Eating out...Do you just stay in?

Tacklewasher

thelatecomer wrote: »

@Tacklewasher - yes it is. She is a 9yo Westie born and bred in Scotland. She is awesome!

I've got 2 of the little monsters at home. 5 & 6, but not from Scotland . The dog in my picture is just a picture I found on the net. They are wonderful pains in the butt.

As they say. My dogs are the reason I get up in the morning. Really freakin early. Every. Single. Morning.

not_my_first_rodeo

Why would you cut this out? It's a part of life. I'm treating this journey as a lifestyle change. I enjoy good food. I like eating at nice restaurants, especially with friends. I refuse to give up going out to eat once in a while. It's doable. You don't need to drag a food scale with you. You don't have to limit yourself to chain restaurants.

Here's what I do:

• Peruse menus ahead of time if possible so I have a sense of what my options are.
• Sites like Yelp often comment on portion sizes or give you pictures so you know what you're facing.
• Lots of places offer small plates.
• Unless the bread is supposed to be fantastic, I skip it.
• Salad--dressing on the side.
• I try and eat lighter/less for the rest of the day.
• I overestimate on the calories when I log it.

Karie2017

I eat out still. I just ask for a to go box with my food. I'll split all my food in half. Put one half in the box for the next day to eat lunch or dinner. Then the other half I eat.

ashcky

I don't eat out too often but when I do i just make sure to save a huge chunk of calories. I had sushi this week! I don't let it weight loss keep me from going out when I can afford too. Just bust your booty the next day at the gym. I do that too.

nowine4me

I have 2-3 places that I have meticulously tabulated meals for, so I try to stick to those restaurants when possible. I also walk 2-3 miles to meet up at those places rather than drive and stick with only one glass of wine. So far, so good.

Christine_72

Reading all of these replies has made me realise what a home body i am! We haven't been out for dinner/lunch in months, probably 5 or 6. I cant even remember the last time we had take away

CSARdiver

No long term solution is going to be successful if you make unrealistic sacrifices - loss of a social life would be a big one. You just need to adjust your caloric budget.

Don't sacrifice your life for this goal, just check the menu in advance in the beginning and feel free to guesstimate once you become more experienced. Personally speaking, I eat within my budget, and take the remainder home for future meals. If I go over I adjust my budget the following day/week, whatever works for me in the long term.

JeromeBarry1

My wife is my social life. We dine out 1 or 2 times monthly. For the small group of her favorite restaurants, I have determined the very small set of choices I can make to stay within my calorie budget for a meal.

CSARdiver

Christine_72 wrote: »

Reading all of these replies has made me realise what a home body i am! We haven't been out for dinner/lunch in months, probably 5 or 6. I cant even remember the last time we had take away

This was us as well. Growing up in a frugal German family we rarely ate out with the exception of travelling or very special occasions. My wife and I realized that we needed to do this more simply to expose our kids to this.

We eat out a bit more, but take this as a learning experience and try to replicate great dishes at home.

StaciMarie1974

I eat out often, but tend to go to chain places that publish nutrition info. And I pay attention to what I order/eat.

thelatecomer wrote: »

Hi all. Do you turn down invitations to eat out with friends in order to stay on track? At the moment I have a meal out about once a fortnight and as weight loss has stalled, I'm
tempted just to just say no to friends. Even if I make an apparently healthy choice it's impossible to work out calories - and even though I estimate I must be way off as weight loss has stopped. I guess I just need to stay in for a while. Does anyone else feel like they have lost a significant part of their social life through dieting?

Christine_72

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

My wife is my social life.

I love this It's the same for me and my husband.

Christine_72

CSARdiver wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

Reading all of these replies has made me realise what a home body i am! We haven't been out for dinner/lunch in months, probably 5 or 6. I cant even remember the last time we had take away

This was us as well. Growing up in a frugal German family we rarely ate out with the exception of travelling or very special occasions. My wife and I realized that we needed to do this more simply to expose our kids to this.

We eat out a bit more, but take this as a learning experience and try to replicate great dishes at home.

Hhmmm coincidence, but I grew up in a German family too. We very rarely had take out, it was a special treat every now and then, and we never went out for dinner, not that i can remember anyway. Not because of saving money or anything, but my mum was such an awesome cook and she made better tasting stuff

ETA: Now that i think about it, my poor mum would have appreciated a break from cooking every night! But knowing her, she would have taken it as an insult if we chose take away over her cooking lol

CSARdiver

Christine_72 wrote: »

CSARdiver wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

Reading all of these replies has made me realise what a home body i am! We haven't been out for dinner/lunch in months, probably 5 or 6. I cant even remember the last time we had take away

This was us as well. Growing up in a frugal German family we rarely ate out with the exception of travelling or very special occasions. My wife and I realized that we needed to do this more simply to expose our kids to this.

We eat out a bit more, but take this as a learning experience and try to replicate great dishes at home.

Hhmmm coincidence, but I grew up in a German family too. We very rarely had take out, it was a special treat every now and then, and we never went out for dinner, not that i can remember anyway. Not because of saving money or anything, but my mum was such an awesome cook and she made better tasting stuff

ETA: Now that i think about it, my poor mum would have appreciated a break from cooking every night! But knowing her, she would have taken it as an insult if we chose take away over her cooking lol

Being of Scottish blood and adopted by Germans I'm doubly frugal...and prone to love beer.

My mother on the other hand hated cooking, so she would have rejoiced in not having to cook.

lorrpb

I rarely ate out the first several months of weight loss, then gradually added it back in using all the tips of wise ordering and taking home half. Now that I'm in maintenance, I find it's even harder to manage eating out, because there's not much room to fudge with the calories. I can't just starve myself all day so I can eat out later. I need regular meals throughout the day. Still working on this one, but still eating out!

Itchula

I learned how to eyeball portions and eat 4oz protein, veggies etc. I apologize to the wait staff when I order and explain I'm dieting (have to use the dirty word). I ask for no/low oil, substitutions. I'm going back on Nutrisystem, but I was on it last year and lost weight while dining out. I was shocked the first time - I ate chicken, orzo, feta, olives... and was on track. I also tend to overestimate on the calories on MFP just in case (like others have mentioned). One thing I'm trying to learn is that going out to eat isn't about - pardon the expression - going whole hog. I need to eat as I "normally" do and enjoy the company, the atmosphere, etc. Lifelong battle.

kshama2001

Christine_72 wrote: »

Reading all of these replies has made me realise what a home body i am! We haven't been out for dinner/lunch in months, probably 5 or 6. I cant even remember the last time we had take away

We go out less in the winter, but I guess that doesn't apply to you this time of year, right?

kshama2001

I also plan to bring half my entree home. Sometimes I take it apart and weigh the components.

I also get in more exercise earlier that day.

PAV8888

lorrpb wrote: »

I rarely ate out the first several months of weight loss, then gradually added it back in using all the tips of wise ordering and taking home half. Now that I'm in maintenance, I find it's even harder to manage eating out, because there's not much room to fudge with the calories. I can't just starve myself all day so I can eat out later. I need regular meals throughout the day. Still working on this one, but still eating out!

Funny: I would have to say that I probably was eating out more often while actively losing weight.

Now I find myself sticking to (chain) places I know the menu and (approximate) calories well enough because it isn't worth it to me to bother to figure things out, or to put in an effort to recover from indiscretions!

Probably not a good attitude!

Should mark on my calendar to start eating out more ;-)

Chadxx

I do eat out less than before, particularly fast food but eating out socially hasn't changed. Some places list their calories which is nice but if not, I just make a reasonable choice and guesstimate. It hasn't been a problem.

I have had to correct friends and, at first, even my wife about "being on a diet." Diets don't work. Long term responsible, healthy eating habits work. I am taking responsibility for my weight/health/fitness in order to enjoy my life. Part of that includes eating out with friends, family, and especially my beautiful wife.

kgirlhart

I ate out regularly while losing and still eat out at maintenance. When I eat at chain restaurants I use the online nutrition information. If not then I just use the nutrition information from a similar chain. It looks weird in my diary when I have an appetizer from one restaurant and an entree from another. But it has worked for me. I do tend to eat at the same places so I just try to be consistent and use the same entries for certain restaurants.