May I Take Your Order, Please?

     Several people I've talked to said they don't eat out when they're on a diet. I'm in trouble, if that's the case!  Although I've cut back because of trying to be a better steward of my money, I still eat out at least twice a week.  The key to managing your weight and eating out is making informed, healthy choices.
     In US News and World Report there is an article titled "Diets That Let You Eat Out." I wasn't surprised to find that Weight Watchers topped the list of resturant friendly diets...even though I don't consider WW a diet plan as much as a lifestyle change.  WW does a great job of educating it's members about ways to make good choices when ordering from a menu.
    "The Restaurant Survival Guide," an article on the WW site, gives several good tips for eating out.  It also lists words on the menu to watch out for because they usually are code for "contains lots of calories." Speaking of "code," just because a menu selection has the word "salad" in it doesn't guarantee it is the best choice.  The ingredients of some salads actually push the calories (and the PPV) higher than what a steak or chicken dish may be, so be cautious.
    What do I do when I go out?  I prepare, ask questions, and use portion control.  I prepare by having a good idea of what I want to order before I go.  I will either look up the food items in my WW Dining Out Companion or will use the internet to find the info I need.  One site I use is Dotti's Weight Loss Zone's Restaurant Guide. It lists hundreds of restaurants and a large portion of their menus with the PPV already calculated.  You might want to try some of the restaurant sites; some have the nutrition listed so PPV can calculated. I know this is true for Genghis Grill and Red Robin.  Applebee's actually has some menu items that are endorsed by WW and have the PPV on the menu.
     Some people are shy about asking questions at restaurants.  Not me.  Some of the questions I ask are: "Is the 8 oz. sirloin 8 oz. before or after cooking?" (If it is before, then after you will be consuming 6 oz. of steak.)  "What exactly comes on your side salad?" (I usually ask to hold the croutons and put the dressing on the side; I will dip my fork in the dressing to eat the salad.)  After everyone at the table gets a roll, I say, "Could you please take the rest of these rolls away, and we won't be needing anymore? Thanks!" (Removing the temptation is wise for me!)
     Portion control is a challenge at restuarants.  You've probably noticed that when you get your meal you get a large amount of food...way more than the suggested serving sizes of the individual portions of food.  To try to control the portions and avoid overeating, I usually ask the server to bring a to-go box with my order.  Before I start eating, I put half of my meal in the box and set it aside to have for lunch the next day.  My only problem with this is sometimes I forget to take my box home!
     Again, you don't have to avoid eating out.  Educate yourself about healthy food choices, do a little planning, and then enjoy your meal!!!!