I'm beginning to dread going out to eat...

kaitlinmre

which is the main thing my boyfriend and best friend(s) normally suggest for an activity. I just hate the thought of not knowing what I'm eating (calorie-wise, for those restaurants that don't have their nutrition information) and frankly, it's frustrating going out to eat with people who don't watch what they put in their mouth.
I may be being a tad too sensitive, but right now I'm trying to figure out whether I should just skip my breakfast plans tomorrow for the sake of my diet.

rhiannonchallans

This is me. All the time. I hesitate making dinner plans with friends because I know they'll just want to go down to the local pub and get a parmagiana or something ridiculous.

tn2010

I understand completely. If you know where you're going ahead of time, sometimes you can look up the nutrition info online. If you like to entertain, you might suggest having people over and preparing foods that are within your limits. I've done this both for health and finance purposes! Good luck.

Pebble321

Eating healthy at a restaurant is a challenge, but an important skill to learn for the long term
Here's my best tips for eating out:
- order something "plain". Like a grilled steak or fish or chicken. This way you can make a better guess about what you are eating, as the food isn't so hidden.
- ask for sauce/dressings on the side.
- ask for steamed veggies or plain rice as a side. They may have butter or oil added, but you can account for this.
- give the bread a miss. Push it to the other side of the table, or put a menu in front of it!
- Don't have dessert, or share it with someone. Look for something fruit based.
- Skip the wine or beer, or alternate - one alcoholic drink, one water or plain soda water.
- If you can check the menu online before you go, its easier to be prepared, even if they don't have calorie info (they never do where I live).
- In spite of what your mum told you, you DON'T have to eat everything on your plate!

Good luck, don't give up your social life, just find a way to work it in.

robersonj

We are a society that lives to eat, unfortunately. How about an egg white omelet with veggies? That is one of my FAVORITE things to eat in the morning...

myurav

ugh, i hate it when that happens!

my best suggestion is to try to see the menu beforehand (most restaurants should have this on their website), so you can take your time and pick out a healthier option. you could also try eating half of it, and either sharing with the b/f or packing it up to eat at a later time.

i really wouldn't skip breakfast - it can cause overeating later in the day, and won't give your metabolism the jumpstart it needs. maybe you could also suggest a different type of activity, such as going to a movie (and skipping out on the popcorn), hanging out at an apartment, mini-golf, lasertag, etc...it would probably end up being cheaper as well!

JenCM

I feel your pain. My in-laws eat out 90% of the time and that's the only family activity that is ever done together....even when we're NOT planning to go out, it happens. And it is hard to deal with.
JMO, don't skip breakfast, etc! All you can really do, is do your best at places where you can't check out the nutritional info. You can't expect to eat perfect all the time anyway, so just try to make the best choices you can and go with it. I have to do that a lot...and sometimes I probably have been sidetracked losing because I've gone over in something because I don't know how much extra sugar, etc is in something...but I just do my best to keep going and not let a couple bad meals or unknown counts dictate how I'm doing overall.
Good luck!!

jilliew

@Rubybelle; one of my favourite things to do is to either eat half of what I get and save the rest for tomorrow at lunch, or eat all the protein and veggies first, after which I'm usually too full to eat the carbs. Eating slowly is also a good trick, and drinking lots of water with your meal - you feel full before you eat all that food! I also refuse to go anywhere where they can't give you a calorie menu, wither or not it's online or in the restaurant.

sarah307

i feel ya girl!! it gives me a lot of anxiety to deal with this and it has made me even not want to hang out with friends .. not good sign. what i have done is i look up restaurants online beforehand and already know what i'm going to order at so-so restaurant. and if they don't have ANY information, i try to go with a similar restaurant or a similar type of food at a diff. restaurant!

laursey

I was terrified of eating out. If you know you're going out, make sure you get a workout in, even if it has to be super early in the morning. Also, you can plan for it the rest of the day. I usually will have a 3 egg white omelet with low fat pepperoni, low fat cheese and mushrooms for breakfast on a day when I eat out. For lunch I will have a piece of fruit and hummus and rice cakes or a salad with a can of spicy thai tuna, and then I have plenty calories left over for dinner. Order a salad with dressing on the side, order a half size or order your meal and a take out box, so you can immediately put half of it in the to go box so you won't overeat, or pre-eat at home and then order an appetizer. Also, restaurants are completely accomodating. Ask them to grill a plain chicken breast for you and some steamed veggies, be creative. Most places will be able to make you what you want. Watch your drinks. Try ice water with lime in it. Mmmm, yummy!
Good luck, don't stress, and you get more comfortable with it as you go along.


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ConfidenceNMe

Nah, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you do wanna splurge on dinner, just make sure the next time you exercise is to work off all the extra calories you consumed. That way it puts you back to neutral, or you may lose weight. Don't feel bad if you do. You can't be good all the time

STARSHINE1975

I just finished having this exact conversation with my boyfriend. Tomorrow we are going out to eat (again) unfortunately this has been a lot because his birthday is this weekend and everyone wants to feed him! We have also had 4 birthdays in the family these past 3 weeks.

Most restaurants list the ingredients...except the ones that we eat at which are mostly ethnic fare. Tomorrow is Hot Pot, all you can eat not less. To prepare for this, I am doing some extra cardio in the morning and eating light for my earlier meals. I will do the best that i can and not beat myself up if I go over. I find if I do the extra cardio, I really don't go over by much and besides, I'm good the rest of the week.

good luck!

leomom72

for this reason, is why my family damn near starves, by the time i decide where to go..i absolutely refuse to eat at restaurants that have no nutritional values posted on their site..i actually bought a small notebook, and wrote everything i eat, at so and so place, with the nutrition in it..that way, if we go out, i know whats in what, and i chose from there..good luck

JoanWill

I hear ya! I'd agree with still eating your breakfast and put in as much calorie-burning activities as you can plus plan what you're going to order and stick with it.

kaitlinmre

Well my best friend wants to go out to eat breakfast, and she wants to go to cracker barrel, who doesn't have nutrition info anywhere.

fromaquasar

Plan Plan Plan,

Most menus you can find online now-a-days, so go on there and find something you can accurately count the calories for and you can work into your day so you know what you are ordering before you arrive. Stick to it and then make sure you drink lots of water and workout that day.

Some other good things to do if you can't pre plan are:
- Go vegetarian for the meal - you're invariably going to get less fats and more veggies
- Skip the sides; no rice for Indian or thai, no fries etc
- Maximise veggies, order side plates of veges for the table and fill up half your plate with them
- If you are having dessert split with someone or opt for a sweet tea
- Don't eat the whole portion, restaurants normally over serve massively
- Drink lots of water!

And keep some perspective - one dinner out now and then wont hurt you, just all the time

tigersword

When I know I'm going out to eat, I plan for it. Extra time in the gym, cut back on other meals, that's all. Life is just a balancing act. I love to eat out, and I know that burger is gonna be 1000 calories, so I'll make a point to set aside 1500 calories or so for going out. Generally it's a combination of eating less at other meals and working out to make the numbers work, but I don't sweat it.

It's all a matter of planning. Enjoy life, stop stressing, plan ahead.

wickedcricket

listen, I absolutely agree. Used to be you could go out and at least find somewhat healthy 'home cooked' meals but no more. All they feed you is greasy, processed poison. NO nutritional value
I'm cutting way back on restaurants and if someone wants to take me on a food date, IT BETTER NOT BE JUNK FOOD or that will be the last date.
Food should nourish us. We should eat to live, not live to eat. Get your b/f in the kitchen & cook together. (it burns calories & it's seductive)
yeah, I'm done pouring junk into my body. It's a temple, not an amusement park!

cantjustcant

here you go!

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/cracker-barrel/

cantjustcant

this one looks easier to read

http://www.shapefit.com/restaurants/cracker-barrel-calories.html

fitmommy2012

I AM WITH YOU! My husband LOVES to do that as an activity....and I battle with the same thing, especially because I cannot cook that well. I just read an article not that long ago, that said that the calorie count for restaurants and fast food are usually 100-200 calories off on some dishes....so that makes things a lot harder and even scarier when you go out to eat too...:frown:

ninerbuff

I NEVER want to worry about what I eat if I go out to a restaurant with family or friends on occasion. I think to many people become the "chosen frozen" when they stress out about what they are going to eat at any restaurant.
Especially if it's a celebration and you should be ENJOYING the time with friends or family, rather than contemplating whether or not you'll gain a pound. Blech. If it's occasional, ONE MEAL won't disrupt your goal even if you went over in calories by 1000 and you returned back to normal eating. In fact for some they may even, "kickstart" their slowed metabolisms because long term calorie reduction will do that.
Life is too short to worry if you ate 200-1000 calories over your limit.

tigersword

I AM WITH YOU! My husband LOVES to do that as an activity....and I battle with the same thing, especially because I cannot cook that well. I just read an article not that long ago, that said that the calorie count for restaurants and fast food are usually 100-200 calories off on some dishes....so that makes things a lot harder and even scarier when you go out to eat too...:frown:

Calorie counts on EVERYTHING are just averages. Restaurants can be off by a certain percentage, and every single thing you buy at the store can also be off from what the box states, up or down. It's impossible to know with 100% certainty the exact amount of calories in anything. Heck, even your calorie goal, and your maintenance calories are just estimates. Maybe that meal is 100 calories more than stated, but just maybe you're also supposed to be eating 100 more calories than you think. Life's an estimate, the best you can do is get as close as you can.

italianissima

All of these are great suggestions. There is one more I'd like to add:
You can always estimate the number of calories based on what you're eating. This is better than nothing, and it gives you some power when you feel hopeless/helpless.

I know that spinach is very low calorie and so are egg whites. If I get a spinach and egg white omelette, I can ballpark a figure. I usually always add oil or butter, because restaurants are notorious for adding fat! You can always request to have things cooked without added fats- a good way to avoid things in your food that you don't want is to tell your server you're allergic!

When all else fails, look for menu options that are labeled for Weight Watchers, etc. or order the kids' size.

teri1956

Some posters have commented that they average their calories over several days or a week to accommodate known dinner plans. I don't have any personal experience with the practice

Oishii

During term time almost all my lunches are in the school dining room. It's proper, home cooking most of the time, but my calorie counts feel like random guesses. It does stress me out sometimes, but, like eating out, there's a social element too which I wouldn't want to miss, the variety is excellent and it's free!

Restaurants that I didn't like before are now some of my favourites because they list calories. Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant doesn't, which smacks of hupocrisy to me.

Melmade

Tell them you're lactose intolerant with a gluten allergy.

Pebble321

@Rubybelle; one of my favourite things to do is to either eat half of what I get and save the rest for tomorrow at lunch, or eat all the protein and veggies first, after which I'm usually too full to eat the carbs. Eating slowly is also a good trick, and drinking lots of water with your meal - you feel full before you eat all that food! I also refuse to go anywhere where they can't give you a calorie menu, wither or not it's online or in the restaurant.

more good tips here, thanks, I like the idea of eating the protein and veggies first, I'm going to add that to my list.
Menus with calorie counts aren't common in Australia (unless you want to eat at Mcdonalds, which I don't consider food) so that is not an option for me - I just pick the best looking option and estimate.

dmpizza

If its not a special occasion, feel free to opt out.
If you want to go out, then just eat 1/2 portions.