Eating out at restaurants

stay home.

A lot of salads are actually a minefield. The leaves etc. make up a tiny portion of a shop-bought/restaurant salad, and the rest is cheeses, croutons and dressings.

I don't know where you're from, but in my area, a lot of pubs and restaurants have a few items that are marked up at 500 calories or less. They tend to be simple casseroles with vegetables, vegetarian pasta dishes or chili con carne.

I always try to budget calories and check the online nutritional guide if I know I'm going to a restaurant. I'll have a smaller breakfast and lunch than usual, and plan a workout for that day. I can usually allow myself about 800-1000 calories just for dinner, so I can have a good meal out. And I stay under calories to boot!

Also make sure to just get water or maybe splurge on a diet soda. I personally don't bother with high-calorie drinks... I want a nice big plate of food instead!

I always plan ahead before going to a restaurant. It's not the most enjoyable, relaxing thing to do when you want to have a nice meal out, but it is better to have some control over the situation. Look on the restaurant's website for nutritional information.

Do not make it a habit though, because the calorie counts are not always accurate. Here is a recent article about this: http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/how-accurate-are-chain-restaurant-calorie-counts

I just had a look at their chart, and it looks like most restaurants OVERESTIMATE the calories in their food... which is a good thing, right?

I know exactly where you're coming from. As others have mentioned I check online for calorie counts before hand. If all else fails I go for steak with salad and new potatoes and ask not to have dressing on the salad. You can always request not to have cheese and dressings on things like chicken breasts and substitute fries for boiled potatoes or salad. A lot of places will grill fish rather than deep fry it or cook it with butter if you ask them to aswell. Also if you feel the peer pressure to have dessert like I do, most places will have fruit platter of some kind as an option so you don't feel left out. Hope that helped x

For one thing, it helps to not label foods as good or bad based on calorie content. A calorie is just a unit of energy. Yes, nuts, cheeses, oils, avocados, etc are high in calories...but they're also very nutrient dense foods. My homemade salads generally run me anywhere from 500-600 calories.

A burger isn't necessarily "gut busting" bad either...a nicely done burger has tons of protein and fats that your body needs...it really just depends on where you are in RE to your macro goals. I had a burger with bacon and cheese last night and it was just what the doctor ordered as I was low on my protein and fats for the day.

That said, eating out a lot can wreak havoc on your diet (noun) as you have little control over what is going on in the kitchen. Calorie counts are just estimates and are routinely off...you have some kid in the back throwing together your food and I can tell you that when I worked in food service, we weren't accurately weighing everything either.

IMHO, dining out is a good opportunity to practice your intuitive eating skills and portion control. Keep in mind, a typical restaurant portion of food is roughly double a standard portion...sometimes more. Eat your food slowly and let your body speak to you...then all you have to do is actually listen. Stop eating when you've reached satiety...if you're "full" it's too late, and you've over eaten.

To all of the good advise above, remember that you're going out to socialize with friends and celebrate an event. It's not really about the food. Order a reasonable meal of lean meat and fresh veggies; it's on nearly every menu. And watch out for the liquid calories; they add up quick.

My feeling is, I'm not going to blow my eating budget on a meal from a chain restaurant. Now, if we were going to one of the fabulous 4 star restaurants in the city then all bets are off.