Catching up friends or family, celebrating a life event, even taking a night off often sees us dining out. Dining out can be a stressful venture particularly for those of us looking to lose weight. With so many cuisines and the lengthy menus on offer, making the right choice can be hard. Too much salt, too much sugar, too larger portion are the red flags people often see when looking at the menu but with some careful preparation and using these simple tips you can enjoy your meal out while maintaining good health and wellbeing.
Top dining out tips
1. Plan before you go – choose a restaurant you know has healthy choices and check out their menu.
2. Don’t leave home hungry – you will be more likely to over eat. Eat an apple if you’re feeling peckish.
3. Ask the waiter to skip the bread basket.
4. Make careful menu selections – pay attention to the descriptions on the menu. The words to avoid are fried, batter, cream/y, crispy as they are all high in calories. Instead try swapping fried for grilled or steamed and cream for tomato based.
5. Choose a smaller serving size – try ordering 2 entrée sized dishes instead of an entrée and main.
6. Ask for healthy options like no butter on your vegetables. Most places are happy to help.
7. Listen to your stomach, eat slowly and stop when you’re ¾ full.
8. Skip dessert. Or share it if you can’t resist 🙂
Weight loss can be a tough road to tread and we don’t want to see you missing out on social events like dining out because of the stress involved. Instead we want to see you being assertive, enjoying your meal confident in the knowledge you have made the right choice and above all you are happy and still on the road to weight loss success
