Dining Out While on Your Diet

You can remain faithful to your diet while enjoying a meal in a restaurant. Dining out is often a special occasion, and if you are worrying about every bite you eat, this can eliminate the entire pleasure from the dining experience. You can avoid giving into temptation while dining out and still enjoy a delicious meal, enjoy your dining companions and take in the ambiance.

Today most restaurants offer a wide variety of prepared food to suit special dietary needs. You can find gluten free, fat free and sodium free choices on the menu. Restaurants generally want your business so they will prepare tasty dishes for your taste and needs. You can call the restaurant ahead of time to make sure there will be enough choices for you, and you can also request that they cook your dinner without fats, salt and sugar.

If you are dining with other people, there will be some chatter about where to go. You can always find healthy and low calorie selections in most restaurants. The only problem to deal with is your own temptation. Can you go to an Italian restaurant and not order spaghetti and meatballs? The good news is that most tomato based sauces are not as high in calories as cream sauces, however there is the pasta and meatballs to deal with. You can always ask the server that your selection be served sauce free. And if all else fails and you have no will power try to get your dining guests to go to a health food restaurant. I am just kidding on this suggestion.

This may sound trivial but wearing the proper clothes when dining out is an important factor in managing the food intake. It is best not to wear anything with an expandable waistline that will allow you too much room to eat. A snug band (but not too tight) will help you eat more slowly and less food. It is kind of your own lap band for the night. Following this rule alone will help you gauge your food intake.

Before you go out to dinner and perhaps you are already suffering from hunger pangs, it is a good idea to drink some tomato juice as it is very filling. Fix yourself a cup of bouillon, as sipping on a warm beverage helps to ease hunger. Being ravenous when heading into a restaurant is a red flag for overeating.

Start your meal with a vegetable salad. The salad will keep you busy while waiting for the main course. Be sure to ask for vinegar and oil in the separate bottles. Stay away from the creamy and cheesy salad dressings. These dressings may be yummy but contain a meal's worth of calories. Don't order the low calorie dressings as they often have sugar instead of fat. You can season your salad with salt and pepper. Or you may want to opt for a bowl of soup. Make sure the soup is broth base or tomato based. Stay away from the calorie laden cream soups. And again warm liquid often staves off the hunger.

Most restaurants offer a wide selection of fish or chicken. Sometimes restaurants have a separate menu for low calorie, low fat and gluten free choices. You can always ask how the food is prepared. Even an innocuous chicken breast can be loaded with fat and salt. Restaurants want the food to look and taste good, because they want your business.

The big basket of hot bread has arrived. Of course there are often small bowls of butter to accompany the basket. Your choice here. If you can resist that is the best thing. My deal with bread is that if it is not my favorite which is french or sour dough why waste the calories. And then I will take a small crusty piece with no butter. You can always ask the server to bring the bread after the salad is served and there will be less temptation.

The most enjoyable part to your dining experience is to savor the food. You can do this by eating slowly. You can always talk a lot and bore everyone or just concentrate on small bites. Seriously, I know I have been ravenous when going out to dinner and sometimes inhale the food. Eating slowly is always a good idea when trying to drop a few pounds.

You can always make substitutes with your food choices. Most restaurants will accommodate your wishes. Order double vegetables instead of a starch such as potatoes or rice. I always go the veggie route as I actually prefer vegetables to starchy foods. And again you can ask them how the veggies are prepared. Very often these innocent looking vegetables are laden with butter. Try asking the server to have the vegetables served plain.

Have a glass of wine if you enjoy an adult beverage. Sip the wine very slowly. Contrary to poular belief it does not increase your appetite and the calories are worth it. A glass of wine adds some festivity and ambiance to your meal.

While everyone is ordering desserts, order a cup of coffee or tea. You can sip the warm beverage and pat yourself on the back. You can always bum a taste from someone's dessert and really become unpopular. Eat a piece of fruit when you get home to satisfy your sweet tooth, and all the temptation will be gone. And the scale will thank you for keeping true to your diet.