Restaurant Tips

Eating out can be a challenge when trying to lose weight. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want!

1. Split a meal with someone.

2. Ask for half of your meal to be packed to go before it is served.

3. Ask the waiter to not bring the bread/chips.

4. Ask for no butter or oil on vegetables. In general asking for no butter or oil on everything is a good idea. Did you know that Outback puts butter on their chicken???

5. Order dressing on the side. Dip your fork in the dressing, and then in the salad. Do not dip the salad in the dressing.

6. Order sauces and other high calorie condiments on the side.

7. Ask for fruit/vegetables/salad instead of french fries/potato/rice.

8. Look up the nutrition of a restaurant before you go so you have an idea what to order. Some of the caloric values of restaurant meals are higher than you would imagine. For example, the Southwestern Cobb Salad from Chili’s sounds like a good choice…wrong. It has 1,080 calories and 71 grams of fat.

9. Order an appetizer as your main dish (be careful with many appetizers though as they tend to be very high in calories).

10. Look for lean protein that is grilled or broiled.

11. Drink a glass of water before you start eating.

12. Start the meal with a broth based soup.