How do I eat healthy when I go to a restaurant?!?!?!

lesita75

I've seen this question asked a few times on the message boards. This weekend I went out for breakfast on Saturday and last night we went out for dinner. I found that most chain restaurants have their full menu available online as well as the nutritional breakdown for all the items on their menus. Before I went out I looked at the menu online and decided on what I would get before I left the house. I wrote it down so that I: 1.) Would not forget and 2.) Would not be tempted to change my mind by opening the menu once I got to the restaurant (opening the menu can be dangerous). I managed to stay within my calorie goals and had a good time with family and friends. I found that doing this really took the stress factor out of ordering a decent meal. Just thought I would share; if any of you have other great ideas for ordering food at restaurants please add them to the comments.

tpeppers

Thanks for the advice!!! We eat out more than we should and I always go with the intention of ordering something good for me, open the menu and change my mind - which is bad!! I am just starting to try again to today (after many failures!! I do good during week and blow it all on the weekends). I'm going to try your advice on picking my meal before I leave and not even looking at the menu!!!!!!!!!!!

AwesomelyAmber

This is what I do now too! It makes you feel so much better to feel in control. I also find that I try a lot of new things when I look in advance. Foods that I wouldn't have tried before because they used those horrible words... baked, broiled, etc. are fabulous! I also get a water, sometimes in place of soda, sometimes in addition to it. My husband laughs at me because if we go to fast food I'll get a knife and fork even if I have a burger... it seems to trick my mind into taking longer to eat so that I'm not wanting more. :drinker:

bcattoes

That is good advice, when visiting a chain. Though it is important to remember that what you are served may vary greatly in calorie count from what is listed on the website. Meals are specially prepared to exact standards for determining calorie/nutritional information. What the chain restaurant cook-of-the-day prepares could be quite different.

jcataldi1412

I try to eat things that have alot of color. My main philosophy is to only eat things that have a mother or things that grow in the ground. This keeps me from eating preservatives which are loaded with sugars and chemicals. Also I make sure that eating protein is a filler.

skybluesounds

Good tip! Also avoid anything fried, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, or in cream sauce, low fat choices will usually be grilled. Get lots of vegetables to fill you up and choose lean meats.

mayerel

I have also learned to ask for a to-go box when the food comes and just automatically put half in the box so I'm not even tempted to eat it. It helps a LOT!