How Can I Eat At Restaurants And Still Lose Fat?

Listen, we love eating at restaurants, but it has some disadvantages.

The benefit of cooking meals at home is you can control the ingredients and portions. It gives you full control over hidden calories that go into your food — oils, butters, sugars, etc. It also gives you control of adding larger portions of low calorie, nutritional foods such as leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, lean protein.

But, we all want to eat out at some stage, enjoying the company of friends over a meal.

With most things, planning ahead will help you stay in better control when you dine out. Because you can eat out and lose fat.

If you know where you are eating, look for a menu online before you arrive. Get an overview of what options will be available and how you can make them work for you. Getting a sense of what options may be tempting to you before you arrive will give you the foresight to be smart about your choices rather than forcing you to rely on willpower.

Even if you can’t prepare, you can master eating out at restaurants by following these three simple steps.

Step 1: Start By Focusing On The Main

Look for a meal that has lean protein and vegetables. For vegan/vegetarian look for meals with complex carbohydrates such as quinoa, whole grains, and beans.

Once you have your meal selected, ask yourself if there are ways you can make it a little bit better. For example: ask for sauces on the side (or not at all), swap creamy dressings for olive oil, hold the chips.

If you struggle with overeating portions, be prepared to ask for a take away box right away and put some away for later. This is an example of using the 1-10 scale in the section discussing the reasons why diets fail Mistake #1 Choosing Perfection Over Consistency.

Step 2: Look At Entrees And Sides.

Now that you have selected your main meal. Is there anything missing that you should have included?

It is likely the main dish is enough calories to keep you satisfied, and you don’t need anything more. But, if the dish is lacking in vegetables add a side of ‘veggies of the day” or an entree like vegetables and hummus.

Step 3: Close The Menu.

Continuing to read all of the delicious details and look at the savoury pictures can heighten our responses to hunger. This natural reaction can start to make you feel more out of control and impulsive about ordering food–hello desert! If you followed steps 1 and 2, have confidence in your choice and move on.