Staying on Track: Restaurant Minefield

We love to do it, but eating out can be one of the biggest challenges for someone seeking to impact their weight. Truly, a restaurant's mission has everything to do with making a profit by pleasing your taste buds without regard for YOUR goals, health or weight issues. Determining what to order can feel like walking through a mine field trying to dodge calories, sodium, and fat when eating out.

Here are 10 ways you can make better choices as you find yourself in front of a menu.

1. KISS. Keep it Simple Silly. Uncombined foods will give you a better chance of knowing what you are eating and it's impact.
2. Check the restaurant nutritional statement before you leave home. It will surprise you. Most people underestimate their calories by 60%.
3. Plan what you will eat before you see and smell the orders around you. One successful technique is to have an index card with your pre-planned choices to help you not yield to impulse.
4. Don't be shy about asking for modification like "dressing on the side" or "may I switch out that side dish", "no Mayonnaise, please"
5. Try not to drink your calories. Eating oranges provide fiber along with the calories of the juice. Sweetened tea, alcoholic beverages and sodas provide no nutrients, make water your main beverage.
6. Focus on the vegetables, make the meats and grains secondary. This may require splitting an entree and adding a salad.
7. Fried= Fat. Order grilled or baked. French Fries are inconsistent with your goal of weight management
8. Is pre-meal bread mandatory? It adds hundreds of calories even without the butter or oil. You can remove 70-100 calories by avoiding one bun on your burgers and sandwiches
9. Even if you are careful, eating out often will hamper your efforts. Try to eat out only one or two times a week.
10. Portion control is critical! No matter what, you do not want to supersize the order-Your best move is to get a to- go box when they bring your order and remove it before you get started.
    

Your best strategy is to make eating out an infrequent adventure until you have a firm grasp on these guidelines.

Bon appetite!

This is part 5 of a 10 part series regarding Staying on Track: Long Term Weight Management Success Strategies!