Tips And Tricks For Eating Out

Yesterday I talked about portion control and having a plan in place when you go to a restaurant.  A short time ago I was explaining to Jamie all that went through my head when we were at a restaurant.

It is really easy to watch somebody eat and think to yourself, “They are really good.  They didn’t have (insert name of a high calorie and extremely delicious looking food item).”  We can’t judge a person by just one meal though as we have no idea what the rest of their day looked like or even their week.  I eat out mostly on days off so to my coworkers I seem really “good” when I eat my pre-planned meals.  Having my pre-planned meals at work means I have more WPPA to spend on the weekends eating out.

I’ll share with you some of what goes on inside this crazy head of mine!

Before going to a restaurant I almost always know what I will order and usually have pre-planned how many PPVs I want to use.  When Kenyon is focusing on low carb it is easy to skip the chips and salsa or the bread basket by just simply telling the hostess, waiter, or waitress that you don’t want any of the pre-food item.  I can’t stress enough that you can’t eat it if you don’t have it in front of you.

On one of our meals at On The Border, we ordered a cheese queso dip on a free coupon promotion.  Since I knew I was going to have queso with my chips I don’t start into the chip basket ahead of time.  If I start munching on chips before the dip comes then I am likely to consume two or even three times the amount of chips.

One of the best tips I have gotten when faced with the decision to have alcohol, bread, and dessert is to pick two but not all three.  When I meet my girlfriends at Carino’s Italian I already know I am going to want that yummy bread with the oil and garlic for dipping.  I might also want chocolate cake.  I always order the minestrone soup and salad, mainly so I can consume more bread!  If I have a drink then I skip the dessert, or last time we shared with the table.  I have also asked for half the chocolate cake to be boxed up and half to be served with the ice cream.  This already ensures I’ll eat less of my share and I’ll have more chocolate cake for another day.  When I am eating out at a restaurant with unlimited salad refills I always have at least two plates of salad with dressing on the side.  It provide the filler in terms of volume and has low PPVs, if you use the dressing sparingly and there isn’t a ton of pointy toppings on your salad.

I recently heard a wonderful tip/trick for navigating eating out/buffets: eat your salad second.  Usually we think that if we have a salad before our meal that it will keep hunger at bay and often it does.  I am guilty at a buffet of not wanting to “take up room” by taking a large portion of salad.  The suggestion was to eat your salad second when everybody else is having seconds.  Then you feel like you are still eating but not eating a second plate of higher PPV foods.  Hey, I like that idea!  I used this trick the last time we hit up the buffet.  Often at the end of my meal I want something sweet and ending with salad seemed to help some of that craving.  Don’t think I didn’t hit up the desserts.  I am still human!

Speaking of buffets, don’t sit where you can see the tempting food or dessert.  If I have decided before I arrived that I won’t be eating the desserts I will go out of my way to sit where I am not looking at the desserts during my meal.  If possible I also avoid going by the tempting dessert bar all together.  I continue to work on positive reinforcement during my meal and keep reminding myself how good I will feel after I have successfully navigated my meal.

I shared in my post yesterday and I’ll share it again.  Don’t be afraid to ask for a to-go box as soon as you can.  If I box up my other half right away then it is out of sight for the remainder of my meal.  If you struggle with the clean plate club, having half the food already off your plate means you have cleaned your plate without actually cleaning your plate.  If you aren’t taking the leftovers home have the waiter or waitress remove the plate ASAP so you aren’t sitting there looking at your half eaten plate.  Once your food is delivered have that pesky bread basket taken away.  The food is the highlight of the meal, well unless I am at Carinos.  There is just something about that bread!

Whew.  That is a lot of information overload.  Going into a meal out can be overwhelming.  Even if you just stick to one new trick, slowly you can build up your tool box and you’ll be a pro in no time.