We all know thatnutrition plays a vital role in our overall health. It is also a key ingredientin achieving our goal of increasing lean body mass and lowering body fat. Withbusy schedules, many times it is hard to find the time to eat frequently, oreven just eat a balanced meal! We know what needs to be done, we have heardit a dozen times; eat 4-6 meals a day, watch portion size, and stay away fromrefined carbohydrates and saturated fats.

As Infinite Vitality’s nutritionists, I interact with clients on a daily basis whose schedules do not allow time forfrequent meals (let alone meal preparation). Consequently, we have made it apoint to be informed about the fare/menus of local restaurants that offerhealthy options for dining out. There are a few local restaurants which havemenus offering energizing foods which can be formatted for any diet.

PF Changs,located on Westshore Boulevard, serves traditional Chinese cuisine and offersthe “Training Table”, a menu listing the macronutrient breakdown of each meal.This enables you to “customize” your meal to fit your dietary goals. Ciccio andTony’s restaurant, with three South Florida locations, offers Asian,Mediterranean, and American fare. Any time you walk into a Ciccio and Tony’s;you will find it filled with fitness enthusiasts of all sorts. The “lowcarbohydrate, high protein” menu includes lean meats, plenty of vegetables, andlow glycemic-carbohydrates. The food is prepared in olive oil, rather thanbutter or vegetable oil. Olive oil supplies you with essential fatty acids usedfor energy and aid in the reduction of body fat. Ciccio and Tony’s use onlyfresh ingredients, offering organic options, and delicious low fat-lowcarbohydrate condiments. Many common restaurants are following this trend,providing us with healthier options. It is important to note that we neverrecommend fad diets to my clients; rather, we give them the education they needto make healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change which should be maintainedthroughout our lives.

Unfortunately for most of us, there are times when we have no option other than to hit the dreaded“drive-thru”. If you must, then do so but don't allow it to become habitual because daily fast-food consumption is an easy way to make sure you don't reach your goals. So much of what we find at fast-food restaurants are items high in saturated fats and high glycemiccarbohydrates. Yet, it is still possible to achieve your goals by occasionallyeating “fast foods”. Here are three options if you're in a pinch from a few of the most common fast–food joints around:

Wendy’s: Chicken BLT salad (330calories, 18g fat, 10g carbohydrates, and 35g protein). Hold the croutons tokeep the carbohydrates low. Adding any of the dressing packets will increasethe calories by 100, including the fat and carbohydrates. Always ask for lowfat, low sugar dressing on the side and use it sparingly!

Arby’s: Junior roast beef (270calories, 9g fat, 34 carbohydrates, 16g protein). You can remove half the bunwhich will cut the carbohydrates in half, also lowering the calories. The roastchicken club can be a good option when the mayonnaise is excluded. Intact itcomes to 470 calories, 25g fat, 39g carbohydrates, and 27g protein. Cutting themayonnaise and half the bun will significantly reduce the fat and carbohydrates. Remember not to just be concerned with fat and carbohydrates, but also overallcalories.

Paying attention to detail is vital in maintaining you dietary lifestyle while eatingout. A perfect healthy chicken salad can become your hearts worst enemy when dressingsand cheeses high in saturated fats are included. Fat contains 9 calories pergram while protein and carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram. Keep this inmind when using fat-containing condiments.

Eating healthy at every meal isn't easy, this is true, but for the busy person it is stillpossible to maintain optimal health and achieve your goals while eatingout.  I hope you can use this as atool to aid you in the process.

Dr. Wolstein can be reached at  www.infinitevitality.net