Going out to eat sucks

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  • stefi2107
    stefi2107 Posts: 52 Member
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    I am a vegetarian and most often the only non meat option at a restaurant is a veggie burger and although I love veggie burgers, you can only eat so many! I've learned a great trick though, I eat off the side menu. Most are veggies and baked potatoes and rice. Plus ordering off the side menu is much cheaper than ordering a full meal!!!
  • epie2098
    epie2098 Posts: 224 Member
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    As has already been said, I take it one meal at a time. But some advance prep is possible.
    1. If it's a fast food joint, I pack my own food in a small cooler to eat and order coffee at the place.
    2. If it's a more formal franchise restaurant, I check its website in advance. Most restaurant websites include nutrition facts. That way, I can make an informed decision when ordering, even though the food is not generally what I would eat. Some independent restaurants have websites and nutrition facts as well.
    3. If no advance prep is possible, I treat the meal as a special treat and do my best. I log it here as accurately as I can and make sure to go easy the next day on sodium and fat.

    +1. To everything but #1. That's a bit awkward IMHO. I just find reasons to not do fast food. It's not good for anyone, anyways. There is always a better place...

    Most importantly, check for websites and nutritional information. Heck, I've ended up ordering and loving stuff I thought I'd never like based on calorie count. Tilapia is delicious any which way! :-)

    I do #1. I hate McDonald's but my husband loves it. He only eats there a few times a year, but when he does and I'm with him, I pack a decent salad and get a coffee.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
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    You've gotten some good advice here and I'll try not to repeat what's already been said. You can't stay out of restaurants the rest of your life. Consider it a challenge. There are some places that might be almost impossible (sports-bar types, for example), but nearly every place has some lean options. I'd rather eat a meal that's not terribly filling (green salad, dressing on the side and an order of steamed vegetables) than consume high-calorie things I don't really like that much (in my case, fried or fatty foods). If you've been logging your food, you know what the lean options are even if it's a family-owned place where the menu changes every week and there's no nutritional information. If there are some places where you find it hard not to overdo it (buffets, the dessert menu at Cheesecake Factory), try to stay out of them, but you should also focus on finding ways to enjoy a restaurant meal without feeling guilty.

    A few years ago I took a job that involved a fair amount of travel. A colleague told me she'd gained 20 lbs. since taking the job. I was determined I wouldn't, and I didn't, despite the fact that I always enjoyed a glass or two of a good wine chosen by another team member who was a wine lover and I never saw her drink alcohol. You can do this.
  • tootoop224
    tootoop224 Posts: 281 Member
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    Use this link to prepare, so you know what you're getting into befoe you've already eaten it:

    http://www.nutritionix.com/restaurants
  • Raddichio
    Raddichio Posts: 163 Member
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    I understand your dilemma. Every weekend I eat out with family and friends and don't always know where we're going---we all take turns choosing. I just follow a sensible diet through the week and make sure to eat less on the day we're going out so that I'll feel more comfortable ordering something at a restaurant. I wouldn't want to go if I wasn't going to eat at the restaurant, as I would feel so uncomfortable and know others around me would, too. I generally can find something I enjoy that works, even if it means bringing half home for another meal. I do get frustrated trying to estimate nutrional information at a restaurant, but I just do the best I can and record it all when I get home. If I know ahead of time where we're going, I check out the menu, if available, and look to see if there is any nutritional information. Then I use whatever I've found to plan ahead what I'll order at the restaurant, as well as what else I'll eat that day at home. For example, today we ended up going to a Mexican restaurant. I had chicken toritilla soup (but without the cheese or chips---no sacrifice on my part, as I have always eaten this without the cheese and chips, even when not trying to lose weight). I actually have gone there before and ordered chicken enchiladas and eaten one and taken the other home; by planning ahead, I kept under my TDEE. I didn't want to do that today because I have a doctor's appointment Monday, with blood work, and I don't want to skew the results by eating anything out of the ordinary.

    Remember, we're all trying to change eating and exercise habits for life, not just until a certain amount of weight is lost. So, in the long term, it works better if we can learn how to handle normal activiites with friends and families, including going out to eat. Just estimate the best you can, exercise portion control, and everything will work out.
  • KAS0917
    KAS0917 Posts: 172 Member
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    Your situation is particularly difficult. When I've had to travel for work I've always been a little on edge. It's worse when I didn't like my job because I was bored and unhappy and felt I was thrust in a situation in which it would be easy to gain weight if I didn't watch it. The ability to order room service lost its attraction quickly. (I also ate out alone, but that's a different kind of problem, even if you don't mind your own company.)

    Probably the worst situation was when I had to do some work on a team for a company that owned several fast food restaurant chains. We were working in a windowless room 12 hours a day. I thought that for lunch and dinner we could at least get out and have some nice, healthy food. But the company gave us passes to its awful restaurants and the head of the team was such a suck-up that we had to eat the phony, uninspiring food every break.

    YES - in house work meetings with catered food in is the WORST. I agree - because you literally have no choices, and may not be able to get in any activity. I am in marketing / special events, so I at least am usually on my feet when I'm at events. My biggest issue is that my day is never the same - sometimes it's leaving the hotel at 5 am and getting back at 1am, and I'm just too tired to workout and being tired leads me to lack willpower to make good choices. But 90% of the time I at least get to make my own decisions, even if they aren't always good ones! I have gotten over the stigma of eating alone - I'll usually just sit at the bar and be on my phone looking at Twitter, or talk to the people around me if I feel social. :) And I've been doing this for 12 years as of this month - I have seen a BIG change over the years in the availability of healthy food. This goes for restaurants, but also for airports and even gas stations. Nicer gas stations like QuikTrip, WaWa or RaceTrac often have fresh fruit, hardboiled eggs, string cheese, etc so you can piece together a healthy meal on the go! It's really eliminated a lot of my excuses. Haha!
  • linsey0689
    linsey0689 Posts: 753 Member
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    I couldn't agree more i hate going out the only good thing is spending time with my family/friends
  • kazsjourney
    kazsjourney Posts: 263 Member
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    I really dont find it hard to eat out and probably do once a week, there is generally always a good option. Steak or Chicken are good options, as I consider eating out a bit of a treat I will always some of my days calories so I will have a lil more calories..Chicken dishes with things like a avocado are always yummy to me. When eating out italian I will go for a pasta that is a tomato base, if I want a cream based one I will eat very light that day. Just try and plan ahead, check out the menu online if you can and walk in their with a plan, remember this isnt a diet....just a new way of living :)
  • Jetta1492
    Jetta1492 Posts: 47 Member
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    Use this link to prepare, so you know what you're getting into befoe you've already eaten it:

    http://www.nutritionix.com/restaurants

    Thanks for the link! When I do eat out, I usually look up the restaurant's nutrition information before I go & plan what I will eat ahead of time. Having all the info in one place seems convenient. It is a hassle sometimes going to each individual website to search for nutrition info.
  • ddky
    ddky Posts: 381 Member
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    grilled chicken is the answer for me. Most fast food places have grilled chicken sandwich and side salad. Most restaurants will have a grilled chicken entrée. At tumbleweed last week, I got grilled chicken, baked sweet potato, and the grilled vegetables. The only hard part was not eating the free chips and salsa.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    mcdonalds-
    side salad with low fat vinegerette dressing- 55
    hamburger- 250
    fruit parfait with granola- 150

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