At some point (or maybe at a lot of points) in your life, you will be eating out at a restaurant. I, myself, work it into my menu planning that the family eats out at least once a week for dinner. And then there’s lunches. I try to kidnap my husband, Dave, once a week for lunch. That’s a fair amount of eating out.
So what steps can you take to enjoy your food but not sabotage all your hard work? Here are some tips:
- Plan ahead – I can’t stress this point enough. If you know where you are going to eat beforehand, check out that restaurants website for a menu and nutritional info or maybe talk to a friend that has been to the restaurant before to get an idea of what to expect. One website I like is www.dietfacts.com. It has info on a lot of restaurants and what they have to offer.
- Order first – If you are with a group of people, try to be the first person to order. This will help you not be tempted by someone’s else’s (possibly poor) choice.
- Be picky – Remember, you are paying for the meal that you order. Just because the dish you want is loaded with cheese, doesn’t mean you have to get it that way. Have them prepare the dish the way you want! Ask how they prepare the vegetables so you can avoid butter if necessary. Ask for your salad dressing on the side. Ask for half the cheese that a dish normally comes with. Ask that the bun on your sandwich not be buttered before they grill or toast it. If you are feeling really adventurous, order off the menu (remember, they have a kitchen full of ingredients back there). This is YOUR food. Take control!
- Be careful of salads – Not all salads are created equal. Just because you order a salad does not mean that it is necessarily a good choice. Be wary of what comes on it and have them take off anything you don’t want. Some things that can sabotage a salad are eggs, bacon, cheese, croutons and cream dressings. I agree that they are SO good, but they are also SO high in calories. Be careful!
- Ask for a to go box as soon as you sit down – If you are going to a sit down restaurant, ask for a to go box as soon as you order. When your food comes, put half in the box and enjoy the other half. If you want, you can even ask the server to put it in the box before they bring it out. Anyway to avoid temptation.
- Drink your water – Some of the hunger you are feeling might be dehydration. Promise yourself to drink a whole glass of water before the food comes. This well help you to NOT overeat. If you are indulging in an adult beverage (or 2, or 3), have glasses of water in between. Trust me, this one will serve you well!
- Skip dessert – This is an especially tough one for me! I have a tendency to look at the dessert menu BEFORE I look at the food menu. If you order, share it with someone. If they don’t want to share anything (my husband is not a sweet eater. I don’t get it either), then don’t order it. Keep good dessert choices on hand at your house (pudding, jello, RF ice cream, etc) so that you can indulge your sweet tooth after you get home.
- Forgive yourself – O.K. So you had every intention of making great choices, and you just didn’t. You know what? It’s O.K.!! Enjoy the food that you’ve eaten and pick up where you left off when you eat your next meal. Don’t beat yourself up about it!
Do you have some great tips for eating out? Is there a restaurant that you just can’t live without? How do you take control of your order? Leave a comment! We’d love to hear from you!
(Visited 7 times, 1 visits today)