Eating out and still lose weight

I do, just not as much. I like Panera and chipotle for reasonable calories but it's all about what fits for you. My son loves McDonald's and when we go I get the 6 piece kids meal. Less calories, he gets two toys, so win win

I just log it like normal. Popular chains make it easy since they probably have calorie information available, but if not it's not that hard to find an equivalent in the system. Sometimes if I know I'm going to have my favorite meal at a Mexican restaurant I like, which I know is pretty much a day's worth of calories in one plate, I'll just plan to only eat that for the day, or shave off some calories during the rest of the week. If you want it, don't deprive yourself, just make it work for your own calorie limits.

I eat out sometimes, usually on the weekend. My husband and I will go out to breakfast at a local place and I have an egg, one bacon, one English muffin and one pancake with one tablespoon of real maple syrup and no butter. Also have coffee with a tablespoon of half and half. I’ve been doing this pretty much since i started losing with MFP and I’m down 65 lbs with 3.5 more to my goal weight.

I also like Jasons Deli and Chick-fil-A (no waffle fries). We occasionally go to Grub Burger or Five Guys and I will have just a plain burger with no fries. I just count the calories. It’s around 550 for a Five Guys single burger with no mayo or ketchup.

I bring my lunch to work and eat at home weekdays so the calorie counting is more accurate than eating out.

Ideally you try to find your best options ahead of time. Many chain restaurants have calorie calculators.

For example, McDonald's: https://www.nutritionix.com/subway/nutrition-calculator. (But there are plenty for other restaurants like Subway and Domino's pizza, too.)

So if you're going to McDonald's and they don't post the calorie count you can get a sense of your best options. And once you do this for a while you get a pretty good sense of your go-to items. (For me at McDonald's it's the Egg McMuffin, or a grilled chicken sandwich, or the Southwest Salad with a Diet Coke, steal just a few fries from someone.)

I just fit it into my goals. I had chipotle on Sunday

I just find that I have to try and plan ahead if I can. If I know I'm going out and (hopefully) I know where I look at the menu ahead of time and hope there is some nutritional info available. If not, I try to find something I know that I can track reasonably accurately that will be okay, like a small sirloin or grilled chicken breast, steamed veggies or a salad, etc.

If not just wing it, track it as best you can, and enjoy! One meal out every so often won't derail your entire week.

We typically eat out 2-3 times per week and I've lost over 60lbs. Eat smaller portions and check the calorie counts ahead of time to make it possible to fit into your daily calorie goals. Easy as that!

I eat out regularly and am almost 50 pounds down over 15 months. Unlike a lot of the posters above, I usually go to places that don't post nutrition online. I usually just look for an equivalent item at a chain restaurant and log that, always with a heavy hand toward over-estimating. If I know in advance where I'm going I often look up the menu online and pick something out to log in advance. I don't necessarily aim for low-calorie options, but cycle my calories through the week so that I can afford to go over. That said, I've fit plenty of stuff into my standard calorie goal. Sushi is great if you avoid fried stuff or heavy sauces. Salads are hit or miss depending on how cheese and meat heavy they are, but Subway is generally pretty easy to manage. Keeping portions small can be a challenge - I order off of the apps menu a lot, or try and split an entree with someone. If I really want pasta or something like that, I usually take at least half home for lunches.

So in short, plan ahead, watch your portions, and remember that restaurant food is often high in salt and expect a pound or five bump on the scale for a day or four.