Just because you are going out to your favorite restaurant or meeting friends for lunch doesn’t mean you should starve yourself until that meal. Honor your hunger cues. If you feel lightheaded or your stomach is growling, THEN EAT. It’s your body telling you it needs food. If you wait until later to eat you’ll be SO hungry and won’t care what you consume or how much of it you do. You are also putting yourself on a blood sugar roller coaster fiasco. However, if you plan it out and have a balanced breakfast and snacks, then you won’t feel the need to eat the whole dish and might decide to save leftovers for later instead of feeling bloated and gross because you overate. 

2. Be Prepared & Don’t be Afraid to Swap

If you can, check out the menu beforehand. This gives you an idea of the food options there are.  Choose a dish that sounds good to you, but is also balanced (1/2 veggie, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carb). Sometimes I order an extra side of vegetables instead of choosing a high carbohydrate appetizer. Most places have sauteed or steamed veggies as an option. Or you can ask to get a side salad instead of fries with a burger or sandwich.

3. Be Careful with Appetizers

If you know you can’t help yourself when it comes to those chips at the Mexican restaurant (oh please you know what I’m talking about 🙁 ), then ask the waiter to take them away. Otherwise, be aware of how many you’ve had and leave room for the main course. You might also choose to skip the bread and butter. 

Use the same method and tell them you’d like to wait until the main course. All these “filler” foods and carbs can take away from your main entree, and that’s what you really wanted anyways right? 

4. Be Aware of the Condiments

Order salad dressings on the side and add in a small amount at a time so you can see how much you are actually using. Try olive oil and vinegar dressings instead of ranch or heavy thick dressings. With burger and fries try mustard instead of ketchup because of all the added sugar inside of ketchup (or limit the amount you use). Remember to get what you enjoy, but be aware of the hidden sugars and high calories inside of some of the condiments you may be using.

5. Eat slowly

All too often we get busy with our days and try to scarf down our food as fast as we can. This is SO SO SO bad for your digestion! Eating slower will also prevent overeating. It takes at least 20 minutes for your body to recognize that it’s full. So if you down your meal in 5 minutes, you might go reaching for more food too soon. Take the time to enjoy your meal. Savor the flavors, especially when you eat out (you are paying a good amount of money for it). Additionally, work on putting down your fork every now and then while you are talking and catching up with friends.

I tend to eat out more than I want to (ESPECIALLY LATELY) because of all my travels. For this reason I’ve found my own system or way to eat out. I choose restaurants that I know will give me enough energy to power my way along my journey. I don’t go to fast food restaurants, but I’ll go to grocery stores and buy ready made foods instead if I’m on a budget. It’s all about making the right decisions. It takes just as a long, if not quicker, to buy an already cooked chicken breast from the store than to go to McDonalds and order chicken nuggets. Think things through and ultimately decide if your health is worth it. For me, it definitely is.

What do you find most difficult about eating out? What are you struggling with most?