Going out for lunch or dinner can be pretty tricky when you want to make sure to stay on track with your diet. When you want to lose weight, you want to make sure you don’t exceed a certain amount of calories per day and eating at a restaurant can become very challenging. To be able to still enjoy your food, simply follow these tips:
1. Go with water
What beverage you choose with your meal can have a huge impact on your overall calorie intake. Instead of opting for soda or alcohol, stick with water (ask for a slice of lemon or lime if you want some flavor) or unsweetened iced tea.
2. Keep it small
Most portion sizes in restaurants (especially here in America) are humongous! When you order your dish, make sure you go for the small or medium size.
3. Don’t (EVER) take the buffet
Buffets are a killer when it comes to calories. For some reason we seem to think, we actually have to eat more as we can, when we have a buffet option available. Oftentimes we go three or four times, filling our plates to a point where it’s getting hard to carry it while usually, we would have been totally satisfied with a quarter of the amount. But hey, we paid for it, right?! Instead of taking the buffet option, choose an item from the menu. If you still want to try what else the restaurant has to offer, pick a little bit from your friend’s plate. She won’t be able to finish it anyways. 😉
4. Start with a salad
When you order your food, start with a salad or veggies. Their high water content fills you up fairly quickly and helps you stay satisfied longer.
5. Order dressing on the side
When you choose a salad with dressing, order the dressing on the side. The same goes for any kind of sauces that might come with your entrée. That way you are in control of how much you add. Also, oil and vinegar based dressings have usually fewer calories than creamy dressings.
When following these simple guidelines, you can still enjoy your night out without having to worry about messing up your diet.
Written by: Jen
The Online Personal Trainer for Women