Tips for eating out at restaurants

holly745

Hi guys, I think a big problem many of us struggle with is portion control at restaurants, so this is a place to share tips and strategies on how to not blow all your daily calories in one restaurant meal! I have cut down on eating out, but a strategy I use when I DO is this:

If the meal is very big, instead of eating half of it as many people suggest, I actually only eat a third to a fourth of it, then when I get home, I immediately transfer my leftovers to individual portion size tupperware containers. This way, I'm dividing a big portion into 3-4 small portions, and the meal will last longer because it's easy to just pop a container in the microwave. If I leave the last bit of my meal in the to-go box, I'm gonna be tempted to just heat up the whole thing instead of limiting myself to half of the remaining portion!

mrsloganlife

I do the same thing--I actually ask for a salad plate to come with my meal, and I put the portion I am eating then on there. I then push the plate away and even put a spare napkin over it so I don't go back and pick.

I also look up nutritional information in the fast. A lot of big chains now have nutritional information on there which is great. I log the food that I am eating before I leave for the restaurant. If it is a smaller chain, I break the ingredients down and log each individually so I'm not surprised later

holly745

the salad plate thing is genius! I would've never thought of that. And I'm with you, I love looking up the nutritional info, I wish all restaurants gave us access to that!

Dayofthebread

I don't eat out that often, so usually I'll just eat what I want, but if I know I will be eating out a few times in succession I'll check the menu online if possible and work out what I am ordering before hand. Also many places are often happy to put dressings or sauces on the side if you ask.

kportwood85

I usually plan what I want before I go, I log it on here. A lot of restaurants have a "skinny" menu. If I am someplace I can go to easily or a place I eat at often, I will order off the skinny menu, saving the food I really like for a special occasion. If it is a place we don't have nearby (Like, i love cheesecake factory, but, before we moved the nearest one was 3 hrs away) then I get what I want, no matter the calories, and just take half of it home.

lorrpb

Ask for substitutes, such as fruit or salad in place of high cal food like fries. Or just leave them off.

gracepost123

Like others, before hand, if possible, I look up the nutrition menu. Pick out what I want and log it to make sure everything will be good. I have a hard time with only eating half. Haha my will power is not the best.

reddeament

I usually ask for a takeaway box when my meal comes, then immediately put half/third/whatever (depending how big the meal is) of my meal into the box so I'm not tempted.

While part of me reminds myself it's about self-control, the other part of me thinks "yay that's lunch sorted for tomorrow"