How to Follow Your Diet At a Restaurant

Even with heart healthy and meal options that are low in carbohydrates. It can seem impossible to fathom eating out at a restaurant while dieting. There are tips available to dieters on the internet for all aspects of dieting – but many dieters feel that even with nutritional values on the menu and the diet tips available that it is impossible to eat at a restaurant without feeling guilty for breaking the diet! 

Here are some ways that you can reduce the impact on your diet while eating at the restaurants that you love:

1. Fill up on water. I don’t know about you, but I find it easier to gulp down glasses of water at a restaurant when they are flavored with citrus and cold and ready to drink! Drinking a glass or two of water before the meal can reduce the amount of food that is eaten through the entire meal.

2. Avoid the bread that comes with the meal. The bread or complimentary appetizers that come at the beginning of the meal can seem like a dieter’s worst nightmare. If you feel tempted, don’t be afraid to ask the waiter to remove them from the table, or avoid brining them altogether.

3. Choose wisely and make substitutions. Substitutions can be made on the best of menus – choose salads and baked foods rather than fried foods. Some restaurants even allow you to choose how the foods are cooked. It is important to choose baked or grilled, as many restaurants use high fat oil which can lead to diet ruin. Salads rather than carbohydrate filled foods can provide a wonderful alternative to these high fat sides! As an even better side choice, consider grilled vegetables which are available at most leading restaurant chains.

4. Choose smaller portions. Smaller portions can include child or lunch sized portions. It has been researched and proven that portion sizes in restaurants are up to four times as large as recommended. For this reason, it is important to avoid finishing the whole meal or simply ask to have half of the meal served to you and leaving the other half at the restaurant or taking it home as take out! This is a great way to have a hot lunch the next day!

5. Choose from the Low fat menu. This is a good start to have a low calorie meal and substitutions can still be made throughout the menu. Vegetables and grilled lean proteins are great ways to eat out without breaking the diet. Rather than using condiments to flavor the food consider using spices and low fat sauces. These alternatives can assist in weight loss and reduce the guilt that is felt at the end of the meal.

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