The hardest part about dining out...

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Nightelyn
Nightelyn Posts: 31
in Food and Nutrition
For me, the hardest part about going out to dinner isn't the calories or the fat. It's the massive amounts of sodium in everything. I realize going over on sodium isn't the worst thing you can do, since it just makes you take on more water weight for a while, but it's still annoying as all heck.

What's the hardest part about dining/ordering out for you?

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  • AngelLSharum
    AngelLSharum Posts: 22
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    For me, the hardest part about going out to dinner isn't the calories or the fat. It's the massive amounts of sodium in everything. I realize going over on sodium isn't the worst thing you can do, since it just makes you take on more water weight for a while, but it's still annoying as all heck.

    What's the hardest part about dining/ordering out that you have?

    I agree with you. For me, because I have heart problems and high bp, watching sodium is a must. It is definitely harder eating out these days. Then again, salt is what makes things taste good so restaurants aren't going to take it out any time soon. :)
  • filletminyon
    filletminyon Posts: 8
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    When dining out, you really can't get all the nutritional facts that you could when buying your own groceries. So it's really hard to decide what is healthier. In terms of sodium, EVERYTHING has sodium lol. You really can't avoid it. Cutting down, is probably key. When I dine out, I choose lots of vegetable rich entree's, never order appetizers, most of them are fried and contain a lot of sodium, fat, and grease. Go to a place that may have salad, and it's okay to have like a chicken salad, you know, just go with things that have plenty of veggies, and avoid appetizers, especially at Olive Garden. You don't want to pick up that bread, because if you are anything like me, you won't stop lmfao.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    For me, it's the 'trying to guess which is the healthier choice' roulette game. Unless the restaurant has an on-line menu with nutritional information, I feel like I'm just taking a shot in the dark. I would like to be better able to estimate what I'm taking in.
  • Substances
    Substances Posts: 120 Member
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    Eating in front of my friends.
    Sometimes, we'll go to a really unhealthy restaurant and I'll try to tone down my calories and fattening foods because even if it is a treat, I don't need to pig out. So I'll skip cheese fries as an appetizer and get a small salad and an unsweetened iced tea. Joking is fine but the comments about my healthy food get old after, say.. Three comments.

    No, we don't need to have an entire discussion about me getting a bowl of fruit with perhaps a bit of whipped cream instead of a slice of cake with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce. Shut up.
  • MelbourneBelle
    MelbourneBelle Posts: 105 Member
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    For me, it's the 'trying to guess which is the healthier choice' roulette game. Unless the restaurant has an on-line menu with nutritional information, I feel like I'm just taking a shot in the dark. I would like to be better able to estimate what I'm taking in.


    This and portion size - its too hard to not eat everything on my plate.
  • jawheb
    jawheb Posts: 295 Member
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    When I order my food without butter or oil and they bring my food out drenched in butter. I just assume eat at home where I know exactly what I'm eating. Tastes better anyway :)
  • tvanhooser
    tvanhooser Posts: 326 Member
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    Yep, I was just thinking the same thing today. A dear lady friend of mine wanted to take me out to lunch today and she is such a sweetheart I couldn't say no in spite of the fact that I know that no matter where we eat and how healthy a selection I make, it is going to be sodium loaded. It's something I have really been trying to keep an eye on the last few weeks and which seemed to knock me off the last plateau I was on finally. I only had the lunch combo special with a cranberry pecan chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat half sandwich with a caprese salad (similar to some of the wraps I make for myself anyway at home) and a cup of soup. Unfortunately, the "soup of the day" was chicken tortilla -- which is good taste wise, but loaded with sodium so I only had about half of it. Still I went to look it all up and enter it in my diary and it is still came to a whole boatload of sodium and I'm so over my new goal of 1500 mg per day per the Mayo Clinic recommendations for people with high blood pressure...which is me. I know one day won't kill me -- but you're right, it's annoying. My weight loss seems to be slowing again and I so don't want to go back onto the plateau I just got off of 3 weeks ago!! So going to have to watch it really carefully tomorrow and try for WAY under to compensate I guess. My other gripe is that it seems to cost more at the supermarket for the low sodium versions of stuff or if they lower the fat, the sodium goes up. If they lower the sodium, the fat goes up....it's like they have to stick something unhealthy in there no matter what! ;^}
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
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    When I order my food without butter or oil and they bring my food out drenched in butter. I just assume eat at home where I know exactly what I'm eating. Tastes better anyway :)

    Wow I would send it right back!

    Most restaurants are pretty good here with accommodating peoples needs. I've never been to a place in nyc without at least one healthy option. Now when I go to other states, its a whole different story. I tried to get a healthy snack in disney once and its impossible. The healthiest thing was probably the tequila in the Mexico pavilion at the epcot center.
  • myfitnessval
    myfitnessval Posts: 687 Member
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    sodium and finding restaurants that even offer something remotely healthy (and delicious). my family went to applebees once (i was maybe a month into this) and i was relieved to see they had a low cal menu, but all the options were AWFUL. seriously tasteless and disgusting not to mention loaded with sodium. i was so disappointed. i could have cooked something tastier and healthier at home.
  • jawheb
    jawheb Posts: 295 Member
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    When I order my food without butter or oil and they bring my food out drenched in butter. I just assume eat at home where I know exactly what I'm eating. Tastes better anyway :)

    Wow I would send it right back!

    Most restaurants are pretty good here with accommodating peoples needs. I've never been to a place in nyc without at least one healthy option. Now when I go to other states, its a whole different story. I tried to get a healthy snack in disney once and its impossible. The healthiest thing was probably the tequila in the Mexico pavilion at the epcot center.
    Afraid they will spit in my food or something, I live in Texas where everything is bigger and better lol
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
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    We're to the point where we just eat at home. The food tastes better and it's cheaper and I know exactly what's going into everything.
  • ellenab123
    ellenab123 Posts: 1
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    Portion size for me! They say to only eat half, but that's really tough for me to put into action.
  • mjbell642
    mjbell642 Posts: 229 Member
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    Bread basket......

    Sure, I can just send it back. But since we don't go to those places oftrn. I just enjoy one !!
  • Nightelyn
    Nightelyn Posts: 31
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    As far as portion size goes, I ask them to bring a box when they bring my meal, and I immediately split it in half before I eat anything. Out of sight, out of mind. Then I have something to eat for lunch the next day.

    And for the roulette of what's healthy and what's not, you can ask most places to cook it clean; no butter/oil/salt when they cook it. f they don't, you can have it sent back.

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