Living out of a hotel - eating out tips needed!

philippa8823

Hi all,

I work away 4 nights a week, staying in a hotel. There aren't any facilities to prepare / cook our own meals in the hotel, so my colleagues and I eat out every night. When eating at chain restaurants it's a little easier to find and track calories, but when eating in independent / less well-known places I'm struggling. I'm looking to lose weight and I think not being able to cook for myself will be the biggest challenge.

Does anyone have tips for the best types of meals to order when eating out / things to look out for in restaurants in terms of hidden calories etc.?

Thanks in advance

_nikkiwolf_

In general the same things are low calorie in restaurants as when you cook yourself :-)

A few examples:
When ordering pasta, take one that comes with tomato sauce instead of a creamy cheese sauce.
See if you can have salad as a side dish instead of fries (with a reasonable amount of a dressing like vinaigrette, not drowning in mayonaise and sprinkled with croutons).
Grilled fish or chicken will have less calories than fried bacon.
Plain rice instead of coconut rice or fried at a Chinese or Thai restaurant.
Most chicken dishes at a Chinese restaurant will have less calories than pancakes with crispy duck in its skin.
Tandoori or tikka dishes at an Indian restaurant are usually less calorie than Masala (which is usually cooked with cream and almonds).
Fajitas with grilled meat instead of Nachos with cheese and guacamole at a Mexican restaurant.
And of course, drinking water instead of wine or beer or soda will save calories as well.

You don't always have to order a main dish, you can also pick something from the starters and ask them to serve it as a main dish instead.
Eat just the soup and not the bread that's served with it.

If your hotel room has a mini bar, you can also use it to store things like yoghurt (I usually take a spoon with me on business trips for exactly that purpose) and fruit and eat that later, if you only ate a small dish at the restaurant and find out you're still hungry later in the evening.

French_Peasant

Are you flying, or are you driving on your travels? That makes a big difference. If driving, you can always pack a cooler, although that might not be so much fun eating in your room by yourself. You can also do those tuna packs, crackers, veggies and as stated above make good use of the mini bar. If you are flying, you can pick things up to keep in your room for the week as well.

When I travel, I look for leaner cuts of meat (sirloin, chicken, tenderloin) without breading or too much sauce-type things on them. Grilled fish, ceviche, shrimp cocktail, and sushi/sashimi are also excellent options. And lots of veggies along the side...or very plain salads, but don't get fancy salads as they will stab you in the back with all their secret hidden calories.

I eat out very frequently and have not had a problem finding foods that fit my goals.

carlymbaughman

If your'e doing sushi, because I'm here on sushi info needs, avoid anything tempura or with mayo - that adds the calories hidden in sushi!

philippa8823

Thanks everyone, great tips. I do tend to go for sushi a lot and try to stick to sashimi and avoid tempura etc. so it's good to know that that is a fairly healthy option.
I do drive, though my work is very sociable so eating by myself in the hotel is rare... I like the idea of keeping yogurt / healthy snacks in the hotel room fridge though, then I can eat less at dinner without fear of going hungry!
Thanks again