Eating out while on the Zone Diet can be a challenge, but that doesn't mean you need to stay at home while friends or family hit the hottest new restaurants in town. As long as you understand the principles behind the diet, you can choose restaurant meals that fit into your eating plan, no matter what type of restaurant you go to. Even if you can't adhere to the diet while eating out, the Zone Diet is designed so that you can easily make up for one unhealthy meal.
Diet Defined
The Zone Diet focuses on dividing your food choices into three groups to get your body into the fat-burning zone implied by its name. Basically, every meal you eat while on the Zone Diet should consist of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent healthy fats. This balance of dietary components can help control blood sugar fluctuations that lead to cravings and overeating. The Zone program provides prepared meals that you can have delivered your home, or you can make your own meals from recipes on the website or in the many books about the diet.
Dining Out on the Zone
Because it can be difficult to measure out precise amounts of food at a restaurant, the Zone website offers a general guide to help you eat in a Zone-friendly fashion when dining out. When you receive your food, divide your plate into one-third low-fat protein and two-thirds nonstarchy vegetables. Add a little monounsaturated fat in the form of olive oil, nuts or avocado. If your meal comes with more meat than you need, simply ask the server to box up the extra before you even begin eating. You can also ask to substitute starchy side dishes, such as potatoes, with healthier green vegetables or a side salad.
Cuisine-Specific Tips
Chinese restaurants typically have some dishes on the menu that are high in vegetables, but breaded meats and rice can shift you out of the fat-burning zone. Choose a couple of lean chicken or pork dishes along with steamed vegetables instead of carbohydrate-heavy choices like sweet and sour pork. At a Mexican restaurant, fajitas without the tortillas may be your best bet, or opt for a Mexican salad. If dining at an Italian restaurant, forgo the free bread, pasta and creamy sauces and concentrate instead on Mediterranean-style grilled meat or fish and a generous serving of vegetables. American and French food can be high in starches too, so watch out for these diet-busters in your meal.
Considerations
If you can't resist a special dish or a few bites of your dining partner's dessert, you don't need to panic. A single meal that deviates from the 40-30-30 concept of the Zone Diet may throw you out of balance temporarily, but as long as your next meal fits within the diet's parameters, you should easily get back on track. Some dieters who slip up for a single meal opt to have a Zone-balanced snack a few hours later to get them back into the program.
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