Is eating out bad?

In short no! Eating out is not bad but you need to be aware of what you’re eating in terms of nutritional value and calorie content. In our post ‘Why Nutrition is more important than Training’ we look at how reason why you should be aware of nutrition and secondly what is ‘right’ for you!

BBC recently published an article based on research from BMJ that revealed some surprising stats on nutrition, specifically the impact of dining out. The study showed that the calorie content of meals in UK restaurants is "excessive" and sit-down restaurants are unhealthier than fast-food chains! Health experts say meals should not exceed 600 calories, but in this study they averaged 1,033 in restaurants and 751 in fast-food chains. Only one in 10 restaurant meals analysed was classed as healthy or fewer than 600kcal!

You may be wondering why this is surprising. If you use the guide referenced by the health experts in the survey and a meal should be on average 600 calories then you can see the issue. Once in awhile this is not an issue but when it becomes routine then it has a negative long term health impact on your body and general health.

If, as many, you have found that you’ve over-indulged at Christmas don’t fall into the trap of guilt and condemnation but rather recalibrate and focus on building in healthy habits starting with your physical wellbeing.