Eating Out

Eating at a Restaurant?  Eeek…we’ve got you covered!
By: Corry Matthews
We’ve all done it…signed up for the plan, committed to the new workout, the new nutrition plan.  We’ve prepped the food and told all those in our lives what’s going on…and then it happens…you are going to have to eat at a restaurant and you can’t exactly hand them your meal plan and say “Can you please cook exactly this?”
We’ve got a couple suggestions.
First, if you get a weekly cheat, treat, restore – whatever you call it – meal, use it for this specific occasion.  But maybe you’d rather enjoy your special meal later during the week.
That’s ok…follow these simple tips and you can eat at any restaurant.
Read the Menu Before you go…
Planning what you will have before you even go to the restaurant will make a difference.  Do they have options for grilled protein?  Is everything fried?  Do they have fresh or steamed veggies?  Are all your carbohydrate options bread?
When helping our clients decide what to eat at a restaurant we keep it really simple: “pick a clean protein first, then a clean veggie and the cleanest possible starch”.

• Protein – it should be grilled, baked, steamed or broiled, preferably without high fat or sugary sauces.  If it deep-fried, best to leave that for your treat meal.  You can always ask your server, how is the meat prepared? Ask to put the sauce on the side or hold the butter.
• Veggies – steamed or grilled without cooking in butter.  Most restaurants are going to add butter, sauce, and salt to make their veggies taste better.  Think you’re making a better choice by picking the salad?  If you let them mix your dressing in, you are easily over 1000 calories.  Order salads with dressing on the side.
• Condiments – remember – everything adds up.  The croutons, cheese and garnish on the salad, the bacon, butter and cheese on the potato.  Have all of these on the side.
• Starch – pick the starch that isn’t BREAD or CHIPS.  These are treats!  Baked potato, rice, steamed sweet potato – all equal great choices.  Refer to the condiments above…ask for everything on the side.

So, maybe you aren’t eating as strict as we’ve outlined above…we’ve still got some suggestions for walking and not rolling with your pants un-buttoned out of the restaurant.

1. Eat normally the day of before going to the restaurant. Don’t save up calories so you can have them at the restaurant.  This goes for regular or treat meals out.
2. Make sure you aren’t dehydrated before eating. When we are hungry, we tend to over-eat, when all we really need is water.
3. Avoid all you can eat buffets…you know why
4. Ask for all sauces on the side
5. Ask them NOT to bring the bread or chip basket, if this isn’t your treat meal!
6. Eat slowly and enjoy your meal
7. Skip dessert.

Eating out doesn’t have to stop just because your lifestyle changed. Make the eating out work for you!