How to Eat Right at a Restaurant

[Linda]

Eating out can be a challenge for anyone who is on a weight-loss program or who is trying to eat a healthy diet. The reasons for this challenge are varied. Restaurants often serve oversize portions, making it easier to overeat, or they may offer only very fattening food choices (such as in many fast food restaurants). Sometimes dishes are dressed by the chef himself, making it difficult to control or limit the amount of fattening condiments consumed.

However it is still possible to eat out at restaurant without compromising one's healthy eating goals and without affecting one's weight loss efforts.
If low-calorie menus are available for choice, the problem is quite simply resolved. But restaurants not always offer such a choice. So it becomes paramount to choose one's dishes carefully and wisely.

First of all, when ordering your meal, don't hesitate to request anything on the menu to be prepared according to your diet needs. This might be as simple as asking that a salad comes without dressing or that a steak is prepared grilled instead of fried. You can even ask for something that is not on the menu, if you feel enough brave. Remember that many restaurants take their clients' needs at heart, so don't fear to ask. It is not likely that you will be denied.

When choosing your dishes, consider portion size, ingredients, condiments and cooking methods. All these factors can affect the calorie count. The best way to have a light lunch or dinner at restaurant is to choose a starter as a main course, however avoiding fried and buttered foods, as well as cream-based soups. Starters and appetizers are usually small portioned and are often quite filling, so they can effectively replace the main dish. Good choices are salads with dressing on the side, vegetable soups and smoked salmon.

If you don't want to avoid the main course, remember that veggie options are not always low in calories. Many vegetables dishes often come with rich cheese-cream sauces or other high-calorie condiments. So it is advisable to ask for them without dressing. Alternatively you can choose broiled, grilled or baked meat or fish, or pasta with only tomato sauce. And if you don't want to give up ordering dessert, remember that fresh fruit salads and sorbets are the best options.

Drink choices affect calorie intake, as well. Alcoholic and sugary beverages are highly caloric, so they should be avoided or limited when on diet. While it is easy to avoid drinking such beverages when eating at home (by simply not putting them on the table), this may be hard when eating out. However there are some tricks to limit the intake of alcoholic and sugary drinks at restaurant. For example you can add some water to wine or alternate between low-calorie non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic drinks.

Finally, it is important to avoid all extras, such as buttered bread, oil-based salad dressings and after dinner mints, only to mention some of them. In fact extras greatly increase the calorie count of your meal, without being filling.

By simply following the tips above, you can eat out without blowing your healthy food choices and without sabotaging your weight-loss program.

[chaonew]

Your thought is very wonderful Linda. Honestly, I love to eat at restaurants or fast foods not considering the amount or type of food I am eating. It never came to my mind that it could affect my health.




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[jongin]

Thanks for all the advice Linda! I agree. I think looking at the nutritional value on the menus is a smart idea. I always concentrate on the salads with the dressing on the side. Salads can be filling too! I usually pick getting a glass of red wine over dessert as well. Or dilute my drink by adding water in it.

[Carol]

Avoid going to a restaurant with a starving stomach because thats when your mind just doesn't want to think before eating. Try drinking a glass of water right before the meal arrives. Portion also does matter, try sticking to a small portion as much as possible.