I have heard a lot of people limit their gorging while eating out by asking for a doggy bag when they first get their food.. and putting half of it in the doggybag immediately. Has anyone ever tried this? I feel like I would be kind of embarrassed to do this lol. But it sounds like it would be a great thing to try so maybe I will try it sometime!

One thing for me and my binge eating is that I honestly have NEVER had leftovers that I have not finished when I got home. So part of me thinks that the healthiest thing for me would be to put half of the meal in a doggybag (since meals at restaurants are soo huge)... and then honestly give it away to a friend/family member or throw it out.

I used to do it a lot when I was starting out! You might get a strange glance here or there, but it works. You'd feel awfully silly reaching into that doggie bag to take the food out again!

Now I can work off my hunger signals or decide that I'm going to eat half my meal and leave it on my plate. Or I order something low calorie and eat all of it

When I do this, I don't ask right away.. I always ask when the waitress/waiter comes back to see if it all is tasty or if we need anything, like 5 mins into having our food. I didn't want to do it RIGHT AWAY either, and the 5 or so mins before the waiter comes back isnt nearly long enough for me to eat it all, so it's perfect for me.

I also make sure I drink my entire glass of water before the food gets there, so theres less room in my tummy to fill up.. and at this point, I don't like that overly full feeling anymore, it makes me uncomfortable.

If you can't handle having the box o'leftovers in the fridge, give it away. To whoever you are dining with. I've never tossed it out before just to avoid eating it, I have thrown it in the feezer - that way if I DO want it, it's so rock hard that I can't have it right away and I'd have to wait, and usually the 'i want this NOW!' feeling has passed by then so I'm good.

When I used to eat out, I would cut everything in half immediately and shove the half to the side and pretend it wasn't there. At some point when the waiter came back I'd ask for a doggie bag. Unless it was pretty unfulfilling meal in the first place, this usually worked. I'd take the leftovers for lunch the next day. I got some comments and snickers, but it kept me from overindulging.

Do it all the time and it works. When hubby and I make our order we ask for the 'to go' boxes be brought to the table when the food is served, we put half our meal in the go box to enjoy at another meal and enjoy the other half of the meal at the table. I admit it felt weird at first but now I really don't care what others think just like I don't care what they think we we make the Sign of the Cross and say grace before we eat. Hope this helps.

That is a great idea! I never thought of that but I am going to try it along with the doggie bag option!

There is a diet called "Before, During and After" it's on youtube. The idea was about drinking a glass of water before, during and after you eat to eat less. So the water idea is a good idea.

I haven't asked for a box up front, but I have asked for a half portion (sometimes cheaper, sometimes not - I just say I don't want to waste food) or to just leave off the (non-veg) sides.

My husband and I make all sorts of special requests when dining out. I've asked for the to-go box at the beginning of the meal, we've asked for food not on the menu, we've asked for special modifications to the meal... and because we do it in a courteous, pleasant manner (and have usually engaged the wait staff in conversation before making the request and our very polite when asking) we've never had a problem (except once in a while with a "new" waitress who doesn't seem to grasp the idea of "special request," and we'll calmly tell the waitress we'd like her to go ask the manager or someone who's been waitressing their longer to come to the table. Then we'll ask the more senior staff, offer to pay any additional charge they feel is fair for the accomodations, and we're almost always accomodated (and usually just offering to pay an additional charge, usually results in there being NO additional charge, whereas if we don't offer they'll usually say "certainly, but there will be an additional charge," and we'll say "that's fine." Usually we beat them to the punch, because when we offer to pay an additional charge, there's usually not one.")

When we do make special requests, we tip a little more, and that tends to go a really long way in getting excellent service.

Once, we were in a restaurant and at the time, we were relatively new customers (we eventually became very good friends with the owner and her family). However, at this point we were just very appreciative customers, and had complimented the owner many times on her food and had talked to her about food. At any rate, we'd only been in the restaurant a few times, and the owner's husband came out with dishes for the table that we hadn't ordered for us to "try" because they were considering adding them to the menu. A lady sitting at a nearby table (who wem had noticed had been very rude and condescending to the waitress in making her special requests) whispered snidely to her husband that we "must be very important people."

The owner's husband had overheard and whispered to us that all it took to be important in their restaurant was being friendly and polite.

A smile and a compliment goes a long way in getting exactly what you want, without so much as an eyeblink. In fact, restaurant staff seem to love making special requests for people who are polite and appreciative.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I've never like ordering something and then feeling I have to leave some on the plate, put some of it away in a doggy bag, etc. I prefer to order something much smaller (e.g., soup & appetizer) and relax in the knowledge that I can eat the whole thing.

F.

It also depends where you live. Here in the midwest (it was bad in Illinois and much, much worse in Wisconsin - or good depending on how you look at it), but even the high-end restaurants seem to make it a competition as to who can serve the largest portions. Even the appetizers, and sometimes even the soup will be large enough to serve as a large meal for a grown adult.

It's either leave it on the plate or take it home in one way or another (in you or in a doggy bag).

Ordering half orders doesn't really help, the restaurants that will comply, will charge you 2/3 the price and bring you what pretty much looks like a full-order. Even ordering off the children's menu (which most will allow you to do, though for some there's an extra charge) doesn't guarantee that you won't get an adult-size plus portion.

If hubby and I didn't take eat partial portions, we'd each weight 600 lbs.

Just on average, I can usually get three meals from one restaurant portion (I've gotten as many as six). And I'm not talking 1/2 cup meals - I'm talking four or five decent-sized servings. I've seen people with small appetites (thin and elderly) leave their plate with more food than many restaurants serve as a full serving. We joked in one restaurant that it was a "loaves and fishes miracle" because my husband had ordered a five piece fish dinner and when he was done eating, there were six full pieces still on his plate (it had come from the kitchen piled six inches deep).

In a way, it's quite sad. In some countries just one of our restaurant meals for two would feed a family of twelve. And on the other hand, the huge portions and low-prices allow us to eat out more than if we lived elsewhere (meals here in central Wisconsin run about 1/2 to 2/3 the prices they did in Bloomington, IL - which were still reasonable compared to many areas of the country).

People sometimes look oddly at me, or ask me if I've recently had weight loss surgery, when I put 3/4 of my food in a take-out box (not realizing that people who've had weight loss surgery can only eat a couple tablespoons of food). But really, who needs to eat a large plate of food, piled three to six inches with food.

And order a dinner salad (usually under $8) and you get what almost looks like a full head of lettuce, and that's not counting the toppings (Always order dressing and high-cal toppings on the side - unfortunately then you get even MORE, but at least you get to control what goes on the salad).