My name is Stacy Cacciatore and I am excited to be a part of My Carolina Town magazine as the Ask Stacy columnist. I am a writer. A mother. A wife. A health and fitness advocate. And I have a passion for promoting health and wellness within the community.
I have struggled with my weight and eating disorders for my entire life. I was an overweight child, an anorexic teen and an obese adult. When I hit an all-time high of 220 pounds, 30 percent body fat and size 22 jeans, I knew that something had to change.
I completely immersed myself in education about health, nutrition, wellness and fitness and lost 80 pounds, 11 sizes and over half my body fat through diet and exercise.
I’m starting this column, Ask Stacy, to share my experiences, research and education on weight loss, health, nutrition and fitness and to help others feel empowered to make healthy food and lifestyle choices. I’ve consulted with nutritionists, exercise physiologists, doctors, weight loss counselors and running coaches, and now I want to pass along all of the tips and tricks I’ve learned throughout my journey.
I want to hear what’s on your mind. Ask me any health, nutrition or fitness question by posting a comment on this blog. I can’t wait to hear from you!
Please note – your comments, suggestions and or questions may be printed in My Carolina Town magazine.
How can I eat out and stay on my diet?
I have four little tricks that help me stay on track when eating dinner away from home.
1. Plan Ahead
If I am eating somewhere new, I’ll check the menu out on their website and plan what I’m going to eat. If the restaurant is a chain they may be listed on The Daily Plate, which is a comprehensive website that lists the nutritional content of many foods. Planning ahead ensures that I’m not thrown by the sights, smells and descriptions of unhealthy food when I arrive.
2. Bring your own
I always bring my own salad dressing with me when I go out to eat. I put about two tablespoons of my light raspberry vinaigrette in a small plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and throw it in my purse. It acts as my security blanket. While I may not always use it, I always know I have a fall-back if the only healthy item on the menu is a salad. Most restaruant salads have more calories than a burger and fries because of the fat-laden salad dressings, croutons, bacon and other calorie-heavy add-ons. By bringing your own salad dressing, you can dodge the fattening salad dressing bullet and you can always customize your salad order, whch brings me to my next point….
3. Don’t be shy
Don’t hesitate to customize your order and ask the server to hold the heavy sacues, mayonaise, croutons, bacon and other condiements that make an otherwise healthy meal full of calories. I have even asked for items that weren’t even on the menu and they usually happily accommodate my special requests.
4. Choose your evil
Bread, chips, desserts and appetizers, oh my! There is so much temptation when going out to eat, if you give in to it all, you will have consumed an entire days worth of calories before your main dish even arrives! If I choose to indulge that evening, I will decide beforehand if I want to have a piece of bread, small appetizer or dessert, but not all three.
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