Guidelines for Eating Out

One of the easiest ways to derail your fat loss efforts is choosing less than ideal foods to eat when eating out at a restaurant. If you keep these few criteria in mind while choosing what to order you will have no problems eating a sensible meal when dining out.

1. If you are ordering a salad, be sure to get a low fat or fat free dressing. Ideally you would request this salad dressing on the side of the salad so that you can use only as much as you want. Excess salad dressing will add unnecessary calories to the meal.
2. Include protein with every meal that you eat
3. Make sure this protein is baked or grilled, not fried or breaded
4. Stay away from any buttery or creamy sauces that restaurants like to top meats with
5. When choosing what carbohydrate to eat, again pick ones that are low in fat and not topped or made with butter or creamy sauces. Grilled vegetables are a great choice since they are low in calories, high in fiber and quite filling.

You are probably thinking that finding a selection on the menu at a restaurant that fits all of these criteria will be nearly impossible. It would be very hard, but you can easily solve this problem by asking the waiter to have your meal prepared the way you want it. Don’t be afraid to make special requests for your meal. I have rarely found a waiter that isn’t happy to accommodate my requests.

Have fun!

Robert