business lunches and dinners
 

Hi folks,

In my line of work, I have to take part in a lot of business meals. I am trying to do a home meal delivery program to take off 30 lbs. I chose a 5 day plan because I had to think about the meals that I would eat with business folks.

How do you stay on track when eating out? Especially when outings take you to awful places like Bertucci's and the like.

Business outing such as these are the main reason I have put on so much weight.

This requires pre-planning what you'll have and guestimating calories, portions. You can always ask for a salad with no cheese and no croutons, light dressing on the side, or none at all and get a cup of minestrone soup. You can opt for skinless chicken or fish or grilled shrimp or a small steak and steamed veggies. You can ask for them to not use oil when cooking. No butter on veggies, avoid bread basket, etc. You can also try intermittent fasting, which some people on here swear by, that would allow you to eat all your cals/meals in an eating window say from 1pm-8pm or whatever so that you can have larger meals, but eat less often. It's work-able, even eating out, but can be a little more challenging, especially for restaurants that do not post nutritional facts.

I'm vegan and let me tell you it can be a challenge :) Sometimes appetizers are your friends but sometimes not. Most places will have a salad or can custom make a salad.

When I travel, I always make sure I stay in a hotel with a fridge and buy my own food for breakfast and some dinners if I don't have to go out with others. If I go out with others, I scope out places and customize like crazy.

For instance, for me, at Bertucci's my options would be (I've never been but looked at the menu)
-Antipasto Misto minus prosciutto and mozarella with the dressing on the side
-Tuscan minestrone soup
-Roasted tuscan vegetables (this would be good topping some salad greens)
-Individual pizza, no cheese, lots of veggies
-Portabello sandwich, no mayo, no cheese

Also, you might have to ask for your veggies with no butter but that seems less an issue at italian restaurants than others as olive oil is used more frequently. You might have to ask for them to go light on the oil though.

Whenever I go out to eat, I try to plan ahead. A lot of restaurants have their menu & calories posted online. That's the most useful thing for me. The other thing is to not order an appetizer or eat the bread they put on the table. The appetizers usually have just as many calories as a regular meal, and they tend to be worse for you. That's not a ALWAYS rule, but like I said, check the restaurant out online before you go. Then you can make an informed, healthy decision when you eat there. :)