What do you do when eating out for dinner?

I love eating out with friends but I often worry about the fat content in the meals I'm served up. I don't eat the full portion because they are always too big but sometimes it's hard trying to determine which meal is the least damaging in terms of what the food is actually made up of.

What do you do when you eat out? How do you determine which is the safest choice? Or do you just eat whatever sounds yummiest and eat healthy later?

Got a dinner to go to later in the week and don't wanna saboatge my weight loss.

Usually the best thing on a resturant's menu is a the fish.  Just make sure that it's not covered in butter or cream sauce.  Same with your veggies.  Ask for all your food to be either steamed or grilled.  If you need some extra flavor ask for lemons on the side or a vinegrette.

My favorite at resturants is steak and steamed veggies.  While usually steak isn't going to be an ideal chioce, when you're at a resturant the steak is the only thing they don't slather in butter or fry in oil.  It's usually grilled by itself and again ask that it not be covered in any sauce.

Also, if you order a soup beforehand you're less likely to over eat during your meal.

Me and my sister LOVE to eat out so when we joined and started counting we realized that going out to eat would be hard. What we did is we checked on line and each resturant had their nutrition facts posted for everything down to the dressings for the salads. We did it for both fast food and sit down. This actually helped us cause we knew what to eat when we went out and we also knew which places to stay away from because their food was just really bad for you.

I hope this helps =]

Planning ahead is definitely the #1 thing. It saves you from nasty surprises like "salads" that are more like a little lettuce with chicken and bacon all over...x_x

i hear ya with the going out to dinner. I go out with a few of my friends every week and the place we used to go had food that was nowhere near healthy. Now that I've started counting I have started to pick healthier and more interesting places. And frankly, my friends cant complain.

So just try to push the group to go to a healthier choice of restaurant, and it may get you to try new places at the same time.

Stay away from any fried foods and order a tossed salad to start.  Drink water and just stop when you feel full.  Enjoy eating out :)

I got these two books, one called Eat This Not That, it basicaly lists all of the colories and nutritionaly information for a ton of restaurant and fast food chains.  I also have Calorie King, which lists the same thing its just more in depth and has more food choices as well as ingredients if you want to cook at home.  I love these books they are a life saver especially when I have to drive home (nine hours in a car its really really hard to eat right) makes it so I pick the 'right' fast food places lol

I can tell you, after working in restaurants for many years, that there are calories hidden in everything!

My advice is that if you need a starter, get a salad and skip the dressing and go for balsamic vinegar (no oil, you'll see why) or lemon wedges. 

Sauces in restaurants are so often butter based.  Anything cooked in a pan is going to have a healthy coating of olive oil or butter, as well.  

Veggies are coated in butter or olive oil when they're cooked.  Even if they're grilled!

Mashed potatoes?  Butter and sour cream..and a lot of it!  

Now you see why the healthy oil and vinegar option isn't the greatest idea!

Salmon, sea bass and even halibut are high in fat!  Need a steak?  Get the filet.  Take the fat cap off the duck.  Take the skin off the chicken.  

Have I ruined eating out for everyone yet?  But believe me, I managed a fine dining restaurant and ate two meals a day at works, sometimes 6 times a week.  Eating healthy is very difficult.

Honestly, my advice for people who are very strict is to not go to high end places, and find more casual dining, because when you manipulate those dishes to the point of being decently healthy or low in calories, it's not worth the 30some dollars you're paying!  Or get a salad with some protein :) 

I usually order some type of meat, non fried, and substitute the side for a salad. It tends to keep the calorie count low.

Water every time.

Olive oil is actually really really good for you, and really healthy. It's one of the healthy fats like avocados, only you have to make sure you have them in moderation. If you cut out fat completely from your diet, your body will be even more eager to store it when it gets a chance.(and no I didn't just come up with that, it's in the Food Doctor Diet)

My advice with everything is portion control. Also I find I feel a lot fuller with small portions of very spicy flavourful foods (like indian or thai, just skip the side of rice or order small portion of wholegrain or wild rice), that way I always eat much less and still get that had a lovely meal out feeling at the end of the night.

Also, try to start your meal with a clear soup (or a big glass of water). But as I understand from your post, you got the water thing down already.

Another piece of advice, don't be too strict on yourself as then you'll struggle, eating out should be a treat and as long as you don't binge, it's better to feel happy and satisfied at the end of it then to feel hungry and depressed.

One more thing (and I'm sure most people would tell you this), put your fork down between each bite. That way you leave more time to chat to your dinner companions, and for your brain to communicate to your body that it's full when it actually is.

And before anyone bites my head off, I'm a 25 year old female, 5'2, and 110 lbs. Trust me, everything I said here I've tested on my own body and in my personal experience works, so I hope it's helpful advice to you.

Absolutely olive oil is the "good" kind of fat!  I'm just pointing out that there are so many hidden fats in restaurant food, that it's best to cut out what you can.

Otherwise, you'll end up with a fat count over you daily allotted intake from one meal!

Believe me...my evidence is my own scale :-\