A survival guide to eating out … without pigging out!
By Judy Davie
**”I stick to my diet really well at home but my husband and I often go out to dinner with friends. When we do, my diet goes out the window. Can you help?”
— Ann**
Without fail, people trying to improve their eating habits and lose weight inevitably slip up when they dine out. What you eat might be harder to control but the excuse “It’s a special occasion so I can treat myself” is no longer okay, especially when you’re eating out so regularly.
A dinner in a restaurant or at a friend’s place with a shared bottle of wine, a bread roll with butter, chocolate mousse for dessert followed by a coffee and a little sweet treat will set you back an extra 3,400kJ and that’s before you’ve eaten anything worthwhile. You’ll notice, however, from the list above, that these are all things you can easily go without.
Given how often you dine, it’s worth committing to memory the basics of healthy eating and weight loss. That way, when you do go out to eat you can apply this knowledge and follow the restaurant advice when you’re selecting off the menu.
Waiters are used to people asking for variations on the menu — many people today have food allergies and the chef has to adhere to their requests. Don’t be embarrassed to ask them to make modifications to your order.
If you’re in doubt about how a meal is prepared and want to avoid excess fat and kilojoules, ask the waiter. He’s trained to know his menu and should be happy to tell you more.
People eat more at buffets, banquets, smorgasbords and other meals where there’s a large range of dishes to select from, so where possible choose a restaurant where you can order your own meal, or, fill your plate once with the variety on offer and don’t go back for more.
If your friends harass you to eat up, tell them to get off your case. What you eat should have no bearing on them and the enjoyment of the evening. If it does then it’s up to them to address the issues they have with food and alcohol. No one would force a person with a peanut allergy to eat peanuts or a recovering alcoholic to drink alcohol. Weight and obesity is a legitimate problem in our society, it’s not okay to try and stop someone from reducing their risk of chronic disease.
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