How to eat out on a diet and still lose weight

Restaurants and meals out strike the hearts of dieters with fear. By following these simple steps you will soon be able to enter a restaurant worry-free and confident that you can still enjoy meals out while restricting your calories.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet
• Yellow pages
• Telephone

1. Choose restaurants which have a good selection on their menu to suit your eating plan to avoid temptation. Use the internet or phone in advance to find out about a restaurant's offerings - including their healthier options.
2. Before leaving home, have a bowl of soup, light salad or healthy snack. While having a meal before a meal might seem to make little sense, it helps avoid being overly hungry and will reduce your risk of overeating or ordering unhealthy foods.
3. Set meals and buffets can be a dieter's worst enemy, so avoid them at all costs! Instead, order your courses from an a la carte menu so you can choose healthy options and exercise portion control.
4. Share your appetizers and desserts with your partner or friend so you can splurge on your entree.
5. Fill at least half of your plate with vegetables. This will help you have your 5 portions a day while it fills you up. Doing this can help save some calories for dessert.
6. When ordering salads, beware of extras such as bacon, fatty dressings and high calorie croutons. If you are unsure of a meal's ingredients, ask your waiter and if necessary request they be left off your meal or served on the side.
7. Understand how food is cooked before you order. The healthiest options will be grilled or braised rather than sauteed or deep-fried.
8. Choose low calorie soft drinks over alcohol. Booze is not only filled with unnecessary calories - it can weaken your dieting strength too and lead you to bad decision making.
9. Fight your urge to clean your plate. Offerings at restaurants are usually two or three times the size of portions you would normally eat at home. If you find this a struggle, ask a friend to finish for you, place your napkin on your plate or ask a waiter/waitress to clear your plate for you.