Chicago Nutrition Tips

Let's face it, living in Chicago makes healthy eating a little more difficult. We are surrounded by thousands of wonderful restaurants, everything from steaks to seafood and everything else in between.

Restaurant food sure does tasete great but 9 out of 10 times restaurants are more concerned with creating great tasting dishes, than worrying about you calorie count for the day. You will be shocked if you look online for restaurant calorie charts. Most restaurants will absolutely sabotage your weight loss or personal training programs.

That doesnt mean you shouldn't go out to eat at all, it just means you need to be more careful about where you are eating and what you order at restaurants. For example, most fettucini alfredo dishes contain 1,000 to 2,000 or more calories. Top that with a couple pieces of bread, a glass of wine and a salad and you have alreay exceeded the amount of food you should have had for the whole day. Almost always, restaurant serving size are nearly twice the size of the avg healthy serving size.

Here are a few other tips for eating healthy in Chicago.

Don't go out to eat on an empty stomach. Eat a piece of fruit or a healthy snack or 2 before you go out. You will be less likely to go for that peice of cheesecake at the end of the meal.

Don't waste your calories - If you are going to go out to eat, try to not have extra cocktails with your meal. Alcoholic cocktails contain way too much sugar and you will be surprised at how much calories are in a rum and coke.

If you are going to go out to eat, try to go a little earlier in the evening. This way, you are more liekly to have time to go out for a walk after you digest. You may even have the time and energy to do a quick workout to burn of some of the calories.

If you are working with a personal trainer in the Chicago area, make sure they also coach you on healthy ways to eat, you will get much more results from your training program.