Hi Chickies, I live in Belgium, where all food is made at home, and where I am in control !!However, we are about to visit Florida for three weeks, and are bound to go to many restaurants. I am worried about choosing the right thing on the menu, and wondered if you have any advice I notice some chains like Applebees have calorie counted menus. Are there any other places like this? I have been cutting out complex carbs eg rice, pasta, bread etc, and wondered how easily I will be able to keep up the weight loss.
Probably seems a bit daft, but could use some advice .
Thanks
Sam
x

Personally, I think Applebees food is horrid so I'd never recommend them especially to someone from a different country.

Chipotle is one of my favorite 'on plan' places to eat and you can determine what you are going to get before you go there and the calorie count by using this site:
http://www.chipotlefan.com/

There is also a restaurant called "Sweet Tomatoes" which I love, it is basically a salad bar type restaurant.

Also, many restaurants feature calorie counts online although not all do.

Many, many restaurants are required to put out calorie counts now, and its increasing by the day. The ones that don't are usually small, not-chained restaurants. So if you end up at a place that doesn't post their nutrition, stick to recipes that are heavy in veggies, light in carbs, and made with lean meats. But you have to keep an eye out for the hidden killers, like butter. We have articles around here all the time where some salmon dish with veggies turns out to be worse than a burger from the same place.

One of the few things you can control is portions. I hear that a common request is to ask your waiter to put half the meal in a to-go box before bringing it out.

Good luck... I love eating out, but it is hard to make sure you're on plan. Btw, totally agree with nelie- Chipotle is awesome. Just make sure you get the bol (no tortilla) and cut back or out the cheese and sour cream. Yum!

A lot of restarurants dont have that calorie menu. But when in doubt always order something with no sauce. Like olive garden has an apricot chicken i order without the sauce its then just grilled chicken with veggies. I eat it with some lemon juice. Red lobster is fish so you can always order a grilled fish with veggies. Almost all restaurants have salads but be careful. Fridays salads are all very high in calories. If you go to sports bars they have fish usually or chicken. Just be careful of fried foods, and sauce and you will be fine!!!

* sorry i meant a lot of restaurants do have calories on it but not all.

Thanks ladies ! I know it's possible, but feel very wary !....

Are you going to have access to a computer and internet while you are here? If so, you can either go to the restuarant website and they usually have their nutritional info online. Or, one of my favorite sizes is Dotti's weight loss zone www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html (I'm not sure if I'm able to post links yet, so I hope that works). But its a great site with tons of restaurants and their items broken down by calories, fat, etc and many of them by Weight Watcher's points. But it is a great one stop reference place.

One of my favorite restaurants here is Sweet Tomatoes, its a salad bar buffet. But, like all buffets, you can easily go overboard and by saying you are eating salads, you could be fooling yourself, so be careful.

The biggest thing about Florida in the summer is - its HOT! I mean super hot, super humid and super muggy and we've hit the summer weather with daily thunderstorms. Be sure you are drinking plenty of water and stay hydrated. There is enough to do to stay physically active, but remember to take it easy during the heat of the day so you don't get sick from the heat.

Other things to consider - Publix, ALbertsons and Sweet Bay grocery stores have pretty good deli departments that have great premade salads. I'm a Publix fan, they usually have an inhouse sushi bar, salads, deli and in the deli you can get the low sodium boar's head meats (deli meats) for sandwhiches.

QUite often my hubby and I will simply pick up salad and sushi from Publix, head to the beach or park and have dinner there that way. Much cheaper than a restaurant, nicer atmosphere and you have some control over the portions and what you are eating.

I was in FL for a week last monthwith 4 children & DH. Do you have a suite with a kitchen? That was a huge help for me. We went to the store and i made my breakfast. Lunches can be made in the room and brought along. We did that every day. POP. Dinner varied at the condo. Microwave frozen low cal/high fiber meals. Again the salt police will roll out about now but NaCl is fourth on my lsit of importance- 1. Calorie, 2. Fiber, 3. Protien, then 4. NaCl. I always drink water so the sodium gets flushed. YMMV.

Sometimes our dinners were with friends, two dinners were out- Asian Buffet for 1500 cal (probably low balled. 1 plate meal 1 plate fruit no sweet desserts) and Applebees 390. I like Applebees. I like being slim more than I need an excellent meal at every turn. Travelling is stress enough without adding more demands. I continued my losing rate while in FL and it is why I hit goal on schedule. I had Key Lime Pie too. The Natives we know and met think the Key Lime Pie out of Publix just as tasty as a restaurant and much cheaper. Easier to control portions too.

I had a plan and I stuck by that plan like glue. I didn't buy into it was a once in a lifetime opportunity (which it was in many ways) because my health was # 1 priority. I didn't not want a self induced plateau. I used the fitness room, 2 miles. Same good habits at home carried along with me. A lot of walking- shuttle launch, Disney, KSC, stairs instead of elevators, Cocoa Beach, etc...

You can do this if you want to.

See, the natives like Publix, and I do too

I do the salad bar thing too while travelling. Good idea.