The Art of Ordering Out

Master the art of ordering at your next business dinner, night on the town, or special occasion without derailing your diet and body composition progress. Learn to decode the menu and choose the best options with this simple guide.

You are on a roll. Nothing can stop you this week. All your meals are planned out. You haven’t skipped a workout and even got an extra interval session in.

Then…

You get that email. An invitation to a dinner for work; that special someone; another family celebration – one you cannot bail out on this time. All hell in your mind breaks loose.

Hit the pause button. Fast forward put of panic mode. Sons of Strength has you covered.

This your guide to deciphering the menu, sticking to your guns and goals, and finally mastering the art of ordering out.

Now there’s two ways to approach the situation:

ONE. CHEAT YOUR HEART OUT.
Simply, use this dinner as your weekly cheat meal. Be absolutely positive that it’s worth it though! We don’t want you to think the cheat was out of obligation and have a free pass to do so again with your family or friends. With that said, eat and enjoy!

TWO. DECODE THE MENU WITH CONFIDENCE
Read on for our approach, foolproof philosophy, and practical application.

 

PREGAME LIKE A BEAST.

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” Confucius

No, we’re not talking about getting after it at happy hour here. Nice try. The victory starts in your preparation. Throughout the day, here are some strategies to let you win the small battles leading up the war. Try and experiment with what works best for you. Remember, sometimes you have to sacrifice a few good men MEALS…

1. Pass on the carbs.

Skip the carbs, including fruit, during your previous meals. Yes, we want you to save your carbs (think rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit) for your last meal of the day. Now, this goes against the typical norm that you should eat your starchy carbs earlier in the day so that you can burn them off by day’s end.

On the contrary, the consumption of fats in replace of carbohydrates at the last meal will actually lead to the inhibition of growth hormone during sleep. This specific timing of carbs will promote recovery from the days’ workout and fuel you up for the next days. There are many methods and research to support this idea. A great resource is John Keifer’s Carb Back-Loading.

By not depriving yourself of carbs at the dinner table (on this night or others), you will be less likely to crave sweets and actually act upon that temptationt with an unscheduled cheat. Absolutely what we need in this upcoming situation!

The plan: Enter the Paleo revolution.

Breakfast: Mainly a source of protein and green, non-starchy veggies. No fruit. Or you can always skip this meal and replace it with a cup of coffee or tea.

Lunch: Mainly a source of protein, small amount of added fats (if necessary), and green, non-starchy veggies.

2. Fast until dinner.
This is assuming you have more than 24 hours notice of the big meal. Intermittent fasting is the new craze in the diet game. There are many ways to implement it; all dealing with different meal frequencies and fasting vs. feeding windows.

We recommend using the Periodic Fast in this protocol. This will allow you to experience hunger and act as a lesson in how to deal with it mentally. The ability to manage hunger will be huge in this battle and in the overall fat loss war. To make it even sweeter and deal with some irritation you may come across, just think of that dinner ahead of you. Eyes on the prize!

Now, you shouldn’t be doing this more than once a week. So not a good strategy to implement if you have more than one work dinner in the week.

Here are some guidelines to the 24 hour fast based off the work of John Berardi from Precision Nutrition.

The plan:

Night Before:
This will be your last meal until your planned business dinner.

Day Of:
Breakfast. 9:00 – 10:00 am
Replace your normal breakfast with:

• Cup of coffee (black if possible), green tea, or an herbal blend of your choice.
• 1 Liter of Water with a greens powder*
• Take 5 grams of BCAAs* (branched chain amino acids either as a powder or capsules.
• *We recommend Athletic Greens

Lunch. 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Replace your typical lunch with:

• Cup of coffee (black if possible), green tea, or an herbal blend of your choice.
• 1 Liter of Water with a greens powder*
• Take 5 grams of BCAA (branched chain amino acids) either as a powder or capsules.
• *We recommend Athletic Greens

Tips:
Dealing with hunger pains? Drink up! Water that is. Consuming water will help deal
with those pings and pangs.

3. Crush a workout.
It’s a game of numbers. Get some calories out before you take them in. Since you will be working those jaw muscles at dinner, you must make your training a priority on the day of the dinner. Be sure to hit the weights and add in some extra intervals to up your caloric expenditure. By the time you sit down for dinner, your body will be ready to put those calories at dinner to use for its recovery.

Optimally, push your training session as close to the dinner as possible. If you normally train early in the morning and the probability you will skip it later in the day is high, just go about your routine. Just be sure to have a shake or meal with a small amount of carbs post workout. Fruit works perfect in this circumstance.

If you’re not eating dinner within 30 minutes of the completed workout, go with a protein shake that includes some fruit. This will be your best bet as a low calorie option without the risk of going into a catabolic state.

Don’t have a training program to follow? Be on the look out for the Sons of Strength Online Coaching launching soon! Interested? Email us at info@sonsofstrength.com.

4. Get an early advantage.

Take control. Suggesting a restaurant that you know serves a healthy meal is a surefire way to gain some confidence going into the big meal. Your best bet is to go Japanese if possible.

So the dinner isn’t in your control? No worries, you just need to do a little homework. Find the menu online ahead of time and strategize a game plan for this battle. Let’s go into this with our guns loaded and our confidence high.

 

GAMETIME: TIME TO BRING IT.

ALCOHOL.
Your best bet here is to ban the booze. But you need to live too right, especially after a stressful work day?

Sons of Strength is all about balance and a healthy relationship to our lifestyle factors.

If you do choose to drink up, let’s discuss some damage control. First, understand that alcohol will become your primary source of nutrition tonight. At 7 calories per gram, it is vital to limit your energy intake. That means we have to give and take in order to limit the amount of excess calories that will be potentially stored as fat.

The plan: Protein + Booze + Green (non-starch) Veggies = Dinner.

Keep the carbohydrates and fats low, survive a bad diet situation, and your co-employees’ harassment. Remember, your body translates booze as poison within the system. Therefore, it will prioritize burning its calories over all else you are consuming. Fat oxidation will be put on the back burner in favor of storage.

Don’t listen to the advertisers marketing schemes that a certain alcohol drink has low net carbs. Calories are king here. Especially since we are gaining no nutritional value whatsoever.

Also, STOP justifying your consumption of alcohol for the health benefits. No matter the latest headline you’ve read about improving your heart health or the antioxidants of this type of alcohol.

Bottom line: Alcohol is just not that great for your body composition or overall health.

Now what should you drink? Most of the time, we say what you like most. Instead, let’s give you some advice to take it up another notch.

WINE:

• Select wines with the lowest residual sugar levels or have gone through the fermentation process fully. A vintner will cut the fermentation process, where the grapes’ sugar is converted to alcohol, short if they are aiming for a sweeter wine.
• This leaves us with dry wines and a higher alcohol percentage (Look for over 12 percent; those less than 10 percent will be sweeter).
• A dry wine will cause more of tactile phenomenon as your mouth to “dry out” on first contact.
• Avoid at all costs: dessert wines and those with added sugars.

BEER:

• The most detrimental and the one we want you to give up. We know, we know. Nothing is more manly than drinking beers with your bros. A Sons of Strength also knows that its pretty unmanly to have a beer gut due to the increased estrogen levels, inhibition of growth hormone, and you can kiss your high levels of testosterone goodbye. Enough reason for us to go with wine or liquor instead…
• If your thirst can’t be quenched, go with a gluten-free version when possible. Give these brands a try.

LIQUOR:

• Have it on the rocks.
• Best preference (in order): potato vodka, vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey
• Avoid at all costs: the sugar beverages or fruit juices when having a mixed drink. Go with a non-caloric beverage. The addition of a lemon or lime should do the trick.

Cheers!

APPETIZERS.
There are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to dieting. Hopefully, the restaurant you are eating at doesn’t skin a cat and serve it to you…

Anyway, no matter the diet you follow, ONE RULE we follow and strongly recommend is never to have a meal with FAT and CARBS together.

We know you don’t want to hear it, but skip the bread and butter (even olive oil). Sorry but not sorry.

Instead, opt out or for:

• Salad: just ask for the dressing (preferably an oil and vinegar or mustard base) on the side
• Vegetable based dish such as edamame
• Soup with a vegetable or tomato base, low sodium. Avoid cream based options.
• Seafood Options: Lots of restaurants offer an assortment of shellfish like muscles, calamari, and shrimp. Just make sure it doesn’t come fried!

ENTREES.
This is where we need to change your mindset when it comes to selecting your entree. Right now, you most likely open a menu to a list of ingredients that stimulates your senses, heightens your hunger, and excited your salivary glands.

You mean to tell us that a fancy description of fresh herbs, wild and foreign spices, and divine side dishes, disrupts your diet flow. A few words?! Come on, you didn’t fall for that trick did you?

Let’s prioritize. Here is the Sons of Strength order of priority when it comes to entrees.

1. Protein first.

When it comes to the meat of your meal (pun intended), protein must be the staple. Our eyes automatically look for a protein source that meets the requirements below before we proceed to the next step.

Meat (beef, bison, pork, lamb, venison, etc.)
– Leaner cuts of meat. (Top choices: sirloin, top/bottom round)
– Grass-fed (especially with fattier cuts)
– Avoid: bacons, sausages, and pork belly

Poultry (chicken, turkey, etc.)

• Organic when possible.
• Pick the breast over the thighs.
• Remove the skin.

Fish (shellfish, Nemo, etc.)

• Wild Caught is a must.
• Limit your consumption of predator fish due to higher concentrations of mercury. (tuna, swordfish, shark, etc.)

2. Preparation.

Your entree choices are being narrowed down. You should have easily crossed off some items based on the protein staple of your dinner. Good work. Next, how your food is prepared is just important as the protein selected.

Here are some give aways to the cooking method used.

SOS Approved:

Steamed
Grilled
Baked
Seasoned
Stir Fried
Poached
Roasted
Broiled

Avoid at all costs:

Fried (Deep-Fried), Crispy, Crunchy, Battered
Pan-Fried
Loaded/Covered
Cheesy/Alfredo
Buttered
Creamed
Au Gratin (dish that is baked with a topping of breadcrumbs and cheese)

If you’re not sure or the cooking method is not specified, just ask! This is your body, your goals, your life. Time to not be embarrassed to know what fuels your fire. Knowledge is power.

3. Side kicks.

Being a badass superhero, or in this case a Son of Strength, always comes with the responsibility of picking a sick sidekick. There is no exception when it comes to what will be surrounding your flawlessly selected entree protein.

Since we skipped the carbs during the day and crushed a workout, time to feast up. Your best option is to go with a gluten free carb since most of the population is intolerant, whether you know or not.

Gluten-Free Options:

• Rice (preferable white)
• Potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash (just skip the butter; go with cinnamon instead – NO FATS and CARBS together!)
• Quinoa

Your inner Italian can’t pass on the pasta? or the bread? Fine. Manjia! Manjia! But no cheese or butter!

Mama always said eat your veggies. Select sides that have greens, follow the SOS Approved key terms above, and you will be all set.

DESSERT.

As always, your best option is to pass. But your sweet tooth is calling…again.

Don’t forget our ONE RULE!

NO CARBS AND FAT TOGETHER.

We know, we know. Every GOOD dessert is based on the combination of carbs and fats.

Sons of Strength sacrifice to look better, feel better, and perform better.

Here are some options to get you through Candy Land safely.

1. Drink some herbal tea. Preferably a good chamomile.
2. If you had carbs with dinner, go with some fruit. It is nature’s dessert for a reason.
3. No fruit? Indulge on a diary-free sorbet instead.

There you have it. The Sons of Strength’s guide to business dinner damage control, balance of the bad situations, and simply dominating your ever waking hour. This is the art of ordering out.