When nothing appeals to you at a restaurant...

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  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Order off menu or ask the restaurant to give you a half portion of one if the pasta /breaded dishes (they will probably charge you the same )
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    minizebu wrote: »
    This thread reads like a lot of threads where one person says they've "tried everything" but they can't lose weight no matter what they do. People respond and the OP raises an objection to every single suggestion, explaining why each suggestion won't work because of XYZ reason.

    @Francl27, If you reread this thread today, I think you'll be able to see that you were doing exactly that. I think that maybe you were just not in the best of moods yesterday. I don't think that you even realize that you were doing this.

    If I had to guess, I think that the first person who responded might have hit the nail on the head
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    sounds like your ambivalence has more to with not having control over the day's plans with your family
    but you said that is not the case.

    It's too late now, I suspect, because you've probably already set off on your journey and you won't see this until later, but, if you don't want the "conflict" of ordering off the menu, then Lounmoun's suggestion seemed like a good one: pack some food from home to eat in the car in route to your destination and then just enjoy your family's company while they eat.

    Your point would be a good one... except that I typically only post on the forum when I've considered most of the options already... so yeah, obviously I will object to most suggestions, because if it was actually an option, I would probably have done that and not posted on the forums (I've been on MFP for 3.5 years. I know how it works by now).

    You'll notice that it's typically the case for my posts... I post because I'm frustrated. So yes, typically I've tried pretty much everything before posting (or I wouldn't be frustrated and posting). So I do end up shooting down most suggestions (and I know it tends to piss off people). But what can I say... If it was easy for me, I would have found a solution and I wouldn't be posting).

    Hope it makes sense..

    Anyway, they had a salmon dish with almond crust on the menu - so I asked for grilled instead. It wasn't a problem and it came with a small portion of risotto and veggies - I'd be shocked if the whole thing was over 450 calories, it really wasn't a lot of food. But it was fine and it was tasty, so all good.
    teagin2002 wrote: »
    I always look for a protein they don't have to add lots of fat too like a lean cut of steak or salmon and either 2 portions of vegetables or one vergitable and while grain bagget

    If it's an Italian restraunt I stick to the 2 veggie portion, the tend to be more calories then most other restraunts

    Well it's what I do typically too, but a lot of restaurants don't have that option at all. I know that it was a nightmare when I was traveling last year - lots of places only had coleslaw, fries, or side salads (ugh) as options for sides, for example... they didn't even have veggies. Or sandwiches were already assembled, dishes all prepared so you couldn't ask for the sauce on the side.. that's why I often don't even want to bother going to some places, because I don't want to be stuck with no options because they can't put the sauce on the side.
  • pdxwine
    pdxwine Posts: 389 Member
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    I am not sure what restaurants you are going to, so this may skew my response.

    I do not eat out, often, but when I do, it is in higher end eateries. This means that I am able to select items that can be modified. For me, that is sodium and fat.

    My experience is that restaurants will work with dietary restrictions. Here is a photo of a modification that I was able to make. While my table-mates were eating rich foods, I had a beautiful fish dinner. sccgjlgy4r1n.jpg
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
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    I don't always order off the menu. I usually tell the server I have allergies and intolerances and ask if I could have _______(insert what I want like grilled chicken with no oil veg, sweet potato, salad, etc). I've never had a restaurant say no we cant give you that lol
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    What do you do? Sigh.

    My husband and I have walked into restaurants, looked over the menu ... and walked out again.

    We did that occasionally before I started dieting with MFP, but since I started with MFP, we've done that quite a bit. One of the things I told myself was that I was not going to waste calories on foods I didn't like. If a restaurant doesn't have what I like ... I leave.

    But if I'm really stuck, I go with the vegetarian option. Pumpkin and spinach risotto or something like that.

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    It's one meal on one day. Just eat part of a pasta dish, or a boring salad. You will live to dine at the next meal.

    Hope it was a fun day.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
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    Sadly this has never happened to me.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    You can go off menu as suggested. I also look to the appetizers and sides.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    you must get frustrated a lot.
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
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    extra_medium wrote: »
    Sadly this has never happened to me.

    Me too. I don't think there is a restaurant where there isn't something I'd find.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    pondee629 wrote: »
    extra_medium wrote: »
    Sadly this has never happened to me.

    Me too. I don't think there is a restaurant where there isn't something I'd find.

    Yeah that used to be me. MFP has changed me, and not always in a good way. I loved eating out... now it often sucks! I'm not one of the people who is happy with half an entree unfortunately - I need volume. A small portion of high calorie food just never cuts it.

    Plus I'm just pickier about what's worth the calorie for me. Salads bore me. Fried food and sauces just don't appeal to me anymore. Sandwiches usually don't fill me up so I save them for when I'm really craving one.

    So yeah... Sigh.

    I grew up in France where food was pretty different though - main dishes were basically (rarely fried) protein and veggies in most restaurants. There were sauces, but usually much less than here... I almost never ate salads. I moved here and started eating all the fried/high calorie stuff I never had there (chicken nuggets, meatloaf, fish and chips, etc). Remove that, and the salads/sandwiches I never really liked eating in the first place, there just isn't much left on most menus.

    But if I'm craving something, I won't mind blowing 2000 calories on a meal.
  • jenniferpiotrowski0
    jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member
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    I have this problem to some extent too..but what usually do is try to pick something off the menu that either sounds good to me and is somewhat healthy,choose anything I want and pick something I want that may be lower in calories,or just pick whatever I want regardless of calories and just eat half of everything the serve me and everytime I do this I feel full before leaving. Idk want to say about prices,other than check a different restaurant to get better value from the content of your meals cuz when I eat out other people pay for me. But you would save yourself a lot of calories just by only eating half of what they give you..including beverages if they contain any calories.the Italian fare selections and low calorie options I've found to be very minimal and crappy to choose from so I would go with trying to eat half of what you order or look into appetizers but then you have to consider if they will fill you up or not but a regular meal definitely will

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