Anyone have tricks and tools for when they go to Restaurants and how to resist temptation?

I practice IF usually when going out to eat, and have a higher protein low carb meal if the meal I’m eating out is later on in the day.
Sharing appetizers/desserts
Log ahead of time and look up the menu for what I wanna eat.
Drink water, etc

I know what I am going to order ahead of time If I can. I also try to have some protein before I go in.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I don't eat out all that often, so I just get whatever it is that I'm wanting from that particular restaurant. I eat out maybe 3-4 times per month at most...there's no way that 3-4 meals in a month is going to have any meaningful impact on my overall diet.

Same boat here... I make better at home. Long time no post wolf.... missed your insites.

I’m another one that doesn’t really see restaurants as a huge challenge. I’ve lost almost 60 pounds and I eat out easily 3-5 times a week. My biggest realization was that every meal out isn’t a special occasion worthy of 3 courses and cocktails. I stick to ordering an entrée and if an appetizer is ordered by anyone, it’s shared with the group. Appetizers are pretty rare though. I’m ambivalent about dessert, so that gets ordered even less often. I also try and stick to lower-calorie options. Things like street tacos instead of rolled tacos or souvlaki instead of moussaka.

I generally check out menus beforehand and have a couple of reasonable options picked out. That way I’m not swayed by hunger or seeing and smelling all kinds of food going by. With very few exceptions (tasting menus, small plates, dim sum, etc.), I automatically plan on any restaurant meal to be 2-3 meals for me. I don’t ask for a takeout box right when my meal comes though. I usually just visually decide how much I can eat when the plate arrives and maybe separate the portion I plan to eat from the rest of the meal. It helps that I go out to dinner most frequently and dinner is my smallest meal of the day, so I’m not as tempted to keep eating like I would be earlier in the day.
When I’m logging my food, I can usually find a similar entry from a chain restaurant. I’ve found those to be close enough. I just figure that there are only so many ways to add calories to say, a 1/3 pound hamburger (toppings held constant, of course). My guess is that since I’m automatically cutting the total calories into a couple of meals, that covers me if I’m off by a bit.

For me, since I knew I wasn’t going to give up going out, I just had to make new habits. Now it’s become so automatic that I don’t think much about it all.

Same. I save calories beforehand and plug everything into MFP beforehand as well. Pace yourself and enjoy the meal. Make it last longer.

COGypsy wrote: »

My biggest realization was that every meal out isn’t a special occasion worthy of 3 courses and cocktails.

This is also my technique. If I'm in a new city or it's a my birthday, that's a special occasion. Regular Friday night date with my husband, it's special because I'm with him . . . but it's no reason to go all out, especially when it's a place we go to fairly often.

1. Plan ahead. If the place has a menu online, look for better choices.
2. Split a meal. Most choices are enough food for two, so split with your spouse.
3. Make smart substitutions. I have to limit my carb intake due to T2D, so I ask for slaw instead of fries or a green veggie like green bean, Brussels Sprouts or Asparagus instead of a potato or pasta.
4. Get a to-go box and put half the meal in there before you start eating it. You really don't need to eat everything on your plate and if you need to stash it away beforehand, do so.
5. Fruit for dessert or as a side. Nothing wrong with a bowl of fresh fruit as a dessert.

For example, went to Cracker Barrel last week while on a last minute trip to a customer site. Lunch on the road at Cracker Barrel was the grilled trout, green beans, carrots (yeah a few more carbs) and the fresh fruit. Had them keep the biscuits and corn bread off the table.

I saw so much fried food around me, and everyone eating it looked the part.

The trout was really well done, and no guilt. I'm pretty sure the whole lunch was less than 600 calories with coffee as my drink.

My wife and I just did a 4 day weekend in LA and we used many of the strategies above.

That way, no guilt when we did the obligatory visit to Randy's Donuts for dessert after a meal.

I usually skip dessert because it's rarely worth the calories (I'm a dessert snob). I don't get drinks or appetizers either.

Then it depends.. if I'm craving something specific, and it's not something that's easy to make at home, I get it and try to be mindful of my portion. If not, I go for whatever seems lower calories on the menu (often some steak or chicken with veggies, and I get some potato as a side as well because it fills me up).

Honestly though, nowadays I mostly go out when I crave something specific anyway (or really don't want to cook). Just crazy to spend $20 on a steak, veggies, and potatoes, when I could make the same thing for half as much at home (and have extra to boot). That being said, I'm a hungry person, and don't really like chains, so I don't often have leftovers.. just no way I could make 2 meals of most of the portions I typically get.

I actually eat out a lot, even while losing 50 lbs.

1. I have certain go-to low-calorie and delicious options at certain places: (avocado and sweet potato rolls at Japanese places, southwest chicken salad at Wendy's, 2 street tacos with onions and cilantro at the Mexican place, grilled chicken caesar salad at the Italian place, burger with a lettuce wrap and side salad at the local bar, etc).
2. If it's a new place, I look up the menu beforehand and choose what sounds reasonable and delicious and will fit in my goals for the day or week.
3. I'll eat a little lighter that morning if I can.
4. If the entree portions are too big, I'll order a side-salad and a small plate (think tapas, small appetizers, cups of soup or chili, etc).
5. I usually don't have appetizers, desserts, or drinks (once in a while, I'll have some vodka and seltzers if I have the calories for them).
6. I expect the scale number to be high for next few days due to the sodium, even if I stayed within the calorie goals.
6. If it's a new and special occasion with a type of food I've never tried before, I treat it like an EXPERIENCE and just order it! These occasions are very rare so it's nice to be able to partake and not have to worry about it becoming a habit.

If it's a night out, party, or another "special" occasion (even just meeting friends for dinner) I prefer to bank some extra calories and just enjoy the meal. Unless there are special events several times a week, this has worked pretty well for me in general.

I'm terrible about "resisting" what I actually want to eat, and find that battle (and sitting there jealous of everyone else's delicious meals) to be far more painful than shorting myself a few days before and after to make up the difference.

I'll also "bank" that day by having very light (if anything) other meals.

tsd821 wrote: »

My favorite strategy, when going to Mexican food, is to bring along celery and carrots to dip in the salsa, instead of chips. This lets me indulge in the flavor of the salsa and the urge to do something with my hands before the meal, plus it fills me up with vegetables so I don't need to eat as much of my entree. I know technically we shouldn't bring our own food along to a restaurant, but I've never had a server say anything about it before. (I usually bring enough to offer to share the veggies with my friends. They never take me up on it, though, so I just take it home to dip in hummus the rest of the week.)

Come to think of it, this would probably work at Chili's or Applebee's or somewhere if the group ordered chips for the table.

This would not work at Applebee's. It's actually a health code violation to bring in your own food. I work at Applebee's and have asked people to get rid of outside food and beverages. If said person were to get sick/food poisoning from the outside food it could then be blamed on the restaurant (in this case Applebee's). Unless it's a small child (toddler) having snacks to keep them quiet, I usually will say something, politely of course. I completely understand where you are coming from and wanting to make healthy choices. As a server, we have sides of celery and carrots that we can sell as a side option if that is something you prefer.

Not related to the subject, but I had one table bring in tortilla chips from Chipotle next door and try to eat that as their appetizer at Applebee's. Uh... no, just no. Don't do that. The table got pissed and left when I asked them to put them away. Oh well.