I am new to this forum and maintenance (having gone from 153 in October to 126 this week) and this may have been discussed or pinned somewhere but I am interested in knowing what your strategies are??
Also as a newbie could a mod tell me how I close the tags if I am using a different font, size and color, and how do I get an avatar up??
Thanks so much,
Katie

Welcome Katie!

Some strategies I use:

• Try not to go to restaurants too often, usually for a special occasion.
• Try to go to a reastaurant that publishes nutritional information on the web and make a choice before I get there.
• Send the bread/chips that come before the meal away.
• Order seafood, which tends to be healthier and come in smaller portions.
• Avoid cream sauces, and ask if unsure. Look for marinara/tomato sauces on pasta.
• Order dressings, sauces, butter, sour cream, etc on the side. Ask what comes on the sandwiches.
• Ask if I can substitute something else for french fries (which usually come with a sandwich).
• Don't assume a salad is low cal, and always get dressings on the side.
• Ask how things are prepared: grilled, steamed, fried, etc, and if they have any sauces/dressings/butter added.
• Eat only about half a typical restaurant entree, maybe less.
• Eat all the vegetables first, to help fill up and remove temptation to overeat the entree.
• Do not eat dessert unless I know exactly what I'm getting--some scrawny restaurant desserts can run up to 2000 calories each!!
• Unless I know exactly the calories, assume I've had way more than I think I have, because it is almost impossible to correctly estimate portion size and amount of oil/butter the kitchen adds.

I don't always follow all of these, since I eat out maybe once a month, and a little splurge once in a while is OK. But these do work if I'm trying to be moderate.

Anne

Wow - that is a GREAT list, Anne! I think you nailed just about all the strategies. The only one I can think to add is not to drink alcohol because it adds calories and takes away all my self-discipline about food.

No alcohol! That is a very very important one Meg!! The last time I had booze in a restaurant, it just wasn't pretty at all.

Anne

Great list Anne. We don't go out to eat a lot (because there's not many places in our rural area, and because DH is, well, um, cheap He always) but when we do go, usually with friends, I try to remember that it's more about the company and visiting, and the food is secondary. And I constantly remind myself that it's not my last meal! If we're going out in Anchorage (50 miles away, and where the nearest airport is) we'll often go to Applebee's - not gourmet food, but now they have WW selections on their menus which are really good!

As for the other questions Katie had - you can add an avatar in the User CP section and if you use the icons to place your tags, the open and close are both there, For instance, for a color, pushing the icon gets you this (minus the spaces which I put in so the text would show) [ COLOR = " MediumTurquoise " ] your text goes here [ /COLOR ]

Anne THANK YOU SO MUCH!! What a great list!!! I'm printing and saving it!!
I really appreciate your response.
I'm nervous about maintenance as my husband lost 30 lbs in the fall and then his mother died and his Dad has cancer and what with all of that and some business stress, he let everything go and now is well on his way to putting all the weight back on. I am so glad there is this maintenance section.Thank you all. And Pat thanks for letting me know about the avatar and posting in color--I know how to do all of that --I just don't know which icon wraps or closes the tags as there seem to be two --the # icon and the last one.
Can anyone tell me?
Katie

Great list Anne!

Here are my techniques, some of which are the same as Anne's...
* Don't go out to eat more than once a week (including sit-down restaurants, take-out, fast food, delivery, and even most prepared foods that supermarkets offer nowadays).
* Eat your vegetables first to fill up!
* Don't eat more than half your entree (unless you're at some fancy place that serves teeny portions). I take the other half home and it usually feeds me two more meals.
* Avoid things that are breaded and fried, or in cream sauce.
* Avoid clam chowder and potato soup. Veggie soup is usually ok.
* Always split dessert with someone else. I don't say avoid dessert because I personally try to have my only dessert of the week be a shared one at a restaurant.
* If you drink alcohol, you will eat more than usual, so try to avoid it unless it's a special occasion. If it is a special occasion, try to limit yourself to one drink.
* On the same lines, some drinks are chock full of calories, like daquiris and margaritas. I usually opt for a glass of wine.
* Limit the pre-entree breads. I think of what my parents used to tell me when I was a kid and wanted more bread -- "If you're still hungry after your main dish you can have more." Of course I'm never hungry after the main dish.

My biggest restaurant strategy is really just limiting myself to one meal out per week. It makes a huge difference if you used to eat out a lot like I did (on the wallet as well as the waistline!).

Thanks Anne and Paperclippy for the timely advice. We're going out to dinner at least twice this week when we're down visiting my parents in Florida.

Can't wait to wear my new spring clothes!

I wish restaurants offered raw vegetable trays instead of bread baskets before a meal!

Because I usually don't say 'no' to the bread basket, I often ask if I can replace the potato or rice with extra vegetables.

And don't forget that you can special-order anything the way you want/need it prepared!

What an awesome idea! I'd even be willing to pay for that as an appetizer. But do you know what I saw on the TGIFriday's appetizer menu yesterday? Fried green beans and fried macaroni and cheese!

I eat out a lot as a matter of routine, and I'd like to draw a distinction between having a really good meal at a great restaurant vs. simply eating an ordinary meal out (most business meals fall into the latter category, along with weekday lunches, and many meals on the weekend when neither DH nor I feels like cooking, we're not celebrating anything, but we're hungry. This is not fine dining; this is simply eating at a variety of fairly routine restaurants where the food is passable, not splendid).

I treat ordinary meals ordinarily. In other words, I don't tell myself, Oh boy, we're going out and I'm going to have something wonderful. Rather, I usually chicken, fish or meal and promptly cut it in half. Ditto, if I get a baked potato, I order it dry, slice it in half, and order a little ranch dressing on the side. I always try to order veggie sides. If I eat pasta, I also cut it in half or even thirds. Etc etc etc. Although many restaurants are red hot danger zones, just as many are willing to accommodate special needs, and those are the ones we frequent. Even the chains are serving cottage cheese on the side these days, and a surprizing number have some kind of whole grain bread.

Study those menus and then get creative. An example: at one of our favorite places, I like the eggs Benedict, but when I order it, I swap the English muffin for whole grain bread and then, I only eat 1/2 to 1 slice of it. I get the Hollandaise on the side. I never eat hash browns any more; I seem to have lost the taste for them. Likewise, at another fave breakfast place, I can order a "lite eater's special" that has one egg, one slice of bacon and toast. I skip the toast, and order oatmeal on the side. Tasty and healthy.

Incidentally, when the food is splendid, I treat it with respect, eat it with relish and savor every morsel and every moment. To me, this is one of the joys of living. Fortunately, very few meals fall into this cateogry in the restaurants in my little corner of the forest.

Congratulations Katie and good luck!

Anne had great ideas. I do a lot of them.
I only go out to eat on special occasions. I don't eat the bread before my meal. Occasionally if my main meal was small and low on starch, and I'm still hungry at the end of it, I'll have a little bread after it. I usually don't get an appetizer -- I just plan to eat my main meal...Ordering an appetizer only delays the arrival of your entree!

I have dressing on the side and dip my fork into it if I want some. I've learned to enjoy the sweetness of plain greens.
I immediately scan the menu for the most healthy thing I can find. Cream sauces are out (I don't care for them much anyway), as is anything fried or breaded. I usually get a dish with grilled/baked/roasted fish or chicken. Depending what the starch is, I either have it (I'd have rice) or substitute it for extra veggies (if it's something like garlic mashed potatoes).

I also sometimes ask questions about the menu to make sure I know what I'm getting.

I almost always eat the whole protein portion. Since I only order grilled/baked/roasted fish or chicken, and don't do appetizers/bread/dessert, that works well. It allows me to feel satisfied and full for a reasonable amount of calories. I also usually eat all the veggies, provided if they are prepared in a good way. How much of the starch I eat varies -- it depends what it is and how the rest of the meal was.

One more thing...I ALWAYS drink WATER with my meals!

Well, I'm maintaining right now, so I'm not so strict with myself. I have certain rules, though.
My SO knows enough that I only want to go to restaurants that have something resembling healthy food. LOL
For example, I will get the plainest grilled or broiled meat, fish or chicken that I can get. I will get a baked potato and usually eat the whole thing with a light slathering of sour cream and no butter. If there are steamed veggies, I will get those. But I don't forgo the potato. I love baked potatoes and the skin and I consider it a treat and I don't believe it's bad for me in moderation. I get salad dressing on the side and put very little on my salad. I use tons of hot pepper where it applies. I usually eat one piece of bread from the bread basket. I don't usually get dessert, but sometimes I get coffee. If SO gets dessert, I'll have a few bites. I prefer to prolong the dining experience anyway, and wait until I get home to have a lighter dessert. It's something more to look forward to and I enjoy it just as much. If we go to an Italian restaurant, I try to steer clear of the pasta dishes and get pizza if they have it. I like to get the margherita pizza (the "cleanest" option) and have them drown it in fresh basil. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm and only have 2 slices. It's enough and I eat it slowly w/a fork and knife. We usually go out to eat once a week. I haven't gained any weight and I enjoy myself. OK, getting hungry again....
Forgot to add that depending on the size of the meat/chicken/fish portion, sometimes I will let my SO "taste" a good 1/3 of the piece. And I never get alcohol. I usually get a diet soda and a water.