eating out!!

princessruthiebelle

so how do you manage with eating out?? im not sure where im goin yet but portion sizes tend to be big everwhere and most things are cooked in oil! i dont wanna order something i think is healthy and turns out its deep fried !!!!

ElizabethRoad

If it's a chain restaurant, go online beforehand. Many of them have nutritional info posted.

Ask questions. If it's not clear on the menu, the server can tell you how it's cooked.

Just use your head - get a side of veggies, not a side of fries. Don't get something with a heavy sauce, or ask for the sauce on the side.

Eat a reasonable portion of whatever you get. A restaurant entrée can easily be in the 1000-1500 calorie range. Eat half of it. If this is difficult for you, ask for a takeout box at the beginning of your meal and put half of it in the box right away.

Order a no-calorie beverage like water, iced tea, or diet soda.

If you can, make it fit into your calorie goals. (It's easier if you go by the weekly goal rather than the daily goal.) Exercise to earn some extra calories... eat light during the day... or eat a little less the next couple of days.

And sometimes, go ahead and splurge. Especially if it's a special occasion!

jnh17

And don't go in there starving. Once you're around the amazing smells, willpower is much harder to hold on to.

AeolianHarp

so how do you manage with eating out?? im not sure where im goin yet but portion sizes tend to be big everwhere and most things are cooked in oil! i dont wanna order something i think is healthy and turns out its deep fried !!!!

A few things I do:

(1) I don't eat anything else that day: This has single-handedly help me never gain weight but consistently lose. If you don't eat until you go out then you are in a large deficit. I burn around 2800-2900 calories a day. If I don't eat until I go out then I have around 2000 or so calories to work with. I've seen many nutrition menus and you'll rarely eat over 1500 calories in a meal. Furthermore, Brad Pilon in "Eat, Stop, Eat" has noted that a fast prior to a large meal has shown to prevent weight gain. This is largely because such a large deficit is accumulated throughout the day.

(2) Forget about healthy: Healthy and unhealthy depends on an entire diet. That means in the week, month, and year. One single day won't negatively effect your health. Furthermore, it'll only negatively effect your weight loss if you consume such a ridiculously amount of calories that it just doesn't make sense. Order what you want and ENJOY IT. Whatever you order isn't healthy or unhealthy because that means it negatively or positively effects you. You can't do either in the scope of a single day.

(3) Enjoy yourself: This is important. You're going out. People have made going out difficult. I went out and got what I want. I didn't sit there and study the nutrition menu. I rarely go out to restaurants, so I took advantage. I ordered a half rack of ribs with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. After, I had Godiva truffles and then hit up a yogurt place and got cake batter, caramel, and cheesecake yogurt. Guess what? I'm down 1lb the day after.

My advice? Fast, order what you want, and enjoy yourself. There should be no guilt or anything at all. The fast will counteract the large caloric density of the meal but the fast will allow you to order what you want. Seriously, and pardon my language, but **** going out, paying a **** ton of money for a meal and having a meal that's absolutely bland just to pretend that it's somehow healthy and beneficial to my fat loss goals when it's really counterproductive to my psychological well-being and makes ZERO difference on my physical well-being.

ElizabethRoad

And don't go in there starving. Once you're around the amazing smells, willpower is much harder to hold on to.

I don't eat anything else that day

This may seem a bit confusing, but either of these approaches is fine. You just have to find out which one works for you. Personally I don't like going all day without eating - but some people are just fine with it.

shellsrenee01

I order water with my meal, I opt for a side of veggies (my fav is steamed broccoli with no butter or cheese) and I put half or more of my meal in a to-go container.

I would not recommend fasting for the day as suggested, unless you only go out once a month or so. If you are like me, eating out is pretty regular and so trying to starve myself just so I can enjoy a meal in a restaurant is not something I'd want to do on a regular basis.

Small things can add up: skip the mayo, cheese, alcohol, soft drinks, ranch, fries, etc.

It's hard and you'll find that typically, eating out means you'll be spending the rest of the week scrambling to make up for that :sad:

UponThisRock

I like specific instructions

ilookthetype

I like specific instructions

Ditto, however, think about eating an apple and then that helps if your really unsure of where to begin.

myak623

Everyone is different!

downhomechik

so how do you manage with eating out?? im not sure where im goin yet but portion sizes tend to be big everwhere and most things are cooked in oil! i dont wanna order something i think is healthy and turns out its deep fried !!!!

Some things I have tried: If they have fish and salad I move in that direction. I have asked for the salad to be made. Most places have lettuce and salad fixings. If its breakfast, ask for omelet with veggies, egg white only. I ask about how the fish is made and if the toppings scream fattening, I'll ask for it with no toppings. Same with dressing. If they have a salad bar, even better...I'll eat the salad bar (well, not literally, ahah).

Once I've filled up on salad no room for food or eat half the meal and take the rest to go for another meal later.

SimplyShanRunning

My tongue always knows where it is headed

tig_ol_bitties

My tongue always knows where it is headed

ditto.

myfitnessnmhoy

Preparation: Choose foods for the rest of the day that have the nutrients you won't get in the restaurant and lack the things you won't be able to avoid like processed sugars, fats, and sodium. I'll quite often drop things like lunch meat and nuts from my lunch and up my vegetables and fruits. That way, I have more of a fat/protein/sodium "budget" to play with when I go out to eat. I also drink a few extra glasses of water because I know I'm going to get extra sodium no matter what I do.

When at the restaurant, I look for healthy choices, but I also look for things I like. It's a once-a-week or so indulgence, and I'm going to enjoy it (but not go overboard!). If I go over by 1000 calories (which has never happened!) then I've set myself back by one day. I can't live my entire existence watching each and every calorie - I'd go nuts.

The next day, I add more water to continue flushing the sodium, I generally skip my daily weigh-in because there'll be a sodium gain that will stress me out, and I get my meals back to normal (sometimes I cut back a few calories, not often) and get back into the groove.

Different things work for different people, but I just try to fit "going out" into my plans, and treat it like it is - an enjoyable indulgence that you plan for.

nammer79

My tongue always knows where it is headed

What are you thinking about today ... (well it is hump day after all)

princessruthiebelle

thanks for the suggestions, a mixed bag!! haha its gonna be at a pub i presume (im english!!!) so i cant really order too off the menu! its not a special occasion and i dont wanna splurge! im not even 2 weeks in ive a long way to go and although i realise one night wont ruin my life, i dont wanna use that because then where do i draw the line at saying 'oh one wont hurt' thats how i got overweight!!

i know to keep my eye on sauces and things! good points

cmaxmor

You might try splitting something with someone. Right now though I am craving fish and chips!

AeolianHarp

I would not recommend fasting for the day as suggested, unless you only go out once a month or so. If you are like me, eating out is pretty regular and so trying to starve myself just so I can enjoy a meal in a restaurant is not something I'd want to do on a regular basis.

No one is going to starve from holding off eating for a few hours. Let's be real right now. Everyone is so used to having food at will and eating every few hours that they can't imagine life by not eating for a few hours. You aren't going to die of starvation, you aren't actually that hungry, and tummy rumbling isn't a hunger sign either. Doing a fast allows for a far larger, more satisfying meal that is WORTH it. I can handle not eating for a bit so I can eat my rack of ribs and garlic mashed potatoes instead of paying a premium for salad with no anything and it tasting like grass.

Then again, very few people are willing to get used to fasting because they are psychologically defeated easily. I grew up in a Muslim household, so fasting has never been a problem for me. I don't expect everyone to do it but you not recommending my suggestion is just ... bah!

As a note, I fast 16 hours a day, every single day (including sleep, which only makes up 5-6 hours of my fast).

kanolet

Some tips that help me:
-If there is a bread basket, either have it put out of reach (by other guests at the table) or ask not to have it delivered or have them remove it before you are tempted.
-Ask specifically for STEAMED veggies as a side. If you just order the "vegetable of the day" you'll be disappointed very often by it being drowned in butter or oil.
-If a sandwich sounds good, order it without a bun and cheese (that request should work at a pub!)
-If an entree comes with french fries/chips, ask them about available substitutions or have them leave it out all together.
-Skip the ketchup and mayonnaise for everything

FYI, for people that don't know, many restaurants deep fry breadsticks. So if a breadstick is offered as a side, it might even be worse than you assume. I worked at a restaurant and found out this is a common practice. Ick!

nichole325

This is one good thing I'm loving about living in NYC....ALL OF THE CALORIES ARE POSTED EVERYYYWHEREEEE!!!

Wendy's BK McDonalds Chipotle Applebees...by law all of the commercial places have to display their calories...it really helps me which making better decisions. It's the local mom and pop places that dont show calories but thats ok

JanieJack

(1) I don't eat anything else that day:
(2) Forget about healthy: Healthy and unhealthy depends on an entire diet.
(3) Enjoy yourself:

I like this advice, especially since even the "healthy" options are often 750+ calories for one serving (one restaurant has 550 calorie options that are pretty good). It's no fun to go out with friends and they're enjoying themselves but you're not. Why spend 750 calories on something bland and unsatisfying when you can just get what you really want for 1250 calories? That’s just a skipped meal or an extra hour of vigorous workout. I have the willpower to resist the bread-basket, but if it’s Red Lobster cheddar biscuits who wants to resist???

I try to burn the extra calories beforehand (using the restaurant website or estimates from something similar).

BTW... about the fasting... I've fasted til 4 almost every Tue and Fri and a full 3 days each week in Jan (for religious reasons) for the last 15 years. Although I seriously regretted running 7 miles on day 2 of a 3 day fast (thinking it was actually day 3- oops) I can tell you that fasting every once in awhile won’t kill you.

PrncessBre

Bump