Restaurant secrets, tips, strategies, etc.
cryptique
Posts: 28
This is maybe more of a confession: I eat at McDonald's nearly every day. But only at breakfast.
An Egg McMuffin is 300 calories; hash browns are 150. I get a Diet Coke with that so I don't add any more calories.
(The problem: I also like to get an extra hash brown. I really need to cut that out.)
I feel I could do a lot worse than a 450-calorie breakfast. I know it's a lot of simple carbohydrates, but my focus has been on calories rather than the nitty gritty of what kind of calories they are.
I don't eat out a whole lot otherwise (when I'm being good). My girlfriend's a vegan, so that limits our choices from the outset. We probably eat out 1 - 3 times per month, and we rotate among a small selection of restaurants: an Ethiopian place, an Indian place, a Middle Eastern place, and Flat Top Grill (which is basically a Mongolian barbecue). It's difficult to accurately quantify my calories at any of those places, so I just try to order intelligently and keep the portion sizes down.
I used to get Subway for lunch most days (I'd get a footlong ham, no cheese, lots of veggies, and save half for the next day) but I've started bringing lunch from home to save money.
How do you cope with restaurants? Or do you just avoid them? Have you discovered any favorite weight-loss-friendly options?
An Egg McMuffin is 300 calories; hash browns are 150. I get a Diet Coke with that so I don't add any more calories.
(The problem: I also like to get an extra hash brown. I really need to cut that out.)
I feel I could do a lot worse than a 450-calorie breakfast. I know it's a lot of simple carbohydrates, but my focus has been on calories rather than the nitty gritty of what kind of calories they are.
I don't eat out a whole lot otherwise (when I'm being good). My girlfriend's a vegan, so that limits our choices from the outset. We probably eat out 1 - 3 times per month, and we rotate among a small selection of restaurants: an Ethiopian place, an Indian place, a Middle Eastern place, and Flat Top Grill (which is basically a Mongolian barbecue). It's difficult to accurately quantify my calories at any of those places, so I just try to order intelligently and keep the portion sizes down.
I used to get Subway for lunch most days (I'd get a footlong ham, no cheese, lots of veggies, and save half for the next day) but I've started bringing lunch from home to save money.
How do you cope with restaurants? Or do you just avoid them? Have you discovered any favorite weight-loss-friendly options?
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Replies
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At restaurants that have huge serving sizes, I ask them to bring the to-go box with the meal. I put away my leftovers before I even start. Then I get it out of my face, and I get to have an extra tasty meal later with the extra.0
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I found a few go to places and learned what I can eat there.
Subway
Boston Market
Chipoltle (sp)
Work for me.
I will also eat higher calorie stuff pizza, burgers and adjust my other meals or exercise to compensate.
Hoss's suggestion is good to.0 -
I like to scope out the menu before I go. Then I can see the caloric values on their site or put them into MFP to figure out the bet choices. I usually know what I am going to get ahead of time.0
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in four months since I started this i have only eaten at Subway and applebees and only a couple times. I have apps for resturant calories and everything, but honestly I can do much better at home. That being said I would kill for a Gyro right now.0
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crap! I almost forgot this website.
Plan ahead and you can go lots of places!
http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/home
plug in your zip code and go from there0 -
i have the iphone app of myfitnesspal - also available on Android. It gives me access to alot of menu's and the entire database. I'll type in the restaurant and start looking to see what i can have. Items like seafood tend to be low (unless deep fried), salad's with dressing on the side and rotisserie chicken is always a good option. Preplanning is always best and if you decide what to eat before you get there then its better than deciding when your hungry. in most cases substitute garden salad for fries and you drop around 400 calories per meal.0
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Calorie King has a large database that includes a lot of restaurants. Enter the restaurant name in the search field and it lists menu items. I wish the search results showed basic info (e.g., calories) so you could scan items without having to click each one, but at least the info's there.
http://www.calorieking.com/foods/
They also publish a book with restaurant info.
http://www.calorieking.com/store/product/119-2012-calorieking-calorie-fat-and-carbohydrate-counter
It has most of the national chains and a lot of the regional ones. Useful when you don't have a chance to do research, or if, like me, you don't have a smartphone.0 -
I know McDonalds is considered the devil by many, but I gotta say that their Grilled Southwest Chicken Salad is the BEST. I eat it like two times a week. The sodium is a bit high but it is much lower than salads at other fast food joints. Its only 390 calories with the awesome dressing.0
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390 *with* the dressing? Not bad at all. (And I often just skip salad dressing, or only use a small amount.)
Hmmm. Maybe I should look into a new lunch option...
I'm not wild about McDonald's once they close down breakfast, but I've been known to go there from time to time. Usually when they're selling those evil Shamrock Shakes, the *kitten*. There oughta be a law or something.0 -
If I know my wife and I are going out to a chain sit down restaurant (Fridays, Applebees etc.) I look at their website first and look for the low cal meals. I always know what I'm ordering before we get there. It's not as fun as just ordering what I want that looks good, but I feel I have to do this control myself.
My fast food places are mainly Culver's, Wendy's and occasionally Arbys. I always eat the same thing.
At Culver's, I get a single original butter burger, NO cheese with pickle, mustard, lettuce & tomato slice. I also get a side salad, NO cheese, NO croutons with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Unsweetened ice tea for the drink. That meal is under 400 calories.
At Wendy's, I get a Ultimate Grilled chicken sandwich, NO cheese, Lettuce & tomato only. I also get a side salad NO croutons, Pomegranate vinaigrette dressing and a unsweetened ice tea. That meal is 430 calories.0 -
Man..if I go to a burger joint, it is sooo hard to not get fries if I get a burger. I just want fries with my burger. I do better if I just skip the burger and get a salad, or Wendys get a baked potato and chili.0
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I hear you. I loves me some fries. I just try to tell myself that I'll probably get nasty cold fries that have been sitting in the bin for too long. Doesn't always work, though, so instead I try to avoid fast-food burgers altogether.0
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I can skip the fries most of the time, but onion rings..... dam0
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Man..if I go to a burger joint, it is sooo hard to not get fries if I get a burger.
I'll get fries with my burger only at "Five Guys" and they have to be the cajun fries.0 -
I split the fries or ask for a half order. They are slowly losing their appeal. As my body gets used to better food, some of my old friends aren't so friendly anymore. I had this happen with ice cream two weeks ago. I had fresh strawberries on a small scoop and ended up wising I had just gotten the berries.0
