eating out!!

If it's a chain restaurant, go online beforehand. Many of them have nutritional info posted.

Ask questions. If it's not clear on the menu, the server can tell you how it's cooked.

Just use your head - get a side of veggies, not a side of fries. Don't get something with a heavy sauce, or ask for the sauce on the side.

Eat a reasonable portion of whatever you get. A restaurant entrée can easily be in the 1000-1500 calorie range. Eat half of it. If this is difficult for you, ask for a takeout box at the beginning of your meal and put half of it in the box right away.

Order a no-calorie beverage like water, iced tea, or diet soda.

If you can, make it fit into your calorie goals. (It's easier if you go by the weekly goal rather than the daily goal.) Exercise to earn some extra calories... eat light during the day... or eat a little less the next couple of days.

And sometimes, go ahead and splurge. Especially if it's a special occasion!

so how do you manage with eating out?? im not sure where im goin yet but portion sizes tend to be big everwhere and most things are cooked in oil! i dont wanna order something i think is healthy and turns out its deep fried !!!!

A few things I do:

(1) I don't eat anything else that day: This has single-handedly help me never gain weight but consistently lose. If you don't eat until you go out then you are in a large deficit. I burn around 2800-2900 calories a day. If I don't eat until I go out then I have around 2000 or so calories to work with. I've seen many nutrition menus and you'll rarely eat over 1500 calories in a meal. Furthermore, Brad Pilon in "Eat, Stop, Eat" has noted that a fast prior to a large meal has shown to prevent weight gain. This is largely because such a large deficit is accumulated throughout the day.

(2) Forget about healthy: Healthy and unhealthy depends on an entire diet. That means in the week, month, and year. One single day won't negatively effect your health. Furthermore, it'll only negatively effect your weight loss if you consume such a ridiculously amount of calories that it just doesn't make sense. Order what you want and ENJOY IT. Whatever you order isn't healthy or unhealthy because that means it negatively or positively effects you. You can't do either in the scope of a single day.

(3) Enjoy yourself: This is important. You're going out. People have made going out difficult. I went out and got what I want. I didn't sit there and study the nutrition menu. I rarely go out to restaurants, so I took advantage. I ordered a half rack of ribs with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. After, I had Godiva truffles and then hit up a yogurt place and got cake batter, caramel, and cheesecake yogurt. Guess what? I'm down 1lb the day after.

My advice? Fast, order what you want, and enjoy yourself. There should be no guilt or anything at all. The fast will counteract the large caloric density of the meal but the fast will allow you to order what you want. Seriously, and pardon my language, but **** going out, paying a **** ton of money for a meal and having a meal that's absolutely bland just to pretend that it's somehow healthy and beneficial to my fat loss goals when it's really counterproductive to my psychological well-being and makes ZERO difference on my physical well-being.

I order water with my meal, I opt for a side of veggies (my fav is steamed broccoli with no butter or cheese) and I put half or more of my meal in a to-go container.

I would not recommend fasting for the day as suggested, unless you only go out once a month or so. If you are like me, eating out is pretty regular and so trying to starve myself just so I can enjoy a meal in a restaurant is not something I'd want to do on a regular basis.

Small things can add up: skip the mayo, cheese, alcohol, soft drinks, ranch, fries, etc.

It's hard and you'll find that typically, eating out means you'll be spending the rest of the week scrambling to make up for that :sad:

I like specific instructions

Ditto, however, think about eating an apple and then that helps if your really unsure of where to begin.

so how do you manage with eating out?? im not sure where im goin yet but portion sizes tend to be big everwhere and most things are cooked in oil! i dont wanna order something i think is healthy and turns out its deep fried !!!!

Some things I have tried: If they have fish and salad I move in that direction. I have asked for the salad to be made. Most places have lettuce and salad fixings. If its breakfast, ask for omelet with veggies, egg white only. I ask about how the fish is made and if the toppings scream fattening, I'll ask for it with no toppings. Same with dressing. If they have a salad bar, even better...I'll eat the salad bar (well, not literally, ahah).

Once I've filled up on salad no room for food or eat half the meal and take the rest to go for another meal later.

My tongue always knows where it is headed

ditto.

My tongue always knows where it is headed

What are you thinking about today ... (well it is hump day after all)

You might try splitting something with someone. Right now though I am craving fish and chips!

Some tips that help me:
-If there is a bread basket, either have it put out of reach (by other guests at the table) or ask not to have it delivered or have them remove it before you are tempted.
-Ask specifically for STEAMED veggies as a side. If you just order the "vegetable of the day" you'll be disappointed very often by it being drowned in butter or oil.
-If a sandwich sounds good, order it without a bun and cheese (that request should work at a pub!)
-If an entree comes with french fries/chips, ask them about available substitutions or have them leave it out all together.
-Skip the ketchup and mayonnaise for everything

FYI, for people that don't know, many restaurants deep fry breadsticks. So if a breadstick is offered as a side, it might even be worse than you assume. I worked at a restaurant and found out this is a common practice. Ick!

(1) I don't eat anything else that day:
(2) Forget about healthy: Healthy and unhealthy depends on an entire diet.
(3) Enjoy yourself:

I like this advice, especially since even the "healthy" options are often 750+ calories for one serving (one restaurant has 550 calorie options that are pretty good). It's no fun to go out with friends and they're enjoying themselves but you're not. Why spend 750 calories on something bland and unsatisfying when you can just get what you really want for 1250 calories? That’s just a skipped meal or an extra hour of vigorous workout. I have the willpower to resist the bread-basket, but if it’s Red Lobster cheddar biscuits who wants to resist???

I try to burn the extra calories beforehand (using the restaurant website or estimates from something similar).

BTW... about the fasting... I've fasted til 4 almost every Tue and Fri and a full 3 days each week in Jan (for religious reasons) for the last 15 years. Although I seriously regretted running 7 miles on day 2 of a 3 day fast (thinking it was actually day 3- oops) I can tell you that fasting every once in awhile won’t kill you.

I'd have to agree about making sure to not go in there starving... I would scare someone with how quickly a basket of chips & salsa - or a bread basket - or onion rings - etc. appetizer - would disappear if I went in guns-a-blazin'. And then I would order the biggest fattest juiciest cheesiest sauciest main course ever, and wash it down with a thick frothy mug of dark ale.

so how do you manage with eating out??

calorie counts are generally available online or at the store. or just guesstimate by using approximations. easy peasy.

portion sizes tend to be big everywhere and most things are cooked in oil!

calorie counts will be for the portion. cut the portion, cut the calories. far as oil ... meh. I don't mind.

I don't wanna order something i think is healthy and turns out its deep fried !!!!

first, I think you'll know if what you are getting has been deep fried. but, more importantly, deep fried is some of the best tasting food out there. so get some, if you want. the only unhealthy food is a food eaten in excess.

I do eat a light breakfast and lunch on days that I think we might be going out to save up some calories.

1) Plan on eating only half (or 1/3, if the portions are gigantic), cut the entree and push the portion I want to take home to the side of my plate. I'm less likely to keep cutting pieces off and eating them if it is already separated from the portion I intend to eat immediately.

2) Try to avoid appetizers, or if I must, I'll split something with the whole table and just have a bite or two.

3) Avoid the bread basket.

4) Ask for salad dressings on the side.

5) Avoid fried or breaded items, cream or cheese sauces, etc., unless it's something I've specifically been craving and have made the decision beforehand that I wanted to have. Order vegetable side dishes, if available.

6) Be conscious of the calorie count of drinks. Have a general idea of how many calories are in a glass of wine, pint of beer or your favorite mixed drink. It is too easy to drink calories. I usually split a bottle of wine or have a couple of beers on nights we go out to dinner, but I wouldn't want to drink much more than that (besides, I'm a sloppy drunk, lol).

7) Drink plenty of water.

8) If I have to have dessert, I'll split it with another person.

9) If I really over-indulged, which is rare, I'll eat lightly the next day to get back on track.

Relax, give a little thought going into it on what you want to eat and drink over the course of the evening, and then enjoy yourself!