Eating Out - Top Tips please

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2

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  • WAHMto5
    WAHMto5 Posts: 375 Member
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    If I was going to a Michelin Star restaurant, I would just 100% enjoy every moment of it!

    My thoughts exactly!
  • Progman
    Progman Posts: 47 Member
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    Yep, if you eat good on a regular basis, there's no reason why you can't indulge yourself, for one evening. Enjoy the experience

    Nothing at all wrong with a little self indulgence once in a while. You won't be derailed :smile:
  • mattvandyk
    mattvandyk Posts: 50 Member
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    If its Michelin starred enjoy the treat and do more exercise next week. This is a great treat so it would be a shame not to let yourself enjoy it. Have a fab time xx

    We do this ^. We eat out somewhere particularly nice (often Michelin-rated or starred) a couple times a month. Avoiding carbs, creams, sauces, etc. defeats the purpose. You're not going there to sample their lo-cal offerings; you're going there to have the best of what a great restaurant has to offer. So, goes my thinking anyway.

    Also, I'm one of those who enjoys the experience of reviewing the menu in the restaurant, listening to the specials, etc., so I rarely review the menu in advance or otherwise plan ahead beyond the reservation. Instead, we just go and get whatever we ordinarily would have without giving a second thought to MFP (or, more often, consciously trying to suppress the "I wonder how many calories this has" thought out of my brain) -- this is shockingly liberating. Then, I just make a mental note of what I ate (I do this anyway for our restaurant diary; note that the itemized bill if often handy for this), and assess the MFP damage after-the-fact (always estimating on the high side). Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised, sometimes I'm unpleasantly surprised, but in both cases, I've had another memorable worry-free dining experience in the books and I can spend the next week "accounting" for it by adjusting calorie consumption and exercise frequency to "absorb" the meal into the rolling average (over the course of a week, this easier than it sounds).

    Bon appetit!

    --Matt
  • ptimek
    ptimek Posts: 9
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    I recently just heard of the left-over box idea. Before you start eating ask for a box and put half of your meal in it. I think this is a grand idea. Then you can have the rest later.
  • lomins
    lomins Posts: 32 Member
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    I once heard when going out to eat - bread basket, wine or dessert - choose one. I still struggle with this. I want all 3! I'm too much of an all or nothing person.

    Enjoy your dinner!
  • magiejbailey
    magiejbailey Posts: 6
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    If I was going to a Michelin-starred restaurant, I would just have what I fancied (unless cost was a limiting factor). Then be good for the next few days to make up (Dr Michael Moseley's Fast Diet is great for this). If I go out to an 'ordinary' restaurant, I order what I fancy, but take a plastic tub in my bag, and put half of the meal into it, and eat this the next day! This approach always works for me.
  • honeyandmilk
    honeyandmilk Posts: 160 Member
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    Honestly? Just be mindful of what you eat the rest of the day and enjoy whatever you want at the restaurant. Order whatever you want, regardless of how "healthy" it is and enjoy the experience.

    Another tip is to not waste calories on things like the bread basket (if there is one) or multiple drinks. Stick to 1-2 drinks and forgo the bread. Chances are, unless there is a really unique kind of bread in the basket, you know what it tastes like.
  • LouiseH238
    LouiseH238 Posts: 199 Member
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    If you're going to a Michelin-starred place it's not going to be the kind of restaurant where you get a doggy bag - I would imagine the portions aren't going to be that huge anyway. Go and enjoy it and make up for it the rest of the week.
  • Faulkners407
    Faulkners407 Posts: 62 Member
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    Planning extra cardio today and tomorrow.

    Remind yourself that this is a life style change, and you can occasionally enjoy a night off.

    Ask for to go box, when your food arrives. Place half in it. Put under your chair, or somewhere out of the way.

    Drink water.

    When you are full. If there is still food on your plate, add it to your to go box or cover your plate with a napkin.

    I would enjoy the dinner, stop when full. But leave the to go box.

    This would ensure it was one meal. And do not have food guilt.
    Work out tomorrow.
    have fun.
  • voxbeth
    voxbeth Posts: 4 Member
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    Ooh, have a lovely time! I agree with a lot of the other posters, if this is a special treat, please do enjoy yourself and make up for it the rest of the week. One thing that will help you maybe not eat as many calories while still enjoying every bite is to eat s l o w l y and really be alert for cues your body is done.
  • jenlatham
    jenlatham Posts: 17 Member
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    So jealous! Go enjoy yourself, then add a few more workouts and trim an extra 100-200 calories off your usual amount for a few days.
  • samantha1242
    samantha1242 Posts: 816 Member
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    You won't be doing this everyday. Just go out and enjoy it and eat what you want! Just add an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill, or at the gym, or add in an extra workout dvd the next day if you want.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
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    screw that, eat what you want and enjoy your evening!
  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
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    screw that, eat what you want and enjoy your evening!


    Definitely the right answer. My god, being a foodie myself, I'd enjoy the specialties, exactly as prepared and designed. High end chefs don't often make special substitutions as it defeats the whole purpose of their art. Eat, enjoy, be merry, and get yo *kitten* to the gym tomorrow :-) Life is about living. You didn't get fat from one meal. As long as you jump back on the wagon tomorrow, it's all good!


    I don't think people realize what a Michelin starred restaurant is. There are only like, 10, in the US... Places with year-long waiting lists. This isn't like going out to Applebee's, people!
  • Faulkners407
    Faulkners407 Posts: 62 Member
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    Planning extra cardio today and tomorrow.

    Remind yourself that this is a life style change, and you can occasionally enjoy a night off.

    Ask for to go box, when your food arrives. Place half in it. Put under your chair, or somewhere out of the way.

    Drink water.

    When you are full. If there is still food on your plate, add it to your to go box or cover your plate with a napkin.

    I would enjoy the dinner, stop when full. But leave the to go box.

    This would ensure it was one meal. And do not have food guilt.
    Work out tomorrow.
    have fun.
  • mattvandyk
    mattvandyk Posts: 50 Member
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    screw that, eat what you want and enjoy your evening!


    Definitely the right answer. My god, being a foodie myself, I'd enjoy the specialties, exactly as prepared and designed. High end chefs don't often make special substitutions as it defeats the whole purpose of their art. Eat, enjoy, be merry, and get yo *kitten* to the gym tomorrow :-) Life is about living. You didn't get fat from one meal. As long as you jump back on the wagon tomorrow, it's all good!


    I don't think people realize what a Michelin starred restaurant is. There are only like, 10, in the US... Places with year-long waiting lists. This isn't like going out to Applebee's, people!

    That's a little bit of an overstatement...there are well over 10 in Chicago alone, but the point is well-taken.
  • maryannelk
    maryannelk Posts: 707 Member
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    It depends. If you eat at Michelin starred restaurants regularly then do the usual 'avoid fried foods/creamy sauces etc.', but if it was me that might be the only time in my entire life I get to eat food that good. So I'd just go, eat what I wanted, hopefully enjoy it, and maybe rein it in for a day or two afterwards. :drinker:

    what she said.
  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
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    screw that, eat what you want and enjoy your evening!
    Definitely the right answer. My god, being a foodie myself, I'd enjoy the specialties, exactly as prepared and designed. High end chefs don't often make special substitutions as it defeats the whole purpose of their art. Eat, enjoy, be merry, and get yo *kitten* to the gym tomorrow :-) Life is about living. You didn't get fat from one meal. As long as you jump back on the wagon tomorrow, it's all good!


    I don't think people realize what a Michelin starred restaurant is. There are only like, 10, in the US... Places with year-long waiting lists. This isn't like going out to Applebee's, people!

    That's a little bit of an overstatement...there are well over 10 in Chicago alone, but the point is well-taken.


    Haha yeah, I exaggerate. Ok, 3- star rated are very scarce though. I once tried getting into French Laundry. I didn't realize how exclusive those places were ha.

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