Anxiety when eating out

I find that it helps to remember that no matter how high in calories something is, portion control is always possible. In the case where nothing is low cal, just eat half, or even a fourth of your meal. If others make a fuss, firmly, but politely, say that you're full or not hungry.
See if you can have grilled or baked versions of meals. Ask for all sauces on the side so that you can limit how much you need. Forgo cheese if you're not crazy about cheese.
If willpower to put down the fork is an issue, remember in the moment your internal motivators and also remember that you can always save leftovers for the next morning.

If the eating out thing is not something that happens much then personally I'd say have whatever you want.
If it were to happen every week then I'd say choose better options.
Getting anxious about eating out isn't something that affects me, I enjoy it immensely and the next day its back to normal eating.

I haaaaaate eating out. And food allergies just make it worse. Thankfully, I only eat out once a month or so.

Eating out is one of my favorite things to do! Whether it be a fast casual lunch like Qdoba or Panera once a week with colleagues, meals with my family at the local Mexican or Italian places in the neighborhood on the weekends, or nicer dinners out with girlfriends or date nights with my husband about once a month... I learned some good habits that enabled me to continue to socialize and enjoy my restaurant meals... The key really comes down to planning ahead.

These meals are rarely a surprise. If I know I have a social event on the calendar, here are some things I do.

I bank some calories in the days leading up to the event. If it's a Saturday evening meal at a nice place, I save 100-200 cals each day leading up to it so I have 500-1000 extra for that day.

The day of I make sure to get exercise in. I also love choosing places that I can walk to, or that I can walk around a neighborhood after the meal to help the food settle and get some extra steps in.

I plan ahead and look at the menu online ahead of time, checking nutritional info from the restaurant website if available, or looking in MFP to see if it is there. If not, I look for similar items from a chain restaurant.

Once I have an idea of what the calorie counts of the foods I'm interested are, I prioritize my choices. Mexican? I know I'm getting chips and salsa so i may try to find a lighter entree or skip the margarita and get a corona light instead. A restaurant with an amazing pastry chef? Maybe just an appetizer, salad and glass of wine so I can share dessert too. Steak place? Skip appetizers and bread so I can make sure I can fit in good wine with my steak...

I also try to remember that it takes an extra 3500 cals above maintenance to gain 1 lb of fat, so even if you see a temporary spike in the scale from water weight, you didn't actually consume an extra 3000-7000 calories in one meal... At least I never have!

I know the feeling. I went out to a hibachi restaurant recently and I picked over my food. I gave the leftovers away. I probably had 600 calories of rice alone on my plate. I'm going out with co-workers for lunch this week and I'm anxious like "omg where are we going to? How am I going to do this?"

However look at the positive: if your deficit is typically large every day, having a cheat meal can help with water retention and you'll see a positive effect on the scale. But if going out to eat is a regular occurrence you are definitely going to need to make some concessions with your food choices. You do not have to get salad. Eat sensible portions and save the rest for another meal.

I really am getting very bored with eating out, but I am so incredibly busy that I just can't avoid it. Plus I to am experiencing anxiety especially when the menu doesn't give you calories for the meal. I am working on trying to pick out recipes during the week and making Sunday my cooking day. I am diligent about packing my breakfast and lunch for work. Now I am working on adding packing my dinner to.