Eating at Restaurants

Ok...I have been doing this (CC) for eighteen days and I am seeing good results so far. I have been preparing all of my meals and measuring out my food so I can keep a close count on my calorie intake. I have friends that want to go out to eat this weekend. How do you tell, without getting out a scale and looking ridiculous, what the food portion and how many calories it may have.

Also the restaurant that they want to go too is Red Lobster so if anyone knows a healthy meal there that is easily recorded I would appreciate any input and or help.

I've never been to Red Lobster, so I can't answer your question directly.  But I can give you a few tips that have worked for me.

It's a seafood place, so ask for a piece of broiled fish or grilled shrimp, and ask that no butter be added to it.  Usually you'll see grilled or broiled options on the menu, but even if it's not there, ask. If it's a half way decent restaurant, they get requests all the time.  Never be afraid to politely ask for what you really want, such as extra vegetables instead of a potato. 

General rules I follow - never eat the bread and don't order an appetizer. 

Always order salad and find out if you can get extra if it's just a small side salad.  Get the dressing on the side and eat it by dipping the tines of the fork into the dressing with each forkful of greens.  You'll find that you use barely a quarter of the serving of dressing.  If you eat all the salad first, you won't feel as hungry during the meal.  Another alternative is to get some sort of clear soup if they have it (not creamed!)  Soup is filling.

Next, drink only water. 

If you want dessert, either share it with someone, or resolve to only take three bites, then push it away.  Don't be afraid to send food back on your plate, including that dessert. This is not poor ettiquette. Don't take it home with you.  Get over the feeling that you paid for it, so you have to eat it all - you don't!  It's more wasteful to put too much food into your body than it is to send it away.

Above all - have fun and enjoy the company.  There's more to a fun evening than the food.

Yay for doing well so far!

I have never been to Red Lobster myself, but judging from the name, there is lots of fish to eat, and fish is good! It tends to be lower calorie than meats and has lots of good healthy omega-3s. Plus, it tastes yummy... (Though I am a fish fanatic. LOOOOVEEE sushi.)

Anyways, I did a quick google search and here are some sites that may interest you for planning out your calories.

http://www.redlobster.ca/menus/lighthouse/def ault_cn.asp

http://www.dietbites.com/Foods-Nutrition-Inde x/red-lobster-calories-nutrition.html

The first website lists nutrition info for their low-calorie "Lighthouse" dishes (typically <500 calories). (Side dish nutrition info is given on the side of the webpage.) They also have a nutrition calculator for creating your own "Lighthouse" meals. Plus, they give some helpful tips here on how to keep things healthier/lower in calories when dining out:

http://www.redlobster.ca/health/healthy_livin g/health_info.asp

Enjoy! Don't forget that it is good to take a break every once in a while and reward yourself. So maybe you can just go and not worry for one night!

Oooh out of all the restaraunts out there, you could do A LOT worse than Red Lobster.

You actually have a good selection. As somebody mentioned, fish is generally good for you. So all you really have to do is make sure you get something that isn't swimming in oil (no pun intended lol) or sauce.

Getting something off the "Catch of the day" menu is what I do most of the time. You can get it grilled or broiled or whatever special promotion they have going on. Anyway, grilled Salmon or tilapia is probably your best bet. I guess shrimp (Non-fried) would be okay too, but I never order it because I hate shrimp. ANYWAY they also have a 'Lighthouse selection', which somebody already gave you a link for. Something I would suggest would be when choosing your salad (which is included), choose a garden salad instead of a caesar salad. The garden salad has more variety of vegetables and you can choose your dressing. Make sure you order dressing on the side! I should probably tell you to avoid those delicious biscuits they bring out, but they are too good! And I think they are 180 calories each, if I remember correctly. But I do suggest skipping the dessert. They just look loaded with fat, and the ones I've shared haven't even tasted that good.

Aw man I could use some Red Lobster right about now. (If you haven't noticed, I LOVE Red Lobster)

red lobster actually has some nutritional information on the menu(:

I wanted to give you some general portion guidelines for eating out which could apply to any food occasion e.g. restaurant, buffet, dining at friends' houses etc.

• Try to get as many salads and steamed vegetables as you can because they are very low-cal.  In a restaurant ask for dressing/sauce on the side and request that the vegetables are not finished with butter
• A 'portion' of carbohydrates (potato, rice, pasta etc.) is about the size of a computer mouse or a tennis ball... that's about 150 - 200 cals
• A 'portion' of protein (meat/fish/eggs/beans) is about the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand... that's about 150- 200 cals again, depending on the type of food

If you've been weighing out portions up to now you'll probably have a good idea how much you normally serve anyway.  But these aren't bad visual cues.  Main thing is to have fun.... one slightly bigger than normal meal from time to time is quite good for the soul and can even help your weight-loss

Thanks to everyone for their help on this matter. The replies have gave me good insight into this and now I can not wait to go out with my friends and enjoy the evening. Once again thanks a bunch.

Wow, I didn't know appetizer is a must not eat thing. Now I know, and bread also fattening. Thanks for you info?

make sure to stay away from the cheddar bay biscuits!  they're so yummy but SO high in calories.  and don't use the butter if you're getting crab or lobster.  even when i wasn't counting, i avoided the butter.  crab tastes so good without it!

check out dietfacts.com... almost the entire menu from red lobster is on there...

you will be surprised how much saturated fat is in restaurant food! my favorite restaurant is buffalo wild wings and i cant believe what i saw under the nutrition facts.. scary!! most fast food chains and restaurant info is available on dietfacts.com... it a lifesaver for me!!

also like previous prosters warned.. stay away from apetizers! by the time you eat them you have probably wasted half of your daily calories!!