Stressed about eating while Family is visiting

No help... but a note in solidarity- my family visited this weekend and it was really hard. We ate out, and my mom even kindly offered to bring a meal but it was so fatty that I couldn't eat very much and the felt really hungry later.

What I tried to do was just eat smaller portions of everything. Not a perfect solution- but it's about all I could control.

However, I do need to get a lot more comfortable with this- I can't be stressed about eating with my family for the rest of my life. I guess it's just going to be about balance.

I just had a similar experience, I went on a 4 day holiday where almost every meal was had at a restaurant. I made some healthy choices but a lot of the time I just had the burger and chips deal or the beer battered fish, because it was cheaper and someone else was paying (I felt bad okay). I usually eat a 1200 cal diet, I'm super strict, I measure the lot. This 4 day bender only set me back some water weight which came off after 2 days of being home and back in the swing of things Just relax and enjoy

Just try to eat in moderation and order some healthier meals when possible. Assuming you don't get the fattiest thing every time you go out, you shouldn't really gain anything significant. Try to keep telling yourself it won't set you back more than a week, max. Enjoy the delicious, too

This is a bugaboo for lots of us. I definitely relate to the control issue with regards to food.
Mostly I eat "my food" ahead of a restaurant meal.
We try to recommend (moderately) more healthy restaurants, such as they are. Then I order as carefully as I can, asking for no salt, no oil, if possible.
Sometimes I just have water, or hot tea (I carry my favorite tea with me) and try to focus on the people at the table, the conversation, the company. People are uncomfortable if one person is not eating, but after awhile the concern goes away and things go smoothly after that.
Sometimes I say I have health issues with high sodium (this is true) or sweet, rich foods (also true) and have to watch it carefully. Health issues are easier for people to accept. Ethical reasons are too political to bring up unless someone is really interested.
In spite of the occasional roll of the eyes or a snarky comment, most friends and family already know I would rather not eat at all than eat the average restaurant fare.
The thing is, you really ARE in control of what goes in your mouth and you don't need to justify it to anyone. But I try to keep it cordial and comfortable for others, because as my brother said, "you can't argue with her results."
There's no reason to argue or be defensive about it; it just is what it is and you are entitled to do what you feel is best for you.
Relax and enjoy the visit.

Chicago...

You could try to have breakfast or lunch at home, and save the eating out for the evening. When you do....

You could try Devon or McCormick and Schmidt in River Northish - both will do seafood grilled for you. And M&S is a chain so you can get nutritional info online, I bet.

In addition, a high quality steak house will likely grill you a lean cut (ask for no butter) and you can order your sides ala carte. Somewhere like Gibsons, (Viagra Triangle) Smith & Wollensky, (by house of blues) or Chop House (Kinzie and Wells)

There are a couple of smaller places that do interesting vegetarian/vegan/raw stuff, like Karyn's (karynraw.com) - really good stuff and very healthy if you can sell your family on it.

If you have good self control, you could try Zed 451. It's a brazillian steak house style restaurant with American food, so you'll overeat if you aren't careful BUT they have lots and lots of choices, and everyone in your party can have what they want so no judging. www.zed451.com Looking at the menu right now, they have a salmon ceviche, a kale and quinoa salad, a roasted cauliflower and watermelon salad, etc. on the harvest table.

Hope this helps!