10 Tricks to Eating Healthy While Eating Out

If you do not know what to order in the restaurant when you are dieting, this article will give you some ideas. If you read the menu when you are in the office or you stay with friends over the weekend, you can eat at any restaurant.

Discard the idea that eating away from home is impossible when dieting. Choosing your dishes with good judgment and moderating the amounts are two basic points to ask in a restaurant and to have no regrets.

Being aware of the calories that comes with what you are eating is a fundamental step. Australian scientists have shown this in a study in which they have evaluated, precisely, the influence of knowing this information.

Restaurants with calorie labeling

People who go to restaurants that provide information on the calories of their menus, reduce, on average, 15 kcal per dish.

The effect is even greater in women, who take up to 60 kcal less per menu, and among those who are overweight, who choose proposals with a total of 83 kcal less.

"Although the calorie reduction is not too great if you eat out of the house once a year, for those who do it regularly these figures can end up making a difference," says Natalina Zlatevska, the study's lead author.

Ten tips to eat healthy at restaurants

Although there are already restaurants in the US that offer calorie information of their dishes, it is not a widespread trend. But even if you do not know exactly what calories you are going to eat, you can do a lot to eat healthier. Here are ten tricks you should try:

1. Take a light snack before

Do not make the mistake of arriving at the restaurant with a hunger. It is much better to eat something before: a piece of fruit, a yogurt skimmed… reduce your cravings for food and help you ingest an adequate amount.

2. For a drink…water

If you arrive with thirst and ask for wine or a beer it is much more likely that you will end up drinking more than necessary. And do not forget that alcohol provides many "empty" calories. And it provokes, in addition, two curious situations: it relaxes your will "to do it well" and it encourages you to eat more.

3. Beware of "complimentary" snacks

If while you wait, they offer you a toast with pate or any other individual appetizer… refuse, with kindness. Because if you have it on the table, it will be difficult to avoid temptation.

And if they you give them something to share, such as potato chips, it will be much easier not to sting if you followed the two previous tips.

4. Bread… just a bit

You can eat it, of course, as long as you do not exceed three or four fingers. If the restaurant has various types, better choose the whole-wheat option, it is more satiating and nutritious.

5. Is the menu too heavy? Ask for the first course only

The first course options are usually lighter than the second ones. If the menu does not convince you, it may be the best option to reduce calories. Of course, try that one of the two provides some protein.

6. Sauces and dressings, better apart

Sometimes you order a salad thinking about what is the lightest option and, when they bring it to you, you see that it is dressed with a generous amount of oil or with a sauce that, precisely, is not the lightest. To avoid this, always ask for the sauce or the dressing to be served separately.

7. The oil, first on the spoon

Do not put it directly on the plate because you could add too much. To control the amount it is best to pour the oil on a spoon and then season the plate with it.

Remember that, although it provides good fats, the oil contains 90 kcal per tablespoon.

8. Second course with a garnish… of what?

When the menu does not specify it, always ask what it consists of. If they are chips, ask them to change them for a vegetable garnish (a little salad, a grilled tomato, baked pepper… In restaurants, normally, they do not usually put problems with this type of changes.

9. For dessert, choose a sorbet

If you fancy something sweet after the second, it's a pretty light option. Containing a large proportion of water, you only get about 70 kcal per 100 g, compared to the 250 that may be contained in a piece of cake.

10. Occasionally… choose a vegetarian meal

Vegetables (much less caloric than elaborate proposals, for example, with red meat) are, logically, the undisputed kings of the dishes, so you can choose from a large number of options. Of course, make sure that what you choose is not fried or accompanied by fatty sauces.

As you can see, the options with which you have to reduce the calories of your menus are simple and numerous. With this and a little will it will be much easier to enjoy a meal without your weight, and your health, resent it.