10 Smart Tips to Dine Out Healthily and Avoid the Guilt

By Jean Varney

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to let go of cooking at home. However, dining out can quickly add unwanted calories to your diet. Here are 10 smart tips to help you enjoy a healthy dining experience without the guilt.

In the past, dining out was a rare event, reserved for special occasions. As a result, many of us indulged in foods we wouldn’t normally eat at home, such as bread, chips, appetizers, large entrees, drinks, and even dessert. However, today, Americans dine out an average of five times a month and spend more money on restaurants and cafes. Meals outside the home are no longer exceptions, making it harder than ever to maintain a healthy diet.

Unfortunately, many of us haven’t changed our mindset. We still treat everyday dining out as a special occasion, indulging in more food than we would typically eat at home. This leads to consuming more calories than necessary and overindulging in foods high in fat, calories, sugar, and sodium. This is particularly concerning for women in their prime, whose metabolism is slowing and whose risk of chronic diseases is increasing.

10 Tips to Help You Practice Healthy Dining Out

Life is busy, and dining out is convenient and fun. However, to lose weight, maintain your weight, or simply eat more healthfully, you need to be mindful of what you order when you step into a restaurant. Here are my 10 tips for enjoying healthy dining out and keeping that waistline in check.

1. Order as if you were making your own meal

Remember, a dinner reservation is not a license to overindulge. When you go out to eat, make the same healthy decisions you’d make at home. Don’t let the excitement of a new dish make you overeat. If you typically don’t have bread on the table before meals or a loaded salad, then skip it at the restaurant as well. Keep the same habits you’d have at home at the restaurant, and you’ll thank yourself later.

Read: Lose Weight With 6 Small Meals A Day

2. Plan ahead

Many restaurants have nutritional information online. Use their websites to make better choices for a healthy dining-out experience. This will save hundreds of calories and avoid excessive amounts of salt, unhealthy fats, and carbohydrates. For example, most deli/cafe sandwiches and wraps contain 600-800 calories. A chicken Caesar salad often contains 800 calories. Vegetarian dishes at Asian restaurants can be the most caloric on the menu, and soups often contain an entire day’s worth of sodium.

If you arrive at the restaurant with a plan of action already prepared, you won’t fret over what to order and fall victim to the most indulgent item on the menu. Plus, when you get caught up with what everyone else is ordering, it’s hard to stick to your guns and get the healthy option. Make a decision before you even leave the house and stick to it.

Read: 25 Healthier Fast-Food Meals

3. Choose salad as your appetizer and forgo bread and dessert

Bread and dessert are empty calories made from refined carbs that will negatively impact your health and weight. This is true no matter where you get the meal or what time of day you eat it, and it’s why so many diet plans are built around the concept of eating fewer empty carbohydrates and starches.

Instead, opt for a salad full of nutrient-dense and fiber-rich vegetables. Avoid the cheese, croutons, sugared nuts, and dried fruit, and pile on the veggies.

4. Keep protein simple and lean

Fish, chicken, or turkey that is broiled, grilled, poached, or baked is far healthier and contains fewer calories and unhealthy fat than those that have been fried or are served with creamy, buttery, or heavy sauces. You already know this; it isn’t news. When you look at the menu and see the chicken fried steak, breaded chicken tenders, or fried fish – skip it – especially when it’s covered in gravy. Because let’s face it, once you decide to eat the unhealthy protein, it’s hard not to get it with fries or mashed potatoes on the side, and then it becomes a calorie overload. Keep it simple.

Read: Light and Tasty: Mango Salmon Recipe

5. If you order red meat, choose a leaner cut

Some nights just call for a helping of red meat, especially if you’ve chosen to visit a local steakhouse. But, despite everything we’ve heard about red meat in our lifetimes, you can make a healthier decision when you order it for dinner. For example, if you’re looking for steak, consider sirloin or flank steak, as they have less fat than porterhouse and prime rib.

If you’ve decided you’d like pork for your entree, consider ordering pork tenderloin, as it’s lower in calories and healthier than pork chops. If you want to go another direction, order lamb loin chops instead of a roast because they’re a healthier option.

Whichever option you choose, remember to limit your servings to 4-6 ounces per week to improve overall health.

6. Practice portion control

Restaurant meals and deli sandwiches/baked goods are notoriously oversized. A typical pasta dish contains 6 servings of grains – a whopping 1200 calories before the sauce. Meat portions are often more than 8 ounces. Large bagels are equivalent to 4 pieces of bread, and desserts often contain as many calories as your entrée. What can you do? For a healthier dining-out experience, share a meal with someone, or eat only half and take the remainder home for the next day. Order a salad and a healthy appetizer (a shrimp cocktail is a great choice) instead of an entrée, and if you order a dessert, share it with the table.

Read: Mediterranean Power Sandwich: Your New Favorite Protein-Packed Lunch

7. Request dressings, sauces, condiments, and gravies on the side and use sparingly

Dressings, sauces, and gravies are often calorie-dense and loaded with sugar, fat, and sodium. It’s not uncommon for a salad to be served drenched in dressing, and once it’s on there, it’s almost impossible to get off (without sacrificing part of the dish).

If you control how much you consume, you’ll be satisfied with far smaller amounts than what the restaurant will serve you. You can also try dipping your fork in the sauce before taking a bite, so it doesn’t end up covered in calories before it reaches your mouth. This method prevents you from overindulging and eating all the sauce you’re served, negating the need to order it on the side altogether.

Read: Low Sugar Condiments: 6 Tasty Options