Ordering when you go out to eat!

I have the grilled trout and green beans when I go to Longhorn. They have a menu section that's called 500 calories or less (something like that). Where they prepare the entrees in a healthier way.

If you went over, it's not the end of the world. Take it from someone who did last week and bounced back.

If I haven't been to a particular restaurant recently, I try to plan ahead what I'm going to order, usually choosing several options in case the menu has changed, That way I can allow enough calories to enjoy myself!

I go out to eat so rarely I will order whatever I want to be honest.

If its just grabbing a quick lunch somewhere then I'll pick the option that contains the leanest protein and avoid anything fried or cheesy!

Don't feel guilty! Enjoy your food!

At the end of the day, if you're staying within your goal then you're doing fine. Some days can be better but at the heart of it, it's using more calories than you consume.

I love Longhorn. I am sure they have a menu online. I am going out tonight and I have already gone and found the menu, decided what I am ordering, and have it logged. Now I know what I can or can't have for snacks

If you know where you are going to eat you can check out the menu online, a lot of restaurants have nutritional info available, and you'll be able to make a wise choice before you get there and are pressured to order .

This!! I always check out the menu online. I pick out what I'm going to have before I even get there. Easy peasy!

If you're at a steakhouse I would go with a small steak, plain baked potato and two grilled or steamed veggies. Sirloin and filet mignon are good choices. Ask for the potato toppings on the side and you'll have a healthy, hearty dinner!

Most of the time I just get what I want.

I like ceasar salad, and most places will substitute out the potato for a salad if I ask, or bring a double serving of whatever veggies come with the meal, like green beans. If I leave the bun off, most sandwiches are not too hard on me (I'm very sensitive to blood sugar spikes and eat with that in mind).

But frankly, if what I *really* want is spaghetti and meatballs or the chicken pot pie, I order it. If at all possible, I ask for a lunch portion, since I have difficulty finishing most restaurants' huge dinner portions anyway.

Going out is a treat around my house, and we behave accordingly.

=Betty=

Write it off this time, and next time, PLAN AHEAD. Do what others have suggested and check the nutrition info online before you go. Since this "always" happens, write down what you decide to have, and don't even look at the menu when you get there. I can't help but suspect that if this is a pattern for you, it's a way of you sneaking in a meal you want when you know you can make better choices by saying, "Oh, I just can't help myself." Of course you can help yourself. Plan the most desirable meal that fits within your day's goals, and stick to your plan. If you know you really really want the bacon-encrusted deep-fried pork rinds with extra cheese sauce, plan your day's calories around it by having a smaller lunch and putting in a heavy workout. You can do it!

I think you did excellent. You stayed within your calories for the day. You chose healthy items: chicken, sweet potato, and a salad. And you got to go out and hang with your friends....you did excellent!

Stay away from anything that says crusty.....

Always go for grilled, ask for no salt to be added and substitute the potatoes for veggies.

We like to eat out and you just have to learn to ask for what you know is right.

(Not always fun but you can do it!)

I just feel so bad and mad at myself for making the wrong food choice. Sometimes I think I'm to hard on myself.
I always have a hard time when I go out to eat.

If you stayed within your calorie goals for the day, why are you beating yourself up?!?!?!


You need to just relax and look at the big picture here:
1. You stayed within goal
2. You were out with good friends enjoying yourself
3. You didnt eat the whole meal
4. Today is a new day
5. You are beautiful, so stop putting yourself down!!!
6. This is an NSV!!

Your choices for dinner were not bad if you were able to stay within your calorie goals!!! Many people here are still unable to go out to a restaurant and show restraint. You did! You succeeded here, this is NOT a failure.

Don't beat yourself up. Could you have made better choices? Maybe. But as another poster said, if you were under your calorie intake goal, it's not a big deal. I did the same thing about a month ago, order ground sirloin instead of chicken. It wasn't a bad choice, but there was too much and I ate it. I was under my daily goal, but it made me sick.

I learned from it. Most places have an online menu along with calorie and other nutritional information. I dropped 130 pounds in 1996/97. I had to write everything down in a notebook. I had to guess and use calorie count books. It was so much more difficult back then. Even about 7 years ago, I was trying to lose some weight, and I used another online fitness program. They pretty much had nothing logged. You had to get the package and enter the info. NOW, though, it's so much easier to keep track.

What I learned from my bad choice and eating too much ground sirloin was to make a plan before I go out.

Over 15 years, I gained back almost 100 pounds of the 130 I lost. I remind myself if I have 50 calories too much or don't make the best choices, that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to know this is a life style change and there are going to be days that we have to make choices, and there are going to be days we make the wrong ones.

As I told a young friend who was beating herself up over a 400 calorie cookie, "cookies happen." The important thing is not to let times when we could have made better choices get us offtrack. (And I don't think you did.)

This is giving me a really hard time also, my friends and I always wanna go out on the weekends and its so easy to go over my calorie limit. I really really really need to stop going yolo on weekends though, all my hard work through the week just to gain a pound back because of one weekend is killing me ~.~