Eating out while losing weight?!

I limit eating out to once per week typically. I'm not very good about eating half my meal or whatever and boxing up the rest and when i eat out I want to enjoy it. I keep it to once per week because pretty much if you're not ordering off a low calorie menu you can basically count on 1,000+ calories.

I limit eating out to once a week and usually share a main as portions are inclined to be far too big for me.

Pick a few places you like and study the menus. Make a plan and stick to it. Most places will double up veggies in lieu of starch, which saves cals. So grilled shrimp, salmon, chicken with asparagus, corn, green beans salad, etc. dressings and sauce on the side, one glass of wine only. Boom!

I stick to appetizers. Usually a soup and one other choice. That is usually plenty of food and I often enjoy it more than one main course.

Or you can order a main dish taking some care to ensure that it is appropriate for your calories/goals.

Red Robin Onion Rings (appetizer menu) as an example are more calories than one of their burgers with fries, especially if you order the burger lettuce wrapped and without mayo and/or limitted amounts of cheese. Or nachos. Or artichoke spinach dips... at other places. So planning to order from the appertiser menu doesn't always make sense.

A protein and veggies with no butter/margarine or a side salad with no dressing/dressing on the side should be do-able in most restaurants. Protein could be anything from a piece of sad fish (not for me ) to a chicken breast to a 6, 7 or 8oz steak... usually the smallest they have available...

While it is harder to do at ethnic restaurants, I've certainly ordered Pho without noodles but with extra sprouts, or chicken (thighs) with broccoli or gai lan in chinese places. Indian places are a bit tougher. But a couple of pieces of chicken ticka or tandoori chicken and some roti no butter might do the trick. (The veggies at Indian places are not a problem... the amount of oil they are drowned in IS!)

Use your imagination and don't be shy about ordering what YOU want.

Last time I ate out, I got an appetiser and a salad. Had a glass of wine. Time before that, some shellfish with a side of steamed veg. Gave the bread it came with to the hubby.
I also save calories to allow for a few more. Or I look up the menu and plan before I go, if it’s online. I go back to favourite places- eg on Friday nights I don’t get home till after 10pm so I have to eat out, or take a packed meal. Eating out always wins, and I usually go to the same place and order the same thing, because it’s easy- I know how many calories my meal is!

Been working for me. It’s definitely manageable, but I find pre-planning helps a lot.
Good luck!

never understood getting sauce on the side, only eating half etc. I'd never order salad or soup not worth the money to me, I just make sure what I eat + drink fits in my calorie allowance

I've eaten out twice in three weeks, and even though I picked the low calorie healthy options it has still stalled my weight. I wouldn't risk it until you have a steady routine down and then maybe you can eat out once a month.

I would typically fast until that meal and then fast afterwards as well. Skip the dessert, go for lots of water and diet soda.
I would also sprinkle some salt in my water before going out, try to get full from that and diet soda. I would then expend a lot of energy at the gym doing some type of weight lifting regiment.
Then I would go to the sauna or do some low intensity steady state cardio. That way you will be more insulin sensitive as well.

Oh and another tip, eat all the protein first! And take a big sip of apple cider vinegar before going out!

Sometimes it's difficult to determine caloric intake while tracking. However, if you eat something like grilled chicken veggies, or grilled salmon with veggies, or a salad that would be more healthy than something super oily. I also don't try to lose weight while traveling I maintain instead. Good luck!!

I lose weight while eating out 1-2 times a week. I pre-log my food according to the restaurant's nutritional data and eat 200-300 calories under my goal for that day (and lighter throughout the day--salad for lunch, yogurt for breakfast, an ounce of nuts for a snack) to adjust for their inconsistency when portioning sides out. I tend to stick to steak/seafood places and my meal is usually protein, salad with oil/vinegar, unsweetened iced tea, and then mixed vegetables. I skip the bread because I eat lower carb.

There is no reason to stop dining at restaurants when counting calories. Just make reasonable choices for the rest of the week and try to stick to places where you can get an idea about nutritional value before you set foot in the restaurant. I usually log my meal while my husband is still driving to the restaurant!

I have two school-aged kids who like burgers and so yes, we do go to places like Red Robin. Instead of getting the bacon cheeseburger on a bun with endless fries I'll get a cheeseburger wrapped in lettuce (no bun). I still do get the fries, usually sweet potato and I don't take advantage of the "endless" aspect of that. I log it the best I can and make sure that I've allowed for that bigger meal throughout the rest of the day. There are also times that my home-cooked meals don't work out as planned (have to stay later at work, food isn't thawed, electric went out, food spoiled and I didn't realize it, etc) and we've done fast food. I swap fries for a salad--that is a HUGE calorie savings because I either use vinegar on my salads or just salt/pepper. I tend to save a lot of calories for my dinner meal anyhow, so this hasn't even posed a challenge. It just might cut into my snacking for the rest of the night!