Eating out

miss_melissa_
miss_melissa_ Posts: 70
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
I need help. Whats the secret to eating out healthy? I use to eat out 5x a week and now I am down to 2. I am loosing weight but I manage to over eat at every restaurant. I order salads with grilled chicken but they still have a lot of calories. I get so frustrated once I leave a restaurant and see the calories. What do you suggest I do? How do you pick what to order at restaurants? How do you control portions when going out to eat? Any help is useful.

Replies

  • Ucfbrian
    Ucfbrian Posts: 1
    i know this is super anal, but i try to decide what to get before i get there.
  • miseducation1327
    miseducation1327 Posts: 29 Member
    Check the nutrition facts before you go out to eat that way you can plan ahead. Add exercise on the days you know you're going to eat out, that way you have more calories. Most of the time salads have just as many calories as other items on the menu. When you get the meal, split in half right away and only eat half.
  • dspearsb
    dspearsb Posts: 186
    I try to look up nutrition info on the restaurant's website before going if I can. That way I know exactly what to order. If not then I try my best to make an educated guess and deal with the consequences later. :)
  • heidisbeeman
    heidisbeeman Posts: 18
    It may be anal -- but I did it today. You can get most restuarant's nutritional information online. That way you can figure out what and how much you can have before you get there. It can be frustrating (especially if you really want that chocalate lava cake :sad: ), but it does help a lot.
  • david081
    david081 Posts: 489 Member
    Just don't go, it's not so hard...
  • magpie8402
    magpie8402 Posts: 121 Member
    i know this is super anal, but i try to decide what to get before i get there.

    I do that too!
  • modifyinglife
    modifyinglife Posts: 70
    Like everyone else said research and ditto to the split it in half. You can never go wrong when you get something like grilled/cocktail shrimp and a house salad or veggies
  • ChelDM
    ChelDM Posts: 145
    If a restaurant is a chain it will have the nutritional guide...My secret? I eat a salad before I go and stick to the appetizer with the fewest calories and NO ALCOHOL!
  • magpie8402
    magpie8402 Posts: 121 Member
    I order salads with grilled chicken but they still have a lot of calories. I get so frustrated once I leave a restaurant and see the calories.

    The calories are really in the dressing. Try swapping the dressing on the salad to fat free ranch or fat free italian...big difference.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    If you can look up the nutritional info before you get to the restaurant, so you have an idea what you want to order, that's a huge help.

    But I used to regularly eat out for work, entertaining clients (before I had any weight issues) and my plan was always the same:

    -Get a green salad and eat ALL of it (dressing on the side)

    -Eat the veggies that came with the entree first

    Honestly, by then I was so stuffed that it really didn't much matter what I ordered as I could only eat a few bites of it. ;)
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
    Ask for no butter on veggies meats ect. Send the bread back! Stick with grilled meats, sea foods, No added sauces, Steamed Veggies and baked potato with nothing on it. NO POP! Water with lemon! No soups salads with heavy dressings.
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
    PS NO FAST FOOD!!!!!
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
    I travel a lot for work and usually stay overnight one or two days a week. I do what the others mentioned. I try to avoid the heavy sodium laced foods which is just about all of them when you eat out. For example last night I went to chili's. I looked on the website for the best option. It was the Grilled Margarita Lime Chicken with no sides. It had 260 calories. For my sides I added 2 servings of the seasonal which was broccoli and carrots. Calories 180. I avoided the black beans and rice. More Calories and carbs. I also start off with a garden salad no croutons and no cheese with balsamic on the side. If you look on their website most of there dishes have 1000 mg of sodium or more the Margarita only had 330, a diamond in the rough. Go for the green vegetables, stay away from carbs, always get the dressing on the side. I hope this helped.
  • MakingAChoice
    MakingAChoice Posts: 481 Member
    When you look at a dish you are going to order pick it apart and try to find where the calories lie. Many times I order my foods without cheese because many places load on the cheese and dramatically increase the calorie count with it. I also look for any sauces and request the sauce either on the side or without it entirely.

    If you like the salads with grilled ask for the dressing on the side, that is where most of the calories come from.

    I try to look up my meals ahead of time as well. Like tonight we are going out to Applebee's for my birthday, I already know what I am going to order after looking up the choices.

    One other thing you can do is immediately request a to-go box and put 1/2 of the meal in it. This is good for most places as most 'meals' are 800-1000 calories. Except for the ones drowning in sauces or cheese ;-) Eating out properly is a real challenge at times some places have mostly garbage on the menu with only a couple of ok things buried in the menu. I fall back on french dips at a lot of places and salads with no dressing or a vinaigrette on the side.

    I wish you luck, this is certainly one of the hardest parts of eating right.
  • mandalyn23
    mandalyn23 Posts: 14 Member
    This is a toughie for sure, I do try to take a look at the menu before I get to the restaurant and choose prior to going. A lot of vegan options are great if they are available. Or I get salads without meat and dressing on the side and dip my fork in the dressing so I use way less but taste the dressing in every bite. Also, I get a go box as soon as my food comes and split it in half since portions are so big. I choose menu items with no bread and forget about the sauces, cheese etc. and try to stick to lean meats like salmon and grilled chicken.

    I agree though, its ok to eat out every once in awhile if you are exercising and not eating EVERYTHING that is served to you. Take it home and enjoy another day :)

    Good luck to you!
  • carajo
    carajo Posts: 532 Member
    I used to only order salads also, then i realized you can have chicken, steak or seafood, a side of veggies and a baked potato for the SAME calories!! Be sure no sauces are on your meat,and the veggies are steamed. I feel so much more satisfied after a meal like that compared with a salad! If i am in a bind i do order Mcdonalds Southwest salad, no sauce on chicken and no tortilla strips, and light balsamic dressing, its only about 300 cals!! Good Luck!!
  • swebster0526
    swebster0526 Posts: 1
    Eating out and saying no to the fries and the grease is most definitley the hardest thing to overcome while trying to lose weight. I do love eating out though. The first thing you have to realize is that there are healthier options and they taste good too!

    I do what most people already told you. I look at the menus online before I go and decide what the best options are. If they have access to the nurtirtional information that is even better. If my mind is set on what I am ordering before I even get there I am less willing to make decisions that I know I will later regret. If facts arent available but menus are look for salads and use fat free, or low cal dressings. Do steamed veggies instead of fries. Choose meets that are lean: turkey, chicken, fish and NOT breaded. There are definitely options, it is all about making the right decisions, portion control and feeling good about what you are doing to your body.

    I like the suggestion of making sure you are working out on the days you are eating out. This will defintely benefit the balance between calories consumed and calories burned.

    Good luck to you! Good job on already scaling back on how many times a week you do work out!
  • daddyratty
    daddyratty Posts: 305 Member
    Two thoughts:

    1) The book "Eat This, Not That"

    2) Most restaurants have a nutritional info page on their website. When you know where you're going, take 3 minutes, go to the website, find their nutritional info and print it out so you can bring it with you.

    By the way, if you're going so spur of the moment that you're not able to print it out, probably better to change that habit.

    Here's a recent example of mine:
    Was on the road with the kids and we were stopping for lunch. They wanted cheeseburgers at Carl's Jr, so we got them meals with apple slices and regular milk, then I drove through the Taco Bell window and got a couple of the bean burritos Fresco style. Only 330 calories each ... way better than the gross combos I would get (that are easily 1000-2000 calories). Some ice water to go along with it and I'm good. It's not the best meal in general, but waaaay better than most alternatives on the road.
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
    My top tip is to have a children's meal when you eat out. (if you can that is)
  • jessicamichalski
    jessicamichalski Posts: 45
    What I do is look online FIRST BEFORE going out, find what I want, write it down, and do NOT look at the menu at the restaurant...and if you REALLY want something a little bit on the high calorie side...when you order your food, ask for a to go box immediately as well...and if they don't bring it with your food, do not eat until you get it, and immediately put half in the box and put it under your coat or give it whoever you're with to keep it away from you...outta sight outta mind...another thing I have read is after each bite ask yourself if you really need another bite..when you get to the point where you say no, I am feeling full, dump your drink on it , that way you won't be pressured by the urge to finish it !! GOOD LUCK!
  • daddyratty
    daddyratty Posts: 305 Member
    The children's meal is great as far as portion control is concerned, but not very many of them are very healthy. I guess it just takes a couple levels of discernment to do this right.
  • JenCM
    JenCM Posts: 195
    I ditto the figure it out before online.
    I have to do that. My in-laws are HUGE for eating out and we get sucked into dinner with them a lot. So I've become the Queen of nutritional info for the restaurants we end up at a lot. Some places, there's really not much other than a salad I can even get. But steakhouses always work out well for me. :) But yeah, I do the same as most. I find what I want beforehand, write it down and take it with me to wherever and just order that.
  • jessicamichalski
    jessicamichalski Posts: 45
    ah yes and drink only water at restaurants...(add lemon if necessary) but that's a big calorie cut as well..plus it saves you money!!! :)

    oh and another thing I have learned...I used to order whatever was cheapest on the menu...now that I am VERY food conscience I order what is good for my body , not the cheapest because usually the cheapest is fried sandwiches with french fries (very HIGH calories)
  • daddyratty
    daddyratty Posts: 305 Member
    Jen's post reminded me of something else I was going to put, and that it is that it is so FREEING to go and know exactly what you can eat. It lets you budget your calories in whatever way you want.

    You could even get a higher calorie dish, put half of it in a take-home box right away and have part of a dessert! Without the planning, though, I think we can all relate to that looming feeling of dread that's there not knowing if you've just blown it.
  • superwmn
    superwmn Posts: 936
    Here's how I would enjoy dining out/social functions/parties yet ensure I did not over eat:

    Ideally we would all just make amazing choices, listen to our bodies (i.e.: eat when we're hungry and stop when we're full), but in social situations this common sense stuff can frequently fly out the window. In order to set myself up for success, I do a few things:

    - Spoil my appetite: I never enter a social situation hungry. I do not save calories for these events. I eat before I go and arrive at the event/restaurant full. This way I can make rational decisions about what to taste/sample. Even if I plan on eating a full meal at a restaurant, I STILL spoil my appetite. Arriving full saves me hundreds (if not thousands) of calories.

    - I wear clothing that does not allow room for a huge meal/over eating: The belt-over-everything trend has been my friend. I always wear a fitted belt around my waist over button downs, sweaters, cardigans, whatever. Wear those skinny jeans. Wear that fitted dress. Whatever I chose, it's my goal to make it fit comfortably ALL. NIGHT. It's really hard to stuff myself full of food when my outfit does not allow for much expansion of the belly. There's a reason people undo their pants after a big meal. I won't be that girl.

    I also skip the bread basket. Start with a cup broth based soup to fill me up. Half of my entree goes in a 'to go' container as soon as it arrives at the table. If dessert is ordered, I have a bite or two. I also keep the black, decaf coffee coming. I pick and choose which items mean the most to me (do I want birthday cake/dessert or do I want hors d'oeuvres/appetizers, for example) and pick my pleasure.

    These tactics have worked for me for the past year :)

    YOU CAN DO IT!!!

    Charmagne
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