Don’t exceed this frequency.
The gist:
When you’re busy with work, travel, or training, it’s easy to order dinner in lieu of meal prepping. But even if you’re smart about it, eating restaurant and fast-casual food too frequently can be problematic.
Expert insight:
Seemingly healthy menu items such as salads and grain bowls often contain additives that you wouldn’t get from home-cooked meals. “MSG is in more foods than people think,” says Bethany Snodgrass, holistic health coach and operations manager at the Equinox Fitness Training Institute in New York City. Other hidden culprits include excess sodium, low-quality oils, and artificial flavorings.
Snodgrass recommends always avoiding sauce-heavy dishes, using your own salad dressings, and asking that your protein be prepared without salt or fats. Still, special instructions may fall on deaf ears.
The bottom line:
Even if you always choose places that market their offerings as “clean” and “healthy,” Snodgrass recommends eating no more than one meal per day that you didn’t make yourself. That way, you still have control over the majority of your meals.