Going out for Italian! Help!

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  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
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    We eat at an Italian restaurant just about every Friday night from Nov to mid-April.

    My tips:
    1 - Skip the bread, unless you are capable of eating just one small slice with no butter (I will have one small piece that I save for dipping in my sauce). :smile
    2 - Eat your salad, but rather than use the "house" dressing or whatever, ask for oil and vinegar (and use lots of vinegar with just a little bit of oil).
    3 - Order a half portion of whatever you decide to get (my go-to dish is a type of pasta called "hats" or Orechetti). Chicken Marsala or Franchese are my backups (I love their haddock franchese, but they won't do a half order of it, and fish doesn't reheat well for me) Try to avoid dishes that are smothered in cheese (like chicken parm, lasagna, ravioli, etc). I just put a little grated parm on my hats. :smile:
    4 - Only eat HALF of your half order. Take the rest home and have it for lunch or dinner the next day. :happy:
    5 - Skip dessert, unless it is a special occasion - in which case, make sure you split it with someone. :tongue:

    Following this has allowed me to still eat my favorite foods at my favorite restaurant weekly for 6 months out of the year, and still lose over 40 pounds in the last year. :smile:
  • ashzacher
    ashzacher Posts: 114 Member
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    I went out for Italian the other night (ok, I went to the Olive Garden.. lol). I allowed myself a breadstick, but I got salad (watch the dressing, it can be the worst part), and cappellini pomodoro. Light tomato sauce on pasta, with grilled chicken. I ate about 1/3 and took the rest home. Enjoy yourself and those you are with without over-indulging, but get something that you will enjoy and don't deprive yourself! :)
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    Not all Italian food is pizza and pasta, there are some great salads that have tuna or another protein on them, and most restaurants womt have a problem adding a piece of protein to any of their salads

    was going to say this :laugh: OP if you're going to an "Italian" restaurant then you're screwed .. if you're going to a real Italian restaurant then it should be fairly easy.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Not all Italian food is pizza and pasta, there are some great salads that have tuna or another protein on them, and most restaurants womt have a problem adding a piece of protein to any of their salads

    was going to say this :laugh: OP if you're going to an "Italian" restaurant then you're screwed .. if you're going to a real Italian restaurant then it should be fairly easy.

    And if she went to a real italian restaurant, why would she pass up the pasta that is likely made in house and pretty awesome?
  • ILoveGingerNut
    ILoveGingerNut Posts: 367 Member
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    ]

    And if she went to a real italian restaurant, why would she pass up the pasta that is likely made in house and pretty awesome?

    :heart:
  • laceyfowler
    laceyfowler Posts: 127 Member
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    If you're going to drink wine, only have one glass - other than that, stick to water as far as beverages go.

    Try to skip the bread/butter that comes out before the meal if you can, or if you're able to eat just one piece and want to spend a few calories there, go for it (I have a hard time eating just one... the Pringles effect, I guess).

    If you want pasta, go for it but get a pasta with a red sauce as opposed to a butter and/or cream sauce... and/or ask for light sauce (light as in less, not as in diet).

    Sub steamed veggies somewhere if possible.

    If getting meat, choose a non-breaded option.

    OR - dedicate yourself to exercising the equivalent of buring 2000 extra calories during the next few days, and have whatever you want (within reason... since at least for me it would be possible to go over 2000 cal if I was really gorging myself).

    I have been staying in Italy the past few months for work, and for the most part I cook for myself (both to be healthy and to save money - I've got my wedding in a few months to be saving up for!), but I do go out with coworkers every once in a while. I've had a glass or two of wine with my meal, and have had pastas, a few even with a light amount of creamy sauce, and this has not dereailed my progress - BUT, I only go out very rarely, so between my workouts and otherwise very healthy eating, these few meals are a-o-k.

    Also, I choose to not eat bread or pasta often for a couple reasons - one is the relatively high calorie content (I know, I know, a cup of pasta doesn't have That many calories... but it sure has more than a cup of cauliflower, and I probably wouldn't stick to one cup anyhow... and I love cauliflower with sauces on it), but the other is that I've found that eating breads and pastas make me, personally, feel bloated, weighed down, and sluggish for a couple days after eating them. That's just me - I have friends who have similar experiences and other friends who eat bread and pasta regularly and are happy and healthy :-) So, I'm not advocating for or against bread/pasta, just giving my personal experiences with it.

    I hope you really enjoy your Italian meal, and hope you stick to general healthy eating at least the rest of the week even if you splurge at this meal, and don't waste much energy beating yourself up if you end up eating more than you'd planned... long-term success usually includes many ups and downs :-)

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