[QUOTE=licaba;4189007]Eating out shouldn't scare anyone. I have never had trouble at any restaurant where I asked for modifications to meals. My DH & I travel most weekends from March through December for a side business we own - so I have had a lot of practice. Below are some examples of what I order at chain restaurants that we have dined at. As you know, most chains offer similar meals so it shouldn't be hard to find the basic ingredients from different menu options to put on your OP plate.

One important caveat is that when we start traveling, I do not eat any veggies that are restricted to a few times a week while I am at home - ie tomatoes - so I have more options/variety while on the road.

Olive Garden - grilled salmon & steamed broccoli or other veggie
mixed grill (steak & chicken) kabob - ask for no glaze and steamed veggies - there are veggies on the kabob too, peppers I think.

Ruby Tuesday - petite sirloin & steamed veggies or salad bar
you can get salmon here too with more veggies
salad bar, of course

Longhorn (steak chain) - I always order the same thing here - can't help it - I don't even open the menu any more - Flo's Filet - 7 oz steak, cooked medium rare, that melts in your mouth mmmmmmm (sorry - was daydreaming a bit) and of course broccoli or asparagus, just check the list of sides available

Cracker Barrel - they do have a low carb menu, but IMO it is not that easy to adjust these meals. My go to choice from the low carb page is the salad with grilled chicken. Then I say, no cheese, croutons, or dressing. This salad also has 1 hard boiled egg and nice big tomato slices. The salad mix they use does have tiny slivers of carrot. I do my best to eat around them, but I don't make a major production out of it.

If you are going to plan on just eating salads, with or without meat, you need to think ahead about dressing. When we travel by car, I always pack a bottle of WF dressing in the cooler & bring the bottle into restaurants. When it is not easy to bring a cooler along, I either buy a bottle locally (WF site tells you the names of chain that carry their product) or I have single serving packets of WF for my purse. Vinegar & oil is also readily available at most restaurants.

Remember the wait staff is there to help you. Ask what veggies are in the "seasonal vegetable", etc. Sometimes as I start to order I have said to the wait person, "I have some dietary restrictions" and found the person really pays attention. Most times I forget to say it and just order. Do not be embarrassed or think you are being difficult. You will learn to say - instead of the potato or ________ I would like 2 orders of steamed broccoli or ________. Please no butter or oil, seasonings are ok. I don't send dishes back unless there is a major screw up. If I suspect there is a bit of butter, I just count it as my oil for the day and move on. If you are a picky eater, you may be stuck ordering the same meal over & over - so be it - it won't kill you. You will be home again soon enough.

And most importantly, I always thank the staff for helping me with my order and tip well as a thank you.

IMO, this program is not a diet that you go off later. I will continue to order restaurant meals this way when I reach goal, so I might as well get comfortable now. HTH

Everyone is so different in this area. I always have problems when I have low carbed in the past, so I knew it would be a problem again and sure enough it is. Now my daughter, who is on IP and eats basically the same thing I'm eating has never had an issue. What my coach recommends is magnesium citrate and then a daily dose of novi-lax. I generally now just take one novi-lax at night and it keeps things moving.

I'm going on a cruise at the end of February and have decided to just go to phase 2 for that week. I will still have a long way to go at that point and I really don't want to phase off. I know I will be fine as I have always eaten out a lot while on this plan.

[QUOTE=ptod;4189724]I'm not big on chain restaurants (it's an Austin thing ;)), but I have found them to be easier to eat at while on this diet. I wanted to add to your list also :
1) BJ's : turkey patty with a side of steamed broccoli
2) Mimi's Cafe: petite fillet or grilled salmon with a side of steamed spinach.
I always just tell the wait person no butter or oil on anything, please. They are always happy to help and I haven't run into any problems so far.

I think of the program as a way of life that happens to have, during Phase 4, a day where I can freely choose to eat how I want. I live fully in Phase 1 right now. I know what the different Phases entail from reading stickies and other threads, but I don't live in or for some particular food in the future. My DH already eats dinner the same as me (with an occasional potato or rice side dish) and as I progress through the Phases so will he. This is our way of life.

I don't like the ch**t word. To me that word implies that I am not following the guidelines of the program. I never want to feel that I did something wrong.

Once I was on the program for a while and found my groove, I started to read the maintenance thread as a way of understanding the Phases. What I found was that that "free day" still has consequences that need to be managed. Not everyone finds the transition easy and most scale way back on what the free "day" really means.

You guys are awesome!!!! Thanks for all the tips and info. I will be in Austin and also go to San Antonio (dh wants to see the Alamo)

Love love love you all I feel much better about my ability to stay on plan!!!

I hear you! Go Austin!

We now seek out local restaurants in order to fully experience the areas we visit. I figured many people would feel more comfortable starting at chains they might recognize - at least till they get their sea legs. :D

When in Austin go to 24Hour Diner on Lamar Ave. and order the roasted chicken with the roasted brussel sprouts. You have to remove the skin of course on the chicken, but it's my favorite place to eat here in Austin because of that dish. Just stay away from all of the wonderful food trailers. Very tasty original food, but not IP friendly, sorry to say.

[QUOTE=ptod;4189793]I don't like the ch**t word. To me that word implies that I am not following the guidelines of the program. I never want to feel that I did something wrong.QUOTE]

I'm totally with you on that. I feel like there are so many ways to legally indulge on this program, so cheating is totally unnecessary. The puddings and shakes are so yummy - especially if you keep things interesting by doctoring them up with Herbal Tea and spices, or my favorite breakfast... Vanilla Drink Mix with only 4 oz. of water in my daily cup of coffee. I swear it's better than any Starbucks!

I save my real big indulgence for Saturdays - that's when I make the unrestricted pancakes with the eggwhites and the cold cereal mix. I always feel like that's such a special breakfast that I get for being a good girl all week. I can't help it - food still feels like a reward to me.

It's not about cheating for me, it's about finding finding ways to really enjoy at least most of my food and staying OP 100% at the same time.

Good luck to all - and wish me good luck for my WI tonight. I'm actually really looking forward to it this time :carrot:

PS: I just can't help looking forward to having that piece of cheesecake when I'm in maintenance... sadly/luckily, that thought motivates me to get there quicker by staying 100% OP during phases 1-3. Whatever keeps me 100%, right?

Tom is late
 

Been on IP for 3 weeks. TOM is 6 days late. There is no chance I'm pregnant. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow but thought I could get some "that happened to me" kind of replies...
Blessings to you all. Have a great OP day...

This diet can mess with your tom in many variations.. none at all, more than usual problems or some normal..hth

[QUOTE=Beanie Mommy;4190126]Good luck with WI!
Your cheesecake thought made me think of this. My coach has these little papers with sayings in a basket to take one says:
"Eating everything you want is not that much fun, when you live a life with no boundaries, there's less joy. If you can eat anything you want, what's the fun in it?" Tom Hanks
Got me really thinking about overindulgence and special treats. I want to live a life with control and boundaries so that when special occasions come up they truly feel special. This saying can be applied not only to food but life in general. Going to a movie, buying a really nice pair of shoes etc...should be once in a whiles and then they feel more special.
Hope that makes sense.

Hello IPeeps,
It's a gloomy, rainy, snowy day in Upstate NY. Got the laundry caught up and have been lazy. lol

Just wanted to share with the peeps that use alternatives, I wanted to change up a little and ordered some stuff from Diet Direct. The Wonderslim Hazelnut Cocoa cream (pudding) is very good. It is aspartame-free.

Keep on Keepin' on!

I have not had problems with the big C either. I tend to attribute that to the amount of iceberg lettuce I eat. My menu is pretty much the same every day:

soypuffs for breakfast
cup of celery as mid morning snack
chicken soup for lunch with iceberg and cup of spinach
1/2 cup of celery and 1/2cup dill pickles afternoon snack
8 oz protein and 1 cup of veggies for supper...usually cabbage or cauliflower
cappucino in some form at night.

[QUOTE=Jonis;4190172]That makes great sense to me. I was just talking with a coworker, with whom I used to go for lunch all the time, and we talked about how going out to eat became the norm instead of a special treat.

I don't get TOM anymore (thank goodness), but I have heard from many, including my daughter, that it totally changes everything. My daughter was over a week late for the first two months on IP. And now she says she has no more PMS, no symptoms what so ever.