Oh, the temptations…

This week on Weight Loss Weekly we answer: What are your secrets to keeping your diet when eating out? What are your favorite restaurants when you’re watching your weight that help you stick to your plan?

Sunny: “I love going out to eat, and we go usually at least a couple of times a week.  First of all, I avoid buffets like the plague…” more at That Extra 20 Pounds

Giyen:

Bacon Is My Enemy

Joie de vivre: “The act of pouring the tea and keeping my cup full, keeps my hands busy and away from the bread basket” to read more, click Joie de vivre: An amateur gourmet’s guide

Nurit: This topic is right on time because last Saturday The Husband and I went to a nice restaurant for dinner (click here). I love to eat out but I’m weak when it comes to food control. I am an adventurous eater, you see, and like to sample every new thing on the menu, from appetizers to desserts. So what do I do?

First, I remind you about the Secret Stash Artisan Sea Salt Giveaway. To win, enter a comment on any post. For more details, click here.

Now seriously, a few of the tricks up my sleeve are:

1. Of course, no junk. We stay away from junk food and junk food “restaurants”. Better to eat at home.

2. We eat at home almost every night. This way we have a bigger budget to go to a nice restaurant. I don’t like the concept of buffets or all-you-can-eat. It makes me eat more.

3. Eat a little something at home before. When I’m hungry I order more food than I need. This cost more not only in calories, but also in $$. You can never know how long you will have to wait before dinner – traffic delays, waiting to be seated, waiting for my order… It can drive me insane if I’m hungry and then I eat the “free” bread and butter/oil.

4. Don’t eat the bread! Ok, well, unless it’s FRESHLY baked, warm, and smells divine. But don’t eat the whole thing.

5. Plan ahead. If I can, I check out the menu before leaving the house and start planning what I’ll eat on the way.

6. Share an appetizer/entree/dessert/drink with someone.

7. You don’t have to finish everything on your plate. Forget what your mommy told you as a kid, and take leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch/dinner.

8. Does the restaurant serve humongous portions? (When I remember) I ask if I can have a smaller/half size portion. We went once to an Italian restaurant where the portions were just ridiculously gigantic. Enough to feed a person for the whole week gigantic. Really unbelievable, and, actually, gross is a better term. We never went back there. If we knew in advance, we would have ordered less food.

9. Being a picky eater helps. Don’t eat any junk someone gives you. Be a food critic.

10. If the food is not on the table before 8 pm I know that an appetizer or two will be enough.

* * * * * * *

What else did I do and learn at dinner last night? A few more tricks:

* I wore my now-looser pants (good news, I lost 3-4 pounds) as a reminder to control myself and continue to enjoy the weight lost so far.

* Too much wine. We had leftovers wine! See? We had desserts and the wine glasses are half full. Next time I’ll ask if I can have a 4 oz. portion.

* I ate only half of my dessert.

* I had an appetizer so by the time my entree arrived I wasn’t all that hungry. I ate only one of the crab cakes, and hardly touched the rice.

What do you do?

Related Posts:

Bite size: How much does junk food really cost?

Weight Loss Weekly: So what is My Diet?

Weight Loss Weekly: Low Points

Categories : Weight Loss/Diet