Atkins and eating out: Low-carb options

If you've decided to follow the Atkins plan, eating out can be a minefield. Here's how to negotiate your way through restaurant menus so that you can still enjoy great food without breaking your regime.

Some research has indicated that low-carbohydrate diets such as the somewhat controversial Atkins Nutritional Approach may have health risks, but, on the other hand, they are also effective in weight loss and reducing the risk of diabetes Type II. These diets work because they do not cause blood glucose levels to rise, and therefore do not trigger a sudden surge in insulin levels.

Insulin is the main fat-storing hormone in the body. It tells fat cells to store rather than mobilise and burn fat, and by blocking the action of the key enzyme (hormone-sensitive lipase) needed to break down fat, a high-carbohydrate diet actually makes it very hard to lose weight. Clinical trials – including one funded by the American Heart Association – have shown that low-carbohydrate diets have beneficial effects on blood levels of triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, as well as promoting weight loss and normalising blood glucose and insulin levels.

It is easy to follow a low-carb diet when eating out – all you have to do is:

Avoid the bread, potatoes, pasta, couscous and rice – just ask the waiter to replace these with a mixed salad or a bowl of rocket and parmesan salad.

Select a dry white or red wine (and limit yourself to one or two glasses).

Select cheese (no biscuits) and celery for dessert.

Have a bottle of water on the table, as you need to drink at least eight glasses of water per day.

Even during the stricter 'induction' phase of Atkins, it is still easy to eat out in restaurants, as you are allowed up to 20g net carbohydrates per day – the equivalent of around 250g (9oz) salad or 170g (6oz) salad plus 80g (3oz) non-root vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus, runner beans or spinach. You are also allowed 80-100g (3-4oz) of cheese during the induction period, but avoid alcohol. After the first two weeks you can start increasing your carb intake slowly, and introduce low-glycaemic fruits such as blueberries, raspberries and melon, plus nuts, seeds and more beans.

French

Avoid the french fries, and instead opt for a nice steak (beef or lamb) with lashings of garlic and herb butter, green vegetables, such as French beans and spinach, and ask for a grilled tomato and mushrooms on the side. Be careful of French sauces, as they are often made from a roux that includes flour as a thickener. You are usually safe with Hollandaise sauce – butter flavoured with lemon and thickened with eggs. Béarnaise is similar, but includes fresh tarragon leaves; delicious with a Charterhouse steak for two. Select aged French cheeses for dessert, plus a handful of grapes (naughty but nice). Champagne is the ultimate low-carb drink – enjoy!

Italian

Forget the pasta, pizza, ciabatta and focaccia. Luckily, good Italian restaurants offer delicacies such as grilled fish, scampi, squid and a good range of salads – including rocket and Parmesan. Even national pizza chains offer an excellent salad bar, and often have chicken wings on the menu. Chicken Caesar salad can be a staple, as long as you ditch the croûtons (although, despite its Roman name, it is not really Italian…). As a starter, try mozzarella, avocado and tomato drizzled with truffle-scented garlic oil. If you can guarantee the Italian ice cream is made from nothing but cream with whizzed-up raspberries or strawberries (no added sugar) this might be a option. If not, Italian cheeses are worth discovering.

Spanish

Tapas is made for a low-carb diet. All those chorizo sausages, meatballs/mussels in tomato sauce and prawns in garlic butter. Avoid bread, rice and potatoes.

Chinese

Avoid the dim sum and spring rolls. Thin soups are the best starter option, such as 'hot and sour'. Most main courses involving chicken, meat or fish plus vegetables in a thin sauce are OK, but avoid sweet and sour; ask that sauces are not thickened with flour/cornflour, if possible. Choose mixed vegetables as a side dish – absolutely NO noodles or rice. 'Fraid you have to forgo the caramelised deep-fried banana as dessert, too. Have a nice big pot of jasmine tea instead.

Indian

For starters, avoid the onion bhajis (stuck together with flour), samosas and deep-fried selections. Most Indian main courses are fine. Absolutely no rice, naan, papadams, chapattis or parathas. Best to avoid desserts.

Japanese

Miso soup to start with and, for the main course, sashimi is better than sushi, as there is no rice involved. Fresh raw fish is ideal for the low-carb way of eating. A few lychees as dessert (fresh, not tinned) are OK in the later phases of a low-carb diet.

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