How to Eat Out While Watching Your Weight

Selecting wisely when eating food you haven't prepared yourself involves some forethought. If you are at a restaurant and deciding what to order, remember that you are there for the atmosphere and the company at least as much as you are for the food. Keep in mind that a healthy diet consists of eating a variety of foods that are primarily low in fat and calories and high in nutrients. There are a number of ways to ensure that you keep to this goal when eating out.

• Phone the restaurant ahead of time or check their website to see the style of their menu and the types of drinks available. Inquire as to whether the meals can be prepared without added fat, oils and sauces, and whether the chef is willing to take special requests. If you eat out regularly, choose restaurants that are happy to cater to your needs.
  
  
• Select carefully from the menu. If you don’t know what is in a dish or how it is going to be prepared, always ask. Often this reveals a way of reducing the calories, for example if a fish or chicken entree is sauteed in butter, for example, ask for it to be broiled.
  
  
• Request substitutions. Instead of French fries, request a plain baked potato, or some other vegetables. If a low-fat substitute is not available, ask that the high-fat food be left off your plate.
  
  
• Always look out for easy ways to cut calories. Look for "heart healthy" choices and low-calorie sweeteners, low-fat salad dressings, low-fat or non-fat milk, diet drinks etc. If a meal comes with sauce, gravy or salad dressing, ask for it to be served on the side. Try dipping your fork in the sauce or dressing and then spearing your food. That way you still get the flavor without all the calories.
  
  
• Avoid foods with descriptions such as sautéed, fried, crispy, pan-fried, creamed, in its own gravy, in cheese sauce, escalloped, au lait, or basted.
  
  
• Eat small portions. Portion sizes in restaurants are often hugely oversized. Remember, you don’t have to eat it all! In some restaurants you can order smaller or half-portions for a lower price; otherwise, stop eating when you are full and leave the rest on your plate, or take the leftovers home.
  
  
• Eat slowly. Eating slowly will allow you to enjoy your meal more and also help you to control your appetite. Don't be the first to finish a meal; instead, pace yourself with the slowest eater. 
  
  
• Ask for a pitcher of water with your meal. Beer, wine, soda and fruit juice can add excessive calories to a meal, particularly when consumed purely to quench thirst. Remember that highly-seasoned and salted restaurant food can create a continual thirst, so it’s good to have a pitcher of water on hand. If you are a regular customer ask the owner to stock low-calorie drinks, mineral water and soda water. 
  
  
• Good restaurant owners appreciate feedback. Let them know if they catered sufficiently to your needs, e.g. low-fat choices, low-calorie drinks, smoke-free areas. They will respond to market needs if alerted to them.

When it comes time to order your food, it can be useful to have a list of better and poorer choices in mind and be alert to which menu items to avoid. Also be mindful that portion control is hugely important.  Occasionally eating from the “poorer choices” can be okay; the problems occur when “occasional” becomes regular.

Fast-food consumption also affects our children’s attitudes towards food and their understanding of what constitutes a meal. If you regularly eat take-out fast food as a family meal, or frozen convenience products that attempt to emulate the fare of fast-food outlets, keep in mind that these foods and eating habits will be the basis of your children’s “nutritional education”.

If you do eat fast food regularly, or even if you only eat it on occasion, remember that you don't have to go for calorie-loaded fries and burgers – you can make wiser choices.

• Read the nutritional tables. Many fast-food restaurants now have nutritional information for their menu items available in brochure, poster or website format. Read it before you order. To be well-prepared, become familiar with the nutritional content of the items at your favorite fast-food restaurants.
  
  
• Check The CalorieKing Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter. The 2008 edition of the book has over 200 fast food and restaurant listings. Look at the fast-food menu items to assess the calories, fats and carbs before you order.
  
  
• Beware of upsizing! Although you might get a bigger bite for your dollar when you up-size, just remember you’re getting an up-sized calorie load for your body along with it. Before you place your order, consider how hungry you really are and how many calories and grams of fat that up-size will add!

When you pull up to the order window, or make your way to the counter, keep in mind some better and worse fast-food choices.