The following is an excerpt from the book titled Eat, Drink and Be Gorgeous, from one my colleagues, Esther Blum, Registered Dietitian. Her book contains the secrets to beautiful skin, a fantastic figure, and peace of mind—all while living the good life.
“I am blessed to live and work in New York City. It is one of the most romantic and fabulous places to date. Restaurants are a dime a dozen, and each one has its own special atmosphere and succulent treasure trove of food. Nomatter what you’re craving—Thai, Japanese, oodles of noodles, or a fat, juicy steak—you’ll find it here. Upscale restaurants are still catering to the low-carb dieting sector, and even fast-food chains are catching on to the idea that weight loss can sell even when a girl is on the go. But no matter how fabulous the food is, and how much we are enjoying ourselves, one question still remains: What should a Gorgeous Girl eat on a date?

I can’t tell you how many times I hear from my clients that they’re more stressed about what to order on the date than going on the date itself! If you are trying to eat carefully and the process of eating out seems daunting, take the pressure off yourself by figuring out what you want to eat. Feel free to suggest a restaurant that appeals to you ahead of time. Your date will appreciate your initiative, and you’ll get to sit back and enjoy yourself. Isn’t five minutes of planning worth an evening’s peace of mind?

Before we even cover that territory, let me give you the single most important rule for going out in the evenings: Do not starve yourself during the day. You must eat during the day, especially if you’ve got a date that night. Eat your breakfast, eat your lunch, and eat one or two snacks in between meals. Nobody likes a party pooper, and if you go all day without meals your blood sugar will plummet, making you a cranky cookie and a very unappealing mood swinger (this is not to be confused with a wild swinger). Whether it’s a party or a date, plan ahead of time and make sure you don’t neglect yourself during the daytime hours because you’re worried about overeating at the big event or trying to keep your tummy flat. If you’ve taken care of yourself during the day, you will be less hungry by the time nighttime rolls around and less likely to overeat.

Game-Day Strategies
The day of your date, keep everything as routine as possible. Don’t skip meals or let your hunger get to the point of no return, or your body will attack you warrior-princess-style and you will end up bingeing at dinner to quell your pangs of hunger. You will go to bed with an uncomfortably full stomach, forcing your body to digest during what should otherwise be a time of rest. It’s just dinner you’re going to, not the Last Supper. Grazing and snacking is truly the way to go, rather than saving up all your calories for one giant blowout.

I’ve listed below some sample lunch and dinner meal plans that should serve as guideposts for you. Ultimately, you’ll need to check in with yourself and decide what foods on the menu are going to make your taste buds tingle and make the meal that much more enjoyable for you. You should also ask yourself how hungry you truly are when you start to eat; ask again at midmeal to prevent yourself from overeating. In a world where stress is abundant and our pleasures are booked within time slots, wouldn’t it be wonderful to at least have the knowledge that we’re treating ourselves with some level of gentle loving-kindness by giving ourselves what we really need? You’re welcome.

If you are going to be consuming alcohol on the date, it is crucial to have food in your stomach beforehand to absorb and metabolize the booze properly. Alcohol initially raises your blood sugar, then lowers it, wreaking havoc on your blood sugar balance, energy levels, sugar cravings, and mood swings. It also loosens up even the best nutritional intentions, making your stomach an unrelenting food whore that just won’t quit until it gets paid. Remember, there are peanuts at the bar for a reason, so eat up!

Ideally, you’ll know ahead of time exactly which restaurant you’ll be eating at. That way, you can look up the menu online or have it faxed to you so you can look it over and make sure it appeals to you. (Wouldn’t it be a complete disaster to go to an Indian restaurant for the chana saag, only to discover it isn’t on the menu?) But what do you do if that option is not available?

Here are a few important guidelines:

Eating Right on Date Night
Keep in mind that this info doesn’t just apply to date nights. These guidelines work whenever you find yourself in a restaurant:

• Figure out how hungry you are before you start eating. Rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10, where a 1 is ravenous and a 10 is overstuffed. Ideally you should start eating at a 2 or 3 and stop somewhere near 5, when you are satisfied. Don’t let yourself get too hungry or too full. Somewhere in between is just right.

• Look over the menu and figure out what appeals to you. Do you want something sweet? Salty? Crunchy? Chewy? If you’re worried about eating healthfully but just know you won’t be truly satisfied until you have the mac and cheese, then just order it and commit to stopping when you’re full. Divide the portion in half and see if you are still hungry after the first half is gone. We live in a world where food is abundant; try to remember that you can always come back to it later, when you are hungry.

• Order a meal that has some protein in it: Lamb, chicken, fish, turkey, ostrich, buffalo, venison, Rock Cornish hen, rabbit, and steak are all excellent choices. When your meal arrives, start by eating the protein first. Protein is the only nutrient that turns off your body’s hunger mechanism and will therefore prevent you from overeating.

• Order foods the way you want them cooked. Specify to your waiter whether you’d like something broiled or grilled, if you’d like sauces on the side, or if you’d like substitutions made. Learn to decipher jargon on the menu, or ask the waiter. Crackling or crispy means something is fried, grilled means it is grilled (but usually brushed with oil or marinated beforehand), sautéed means that the chef has cooked the food in oil—and usually a fair amount at that—and poached means a food is cooked in boiling water or steam. When in doubt, ask.

• If low-carb eating is your bag, then send the bread basket back. Substitute a second vegetable for the starch, and start off with a salad or vegetable-based soup for an appetizer. Did you know that people who eat soup before a meal lose more weight than people who don’t? Soups are very filling and low in calories, so you can feel full quickly without eating too much.

• Make sure that you get some fat in your meal as well. Fat will slow down the absorption of foods in your stomach, making you feel fuller longer and turning off your hunger signals, so that ultimately you will end up eating less. Slowing down your digestion will also slow down your absorption of any alcohol you’ve consumed too quickly, keeping you relaxed enough to enjoy yourself, yet respectable enough to get a second date. The healthiest fat you can find in a restaurant is olive oil. Commercial salad dressings are loaded with thickeners, sugars, and poor-quality oils, so try to stay away from them. Order oil-and vinegar-based dressings, or get a shot of olive oil and vinegar on the side. Feel free to order any salads or appetizers containing avocados, olives, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, tahini dressing, or any other nut or seed combo to get a dose of healthy fats as well.”

                                          Check out Esther’s book!

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