I am new to this site and just started LAWL about a month ago. Because of our work schedules, my husband and I eat out frequently. We have cut down a lot because I am on this program, but we still eat out about 3-4 times a week. I am on the Gold Plan and the menu is so limited as to what I can have in restaurants. (Ex. Olive Garden: soup). This is my biggest hurdle. I am trying to cut back on eating out even more, but are there any good chains or menu options anyone could recommend? Thanks!
Eating out is really difficult on this plan. After you've been on the plan, you start to taste all of the salt they add to restaurant food (and fat). These are the two things I try to avoid when eating out. I always search the menu for a roasted chicken or a simpler salad where I can ask for the bad stuff to be removed.
I try to avoid bread or chip baskets bc that's when I go overboard. I always just order water with lemon.
Not sure what you have out there but El Pollo Loco has great plain fire grilled chicken and great salad.
I can't think of anything else at the moment. We have pretty much stopped eating out and that has really helped.
I just try to stick with simple proteins and veggies.
Remember this only works if you change those old habits!
Good luck
I don't know if you are into food court food, but the grilled chicken salad at Chik-fil-A, with the fat free honey mustard dressing, is a real treat for me. I splurge with a few of the toasted sunflower seeds, but let my daughter snack on the croutons.
hi marleymom! We eat out fairly often too - some places sure make things HARD for us, don't they? So far I've found eating at Applebee's goes okay for me - their salads are pretty good, and they'll put the dressing on the side for you. They also have a tilapia w/veggies that's good --- i've even asked them if they'd replace the rice with extra veggies and they've always been glad to do that!!
I rely on the Restaurant guide in my plan book. I am on gold with lites. I have limited myself to eating out once a week, if possible. I am a slow loser so that is why.
Marley, you mentioned soup and soup is generally a food that is avoided at restaurants because of the sodium. I see that at Olive Garden the minestrone soup is an option. Not too exciting in my view. When we are planning to eat out, I plan my daily menu around my possible food choice at the restaurant.
One of my favorite restaurant meals is the shrimp and lobster salad (no biscuit), dressing on the side at Red Lobster.
Good luck to all.
If you do mexican, fajitas are usually a pretty good option. I always save my fats and a dairy so that I can have a little guacamole (2 T is a fat in the new book) and a little sour cream, and of some cheese. Of course, it is not LF cheese, so use it sparingly. I make up one tortilla, load it up with the works, and then eat the rest of the meat and veggies off of the skillet with no tortilla. Lots of sodium, though, so be sure to drink extra water.
it's hard to go out and not have your old favorites but almost every restuarant has a grilled chicken salad now--I eat chicken ceasar almost everywhere we go--boring I know but it works for me. Just watch the dressing--do the old fork tip method. Jason's Deli was our weekly treat (when we were hardcore--haha) but like mentioned above--plan your day early so you can make it all fit. The turkey reuben with fruit is my favorite (P,V,SS,F)
Marleymom.. The biggest challenge of this plan is that it's a lifestyle change... Liz and I used to eat out constantly, especially with the kids' crazy schedules with soccer and things like that...
Eating out, even if you stick to the "healthy" stuff is a big challenge... Basically, because no matter what you eat, it's been processed and it's full of sodium.
The trick is finding ways to make your new healthy eating lifestyle, part of the life you lead. It's all fine and good to subsist on grilled chicken salads when we eat out, but the plan's motto is "free to live", which means having a big variety in what you eat..
Liz and I have learned how to cook fast and prepare ahead.. It's trial and error, but it can be done... Low sodium crock pot dishes, pre cooked chicken, turkey and meatloaf... It's possible.... When we cook at home, we control what goes in the dishes, not leave it up to someone else..
But the fact remains that eating out will slow the weight loss process down.. My COD counselors were of a mind that you shouldn't be eating out more than twice a week, if that...
Eating Out
