What do you eat at restaurants?

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  • lshender
    lshender Posts: 33 Member
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    I will usually order either the dinner salad (dressing on the side) or I'll go with a grilled or broiled fish and veggies. Skip the bread. Skip dessert or do something light like a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. When I go to the Chinese restaurant I ask for the take home box up front and just pack up half my meal before I even start. I always enjoy a drink with dinner when I go out so I don't usually skip that. I just journal it.
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
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    Most hve meals that are designated as healthy options. Either that or i pick the one that i think is the healthiest. Not easy for sure.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
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    Smaller portions of whatever I want now that I'm at goal weight. For the most part. I still avoid certain attrociously high calorie foods even now.

    But when focusing on weight loss, I would view the menu online before I went to the restaurant and arrive at the restaurant with two or three choices in mind that fit within my eating goal for the day. That way, I could decide amongst a few options once I got to the restaurant. The worst part is trying to guess what something has for calories. And even the menus that have calorie count aren't so helpful because I can order something without dressing, but have no idea how that impacts the over all calories. You can usually get this info online ahead of time.

    If the restaurant is a local-type restaurant for which no online menu is available, then I'd plug in a few options I know they offer into MFP ahead of time and get a rough idea of what I was looking at, nutrition-wise. Then go prepared with information. For me that has been key. I make informed choices now. Sometimes the choice is to eat the burger and the fries. But I'll eat half of each and order a salad with it. Or I'll throw caution to the wind and eat the whole darn burger if I want. But I know ahead of time roughly how that will impact my totals for the day. Informed choices. Because real life has cupcakes and birthday cake and foods that aren't within my general eating style. But if I know ahead of time what their impact will be, I can make choices throughout the day/week that will accomodate for it.
  • JuzDuIt
    JuzDuIt Posts: 222 Member
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    a lean protein... double vegetables instead of potato. Threaten the server with their tip if they even THINK about dropping off a bread basket! And my hubby and I are big on sharing a meal. It's always more than enough for two. Or we'll get an app as our entry. We also try to sit at the bar to chat with others and people watch. Takes the focus off the food so much! We take lots of doggy bags home, too. We LOVE to eat out and try new places... he's lost 80# and I've lost 42, so it can be done!
  • RockinTerri
    RockinTerri Posts: 499 Member
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    The worst restaurants are the ones that serve meals that you absolutely love and like to pig out on. Watch out for fat and sodium. That said, here are some strategies:

    1. Look for restaurants that post their menu online with nutrition info. Plan ahead what will fit best for you. Olive Garden is an example of a restaurant that does this. So does Subway.

    2. Order a "to go box" with your meal. Divide each portion in half when it arrives, and put half into the box. Enjoy the rest with your family and friends as usual. You can have the other half as a treat lunch or dinner the next day.

    3. Plan ahead for the calories and enjoy your meal.

    4. Drink water with your meal instead of beer or wine.

    Good luck and enjoy your eating out experience.

    ^^ This nearly to a T. ^^

    I do indulge once in a great while (or most recently when I traveled on vacation - very limited choices to/from our destination).

    That being said, I try to deviate towards grilled or steamed items as often as I can. Be very wary of salads - they can be more fat and calories than many meals! When choosing a salad option, I look for ones that I can eliminate items off of, such as meats and cheeses. Also ALWAYS order dressings on the side.
  • VincitQuiSeVincit
    VincitQuiSeVincit Posts: 285 Member
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    I struggled with this for a long time! I'd decide to be healthy and cave and get something awful and I found with time that I actually didn't even enjoy how I felt after pigging out.
    I try to avoid anything fried or anything with cream sauces. If I REALLY feel like indulging, I'll get something really bad for me, I read somewhere that you automatically ask for a second plate, out half of it on there and ask the waiter to either wrap up the other half (I have done this and had leftovers for lunch or let my son eat them) or just ask them to take it away. It might be a "waste" but whatever
    Mexican food I love to death so I stick with veggie or chicken fajitas and avoid the tortilla and sour cream. I get Chinese food with mixed veggies and ask for it steamed (steamed chicken with mixed veggies) and I get the sauce on the side and just use a spoon full for flavor. I will never ever ever turn down a good steak but I get a side of veggies instead of potatoes and avoid any rolls. Typically when you eat out, the portions are bigger and the calorie count will be higher than if you make it at home... You can just try to do the best you can. Even if it puts you over your goal by a hundred or even two hundred calories you still made a conscious effort and avoided a meal that could've easily been your entire day's worth of calories.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,639 Member
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    I seem to wreck my diet any time we go out to eat - though I try to make smart choices and watch portion sizes. What do you all order when you go out to eat? What kinds of restaurants are the worst to eat at? Chinese food? Pizza? Mexican restaurants?

    Apologies, in advance, if this has been asked before. I'm still learning how to work the message boards.

    Many restaurants are now putting the calories values on the meal on the menu, which is very handy.

    I haven't had a Chinese meal for a very long time, pizza we had a few months back. I usually have a steak meal when we eat out, or pasta.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    When I go out to eat, I order whatever I want. I don't eat out often enough for it to have a big impact on my overall lifestyle changes. If I get home and discover that the calories where really out there (1000+) then I go for a walk to lessen the impact.
  • IslandDreamer64
    IslandDreamer64 Posts: 258 Member
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    I eat whatever the hell I want! We go out to dinner so incredibly rarely that it's usually a special occasion (my birthday, his birthday, our anniversary, etc). Of course I don't go hog wild and eat everything I want, but I really don't worry too much about it as it's a once in a while thing.
  • Barefoot115
    Barefoot115 Posts: 30 Member
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    I tend to not go to the chain restaurants (not many in my area), avoid all fast food when possible, but when I do eat out I try to find the healthier choices. Mexican, I have two chicken tacos no cheese on soft corn shells, I love the chips and salsa but try not to overdo it. Italian, I tend to share an antipasto with my husband and order a side of sauteed broccoli rabe or other veggies. Other places I try to have lean fish, seafood or lean beef, whatever I am in the mood for, and veggies and a big salad with red wine or balsamic vinegar on the side. I do indulge in wine while eating out, but who wouldn't! I really try to avoid wheat products due to an intolerance, but sometimes do succumb...I just am accountable for it!
  • Cheechos
    Cheechos Posts: 293
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    I eat whatever I want when I go to a restaurant. The only thing I've really tried to change over the years about my eating out habits is how much I eat. I used to eat until I felt bloated and gross, but now I try really hard to stop eating as soon as I get comfortably full. If you listen to your body then you'll have a much nicer experience at restaurants.
  • kaseyAnne425
    kaseyAnne425 Posts: 230
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    Oh goodness, Mexican is my favorite. We have this little shack down the street where I get a beef taco with sour cream, Mexican rice, and queso.. AND they give you these greasy homemade chips for free. UGH! I try to not get the cheese and eat less chips (with salsa). I don't feel bad getting the taco though.

    Chinese food; honestly there is NO healthy way out of this one. Unless you get steamed veggies and brown rice. I thought beef and broccoli was a healthy option but I had it last week and was bloated for three days because of the sodium :sad:

    Pizza places I usually get a pizza.. Don't feel bad about that either to be honest. It's all about portion control. A good option at a pizzeria is a naked pizza; ask for wheat crust, no sauce (have them do olive oil) and mozzarella and garlic. So delicious.
  • Fitfully_me
    Fitfully_me Posts: 647 Member
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    Many restaurants offer nutritional values on their websites. You can always look ahead prior to going out to help you make a good choices until you get the hang of it. Making good choices when dining out does get easier with time.

    Also, MFP has lots & lots of restaurant dishes listed so you can likely check here to see what range the dishes you tend to favor fall in.
  • swhiteism
    swhiteism Posts: 71 Member
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    Restaurant days are my cheat days so I eat whatever I want. I just don't eat as much as I used to. It's kind of crazy looking back, knowing that I could scarf down three huge chicken strips, four fried butterfly shrimp, with fries and baked potato on the side like it was nothing. Now, if I get that meal, I'll eat one and 1/2 strip, maybe two shrimp, and replace either the potato or fries with steamed veggies (I allow myself atleast one "bad" side) and take the rest home. Even then, I usually tell my husband to eat it before I do. The idea that I can eat what I want, as long as I don't finish all of it, has really worked for me.

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