Never go to a restaurant overly HUNGRY! If you are overly hungry, we tend to over eat.
If you go to the same restaurants frequently, call or go in at non-peak times and ask the manager how things are prepared (grilled in butter, added fats, portion sizes, etc.). Learn what to items eat, what items to avoid, and HOW to order your food so that it may be prepared in a way that you consume less fat.
If you are unsure about portion sizes at your favorite restaurant, order what you like To-Go, take it home, take apart the meal and weigh and measure it to see exactly what you are consuming.
Choose restaurants that are helpful to your nutrition needs and accommodating to how you would like your food prepared.
Most major restaurant chains have nutritional breakdowns of their menus on their websites. Go online before you go to the restaurant so that you can make the best decisions possible when ordering your food.
Always order foods separately, with sauces and dressings on the side. The more control you have in what you're eating the closer you will be able to get to your meal parameters and avoid adding hidden fat into your meals.
When traveling, stick to restaurants that you know, have dined at beforehand, or have looked up the nutritional data online. Some chains have a section on the menu with tips on how to order (i.e. "Heart Healthy", "Low Calorie", "Low Fat", etc.).
Read the items on the menu carefully to determine exactly how they are made and if you should be leaving off ingredients. For example a salad with pine nuts, high fat croutons, dried fruit, cheese, etc. You may want some of these ingredients but not ALL of them on your salad.
Pay attention to portion sizes that you consume at home so that you can "eye" your food at restaurants for your own portion control.
Watch for the common things people forget to consider when dining out such as, chips, bread, alcohol, dried fruit, crumbled bacon bits, crumbled cheese, pine nuts, croutons, etc. Consuming too many of these items at one sitting can add up to a LOT of hidden calories and fat.
When eating at a buffet, go look over all your food choices PRIOR to getting into line. Have a clear idea of what you will choose before you start.
Breakfast is one of the most challenging meals to dine out. Here are some breakfast tips:
Most restaurants have a "Healthy" menu that will feature the best options to start with.
Egg substitute or egg whites may be cooked in butter, lard, or a lot of oil; ask how the eggs are prepared and if needed request that your eggs are prepared with a cooking spray instead.
Watch portion sizes of hash browns, pancakes, waffles, toast etc. Try to match up your portion sizes with what you eat at home.
At hotels, look for hard boiled eggs and simply remove the yolks for a lean protein source.
If you can't find any lean protein on the menu, you can always add a little protein powder to your milk or water. Then have the rest of the meal in clean carbs and a small amount of fat. This is especially handy at work meetings and conferences where they may only serve carb and fat options at breakfast.
