Once a week, my family goes out to out to a restaurant, we rotate who's pick it is and this week it is DH's pick - so guess where we are going........ dum dum dum...... Hooters

Now old me really liked Hooters, I wasn't kidding myself that it was good for me, I mean fatty chicken wings breaded, deep fried and dipped in a cream based sauce - I'm not an idiot! But I'd get 5 unbreaded or "naked" wings (the breaded ones were to greasy for me) and figure I was doing pretty good. So I took my everything in moderation, calorie counting new me to the internet to check out what my good choices might be:

1. Hooter's hides their nutritional info, there is a sad lie posted that the have to many varied items (about 25) to post nutritional info . like Penn&Teller say BS!

2. other websites are all over the map for them, anywhere from 43 calories for one "naked" wing to 800 calories for a serving of 5 - so no help there and it looks like grilled chicken sandwiches or salad are my options

3. the grilled chicken, special requested with "no butter" is listed pretty consistantly at 420, the side garden salad is ok at 60, throw in 150 or so for the small amount of dressing I eat, coming in at a respectable 500-600 - but lets be honest I am gonna sit there with my grilled chicken sandwich and look the wings around me and I may get a smooch cranky

at this point I am seriously considering capturing one of the Hooter's girls and gnawing on her leg (I think it would be easy enough, they are probably confused from being underfed and slowed down by their ginormous boobies)

How do you guys deal with going to a restaurant that is not one you would have chosen? do you smuggle in carrot sticks? live on salads and eat when you get home?

I'm laughing at this:
"Dr. Hootie identifies menu dishes that, upon request, meet HEALTHY DINING’S nutritional criteria and are featured on:
Healthy Dining Finder.com
Click here for the nutritional breakdown and ordering specifications of those items"
The cartoon owl in a doctor's uniform doesn't copy. Nor does the click here link, so I'm including it below.

Hooters Healthier Options
That being said, I might eat snow crab legs without drawn butter.

ETA, ooo... here he is...

It also may be time to get your husband on board. You might want to say that you need to cut back and need to make better choices so the restaurants you go to have to have good choices for you.

I don't have a problem with choices at restaurants. I eventually got over my pouty attitude about not being able to order/eat everything that I wanted. Because, what I really want, more than anything on any menu, is to get healthy and strong and to feel great. That kicks any item on any menu for me.

When I go to a restaurant and I do choose to order something not in keeping with my goals, I am prepared to accept the consequences of my choices. I do my research online where I can. I don't pick anything fried, with lots of cheese, sauces or sugar. I like to choose items off a menu that they actually have to make in the restaurant. If I know I'm going out, then I eat less during the day, drink lots of water, and I may even eat a little less the next day.

For thin people, when they overeat, they feel bad, physically, and then they move on. Their bodies don't hold it against them and make them feel guilt over it. And the extra food has a thermic affect, so their metabolism ramps up a little to compensate. They gain a pound or two, then within the week, since they've gone back to eating normally, it goes away. The whole physical process actually works the very same way for the rest of us...we just do it more often and we make a bigger deal about it.

Choose exactly what you know will make you feel better after the evening out is over.

thanks for all the advice,

based on advice and research on the internet here is what I ended up with, in case anyone has to go through the Hooters ordeal:

I had grilled chicken sandwich (special request No Butter on Bun) which is supposed to be 420 calories, I ate it open faced with just the smaller bottom bun, but kept the lettuce and tomato for even fewer calories- I was surprised, it was actually moist and tasty, one of the better things I have had there so I didn't feel deprived

side garden salad (60 cal) with blue cheese dressing on the side (I dipped fork in rather than poured on and only ate about 1 oz that way (for about 100 cals) I made it a point to count the croutons separately since many places leave that off their total (50 cal) because I made a point to leave them on my plate

so total calories: 630

Nicely done!

That thing with dipping the fork into the dressing instead of pouring dressing onto the salad...LOVE IT! Thanks for that!

I am proud of you, and you made me laugh out loud about eating one of the waitresses.

To funny!

The title alone had me laughing.....Sadly, so true, though.