not going to be the best quality oils that you are like cooking with and using for salads and stuff at home. So ask what they're using. If you're cool with doing the olive oil, you know, do the olive oil use or just do balsamic and lemon.
20:29
I am that 90/20 type of gal, right? So if I'm going out and and I'm going to get a salad, and I know the restaurant doesn't have the oils, I like I will bring my travel size pack of MCT oil. Now you don't have to be as extreme as me. But that's what I do. That works for me.
20:48
And another thing is look on the menu. This is what I always do when I'm going to new restaurant, I look on the menu, I'm like, hey, what can I get what seems like what fits into my belief system, my lifestyle of what I choose to put into my body.
21:01
So with salad dressings, yeah, choose the olive oil, just know it's not going to be like the best quality olive oil, obviously, it's going to be better than canola. Or you can bring your own like me MCT travel pack from bulletproof, or you can just squeeze lemon on top.
21:17
And then number three, I always find if you get more vegetables, it helps with volume and keeping you full. Ask for extra veggies. Now you want to make sure those are steamed. And then you can what I do is I just say Hey, can you see me up some extra broccoli or whatever it is asparagus. And then I say Can I just get some butter on the side. And then I will just smash the butter all into my vegetables, okay.
21:43
If you have a job what I want to say if you have a job and save a corporate job, or you're always meeting clients you're doing for lunch, you're going for lunches, or dinners, I'm just part of what you do.
21:54
I would say maybe bringing your own MCT oil is going to be beneficial because you have to look at how often you're eating out. And if you're eating out three to five times a week, and say you're getting a protein but it's going to be cooked in the pro inflammatory oils.
22:13
So you could step out get a salad, bring your own dressing, and then you're not going to be having as much as those Omega six right. Another thing you can do because the table salt they use at restaurants isn't ideal.
22:26
You want to be using a high quality Himalayan pink salt, rock salt or high quality sea salt. So you don't have to do this, but I will have my little own compartment of just sea salt or rock salt that I bring. And I don't do this all the time. Like I don't eat out that frequently.
22:47
So if I eat out once a month, I'm probably not going to do it. But if I know I have to eat out more frequently I will or if I'm on vacation, I will definitely bring all of these things.
22:56
Okay, number four, you can sip don't chug on warm water with lemon wedges. Why this helps is lemon is a digestive aid because it has the same acidity as your stomach acid. So you can you know, just get hot water, pour some squeeze some lemon in there. This will help improve your digestion.
23:21
Don't overdo it because if you drink too much fluid that can actually dilute your stomach acid. I find this is great too because sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger. And you know you're in a restaurant you're smelling all the good food. Sometimes if you just sip and drank like water or even tea, I can help with you actually being more in tune with your body.
23:46
Another thing you can do is you can do like tea, peppermint, chamomile and ginger with lemon is so good.
23:53
And tip number five is take activated charcoal, it's a supplement. I use the brand by bulletproof when I have a suspect foods like foods I don't normally eat or oils right that I don't intentionally eat at restaurants.
24:10
What this can do is it helps bind those suspect foods or even heavy metals and toxins to help flush them out of your body quicker. I will always take activated charcoal when I drink alcohol too because I feel like it helps with my hangover and helps get that alcohol out of my body quicker.
24:31
So I'll activated charcoal is also great to counteract bloating and unwanted side effects from eating foods you don't normally consume like have you ever gone to a restaurant and you maybe just order like steak and potatoes but you're like Oh, my stomach does not feel right.
24:48
So activated charcoal could help eliminate and help your system come back to normal quicker and give you that like much needed relief in the event. that you're eating something that just doesn't agree with your body.
25:03
So, that is everything. Those are my five top tips. So I'm just gonna recap. Ask the server about the ingredients, substitute the crap out of the menu. Remember, it's your body, it's your money, it's your meal.
25:17
Number two, ask for the dressings, what's in them and ask for the sauces and stuff on the side or substitute them. Bring your own MCT oil if you want to like me.
25:28
And then number three, ask for extra vegetables preferably steamed, more volume food will keep you full and then smear butter on top. To help feel you get you feeling more satiated, because fats will keep you feeling more full and bring out the flavor and the food. You can add or bring your own Himalayan rock salt or sea salt as well.
25:50
And then number four, get warm water with lemon wedges. This can also help with digestion and not mistaking your thirst for hunger.
25:59
And then number five, take this supplement activated charcoal have it after you eat your meal. This will help make you this will help you if you have any sort of ill reactions after eating foods that maybe you not are not used to consuming all of the time.
26:19
So that is everything for this episode. I hope these tips gave you some clarity and you can implement them into your routine or lifestyle next time you were out. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. And I will catch all you beautiful souls next week. Bye for now.
26:41
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed what you heard, make sure to subscribe to the podcast. And if you feel you got some extra value from this episode, it would mean the world to me. If you could head over to Apple podcasts or whatever service you're listening to this podcast on. Drop a five star review. Let me know your thoughts in the show. Doing this really helps more people like yourself by the podcast. And if you're not already following me on social media right now is the time you can find me on Instagram at Marja Chow for all your nutrition tips, tricks and inspiration or visit my website at Fat Fueled Female.com where you can download my free seven day keto meal plan with recipes. Thanks so much for tuning in and I will catch you next week.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
