Restaurant eating

If you know where you're going ahead of time, look at their nutritional info (if they have it) on their website and pre-log it.

Lot of places have a low calorie menu that usual features three or four entrees. For example: petite steak with broccoli.
As a general rule, stay away from salads loaded with cheese, croutons, salad dressing. Stay away from breads, fried foods, sweets, sauces. Stay away from the creamy soups. Look for broiled, baked, steamed, grilled.

Pre-plan by looking at the menu then pre-log and stick to the plan.

blackcrossknight wrote: »

I ate out three times last week. A buffet (Two pieces of cake, too!) Pizza hut, and then taco bell. It was a last minute choice kind of thing, that family chose, and I just went with it. I ate whatever I wanted and gained maybe a quarter of a pound off it all. But it was good and I don't even regret it. You're eating out just once, and you said you don't do it often, so you know what? Enjoy it. Even if you get a burger and a coke, its one day, and it wont kill you. (Mine could have killed me lol, but good thing they were busy days where a lot of it was burned off!)

I so agree with you...... just don't turn it into a habit one needs to treat oneself once in awhile

My daughter wanted me to take her to red robin today and I asked them if they have a menu that showed the calories... They didn't
So I started just searching things in this app to get an idea and I tried to order it as plain as possible.

The app really helps to at least estimate how many calories.
I also always consume less then I record here so I'm never over and stay under.

If you're letting yourself have a treat, think about your own preferences. If I'm going someplace with good bread, I would rather have bread and skip dessert. I agree that the best plan is to log calories in advance. If you can't do that, commit to logging everything as well as you can no matter what. If you go over, don't beat yourself up. Use it as a learning experience.

If I'm going to spend money going out, I'm going to get something that I feel is worth the money. I hear/see people order plain salads with water - and pay through the nose for it. Kind of silly when you can eat plain lettuce and water at home for less than a dollar. I'm exaggerating a bit, but to me what's the point especially since going out is usually pretty expensive. Heck, fast food is getting more and more expensive these days.

Anyway, my tricks are to limit how often I go out. Once a week at most, though this can be hard since being social usually means eating out. I eat very light or not at all during the day to save up calories for dinner. I order water or diet soda and usually only eat half of what I order and take the other half home for a second meal. I avoid cream based anything and skip the mayo where applicable i.e on a burger.

For me it depends where I go and if I'm craving something specific. If I'm not, I'll pick something healthy, as I don't like 'wasting' calories on a high calorie meal I wasn't particularly craving in the first place. If I'm craving a high calorie meal though, I'll have it, will just be more careful the rest of the week and exercise a bit more. Same thing for dessert... skip it unless it's something I've been craving for a while (but then I pick a healthier entree... that's why I get annoyed when restaurants don't have their dessert menu online though).

But what I've noticed is that a healthier meal without fried food and sauce can be just as tasty as a calorie bomb...

I tend to eat less during that day and save my calorie allowance for the restaurant... Also, i pick foods with less carbs and also ask for them not to put the suace on the dish and have it on the side because generally its the suaces used on the meat that piles on the calories... I'm not usually fussed about dessert so i skip that all together.... However if its a once in a "blue moon" thing i'd say eat whatever u fancy for that night and get back on target the next day.

SuggaD wrote: »

Pre-plan by looking at the menu then pre-log and stick to the plan.

^^
This. I have to admit that most restaurants have it here and that it has almost become a pre-requisite of us visiting the place. For work this is a lot harder. I have to travel reasonable frequently, mostly within Europe with the odd time outside. I then tend to either go for the salads or alternatively stick to a starter as a main at least that way I can do portion control.

I just assume that any time I go out, it will be a cheat meal. There is nothing worse than having menu envy, when the person you are with has a meal that looks/smells nicer than yours, so I just order what I want. Otherwise life just starts getting a bit miserable

I do a lot of research before I do. Some entrees are sneaky! Olive Garden for example. You'd think pasta with red meat sauce wouldn't be so bad, right? Guess again.

I avoid anything fried (typically) unless it's a special treat.

I try to take half of my meal home.

Or some days I just say, "screw it" and get fish & chips. Life's too short.

Look at menus online if available. If not, make the best choices you can. Look up similar items in MFP database. Lighten things up. I live in restaurants on the weekends and have become a pro at eating out.