I went to my managers' meeting tonight, and it hit me how differantly I perceive eating out now than I did about a year ago.

I used to love eating out. Going for breakfast was the highlight of a night of drinking. It was the best way to gather socially with friends.

Now...I just get frustrated because very few resturaunts have low-fat options, much less reasonably sized entrees. When I went to Tony Roma's, I asked them to box half my entree up for me before they brought it to the table...just so it wouldn't end up going bad while I ate...and they told me they couldn't, because it was 'too confusing for the kitchen.' Why would I even bother to go to a resturaunt and buy a $5 garden salad with a dressing that might be low-fat but still loaded with sugar, when I could stay at home and have my salad made exactly the way I like it...loaded with veggies, with some fish on top, and olive oil and red wine vinegar. Soooo much more satisfying (and cheaper)!

And going to movies...grrr. One time, I was really craving popcorn, so I ordered a small with no butter. Not that that really helped, I know, with the oil popping methods they use. It was HUGE! I didn't even eat a quarter of it, and I knew I was pushing my calorie-count...especially for a simple snack, and not even a meal. From now on, I'll stay at home with a rental and air pop my own popcorn. Again, cheaper and healthier!

I guess all I'm saying is that if I could find somewhere that was especially geared toward those of us who are interested in living healthier lives, I would be glad to pay to go there. I still enjoy meeting friends for food, I just can't seem to afford to these days, calorie-wise.

I'm proud of myself, though. I drank like 4 glasses of water and had a bite of each fattening thing. There was a lot of food in front of me, but I still managed to control myself and come out of it no worse for wear.

Yeah, I hear you. I went out to lunch today with a friend and picked a fish restaurant figuring that would help -- but it was harder to find healthy food than I thought. And when my grilled fish came out, it had oil on it (I assumed dry -- silly me!)

I do much better when we go to chains or other places where I can at least look at menus online (I like Chili's "guiltless grill" selections). Fortunately, I also love a lot of healthy "ethnic" foods, like sushi, where I have been able to roughly determine how I'm doing calorie wise.

But it does make going out a lot more difficult than it used to be when I didn't care what I ate! I am still going to go out, but less often and making very different choices! I'm not trying to be "perfect," but to be aware of the choices I am making.

Great Job!! I know what you mean about going out. It is the appetizers that really tempt me!! I would be fine with getting a chicken salad but, there is the dressing issue and most places around here fry the chicken!! frustrating! when i do go out i usally don't eat much of my meal and box the rest up for lunch the next day!! or order al la carte! shareing your frustraton, amyz!

hmm, Chili's guiltless grill? I didn't know they had that...I'll have to check it out. I wasn't too impressed the last time I was at Chili's, though.

I've been pre-researching resturaunt's menus lately, but what really frustrates me is when you can't find any nutritional information. I was trying to get the nitty-gritty on Tony Roma's, and when I called customer service, the girl told me that they didn't have anything they could email me, and when I was in the resturaunt, they didn't have anything, either. I'm not likely to eat at a place when I can't even get their food facts.

I used to enjoy Old Spaghetti Factory soo much, but I haven't been there in a LONG time. *lol* There's just something scary about the huge white pasta entrees and loaf of bread for a starter. I know that with a little effort, I can make pretty much anything I could have there - or anywhere - at home and it would be better for both my wallet and my waist!

I found the recipe on here for mint chocolate cheesecake, and I'm so excited about making it! But I have to wait until next week to get the ingredients I need

We've dramatically cut down our eating out. We still go out for Sunday lunch a couple of times a month. That's my treat meal, and it's not too horrendous on the calorie front. And my reason for going out for that meal is that if I cooked a Sunday lunch at home, the calorie count would be blitzed, as I would pick and pick all day long.

It's annoying that given both our countries records with obesity, restaurants are not more accommodating. And if you have the sort of job where you need to eat out a lot, it must be incredibly difficult.

Most places here are reasonably accommodating, but you do get some funny looks. "Can I have a childs serving please, I'll still pay full price if its an issue but I don't want a huge plate of food?" I once asked for dressing on the side, and got both!! A dressed salad + more dressing on the sides

i feel you! going out with my friends normally entails lots of drinking and eating and of course the midnight pizza run. its darn near impossible for me to do anything but maintain and thats really watching it! i find myself not wanting to hang out because of it.

how frusterating!

just a dreamy, the spaghetti factory is delicious! I haven't been there in ages but I used to get either the meat lover's platter or the spaghetti w/browned butter and mizithra. *drool* oh wait this wasn't the point...

I tend to eat out quite a bit but I always plan for it and make it work with my calories.

If you do want to be able to eat out on the weekends with friends, maybe you should try calorie cycling? You could eat lower during the week then splurge some on the weekend while keeping your average where you want it. Just a thought

1/2 mizithra and 1/2 meat sauce was my favorite. We had a lot of great times there in college. I remember not eating anything all day just so I would have enough room in my stomach for dinner at the spaghetti factory.

I'll never forget when out friend said to the waiter, "I would like your zesty sausage (as opposed to the zesty sausage)".

I am probably in the minority, but we rarely go out to eat. I changed from working full time to only working every other week day. M,W,F,T,TH, and our going out budget was one that got slashed. Because it was something I enjoyed so much with friends, I like to keep that mind set when we do go out now.

One option I have used several time lately. Many restaurants allow you to add grilled chicken or fish to a salad. I order a big house salad (or some other kind) with the dressing on the side and the fish. They are usually small servings of meat on the salad compared to a dinner entre. I also plan ahead just eating oatmeal for breakfast and maybe an apple or small salad for lunch, so I can enjoy a few glasses of wine with dinner.

My nightmare is road trips where you end up eating out 3 meals a day.

Oh -- I love the guiltless grill at chili's. It tells you exactly how many cal/fat/carb etc right on the menu. And I can bring my kids there.

I agree that it can be quite frustrating trying to order healthy food when one goes out. I would imagine that in smaller towns there aren't too many options, either.

I work in D.C. (and am on a project in Manhattan until this May) and am fortunate that there are so many choices available to me. For example, many of the restaurants here will have no problem making you a 1/2 order of pasta, many of them even offer a 1/2 order on the menu. I also *love* japanese cuisine, which, as wyellen stated, can be very healthy. (Also, while I'm here in New York, if I have a pizza craving, I can go in anywhere and just get a "slice to go, please" rather than a whole pizza )

Morrigan - I think that ordering the salad and getting chicken or fish/shrimp added is a very health concious choice, and an easy way to not have to have "just a salad" for dinner.

Kykaree - dressing on the salad and on the side! They must have thought you loved salad dressing!

I know exactly what you mean. I have that same problem. I go out to dinner at least once a week and I know how easy it is to blow a whole days worth of keeping on track with one American Sized Restaraunt Portion! I just went out to dinner with some friends and I've had to start ordering just a salad with grilled chicken OR if that's NOT an option, I'll only order a diet coke (if I'm with a large group) OR I will order JUST an appetizer and make sure that everyone else eats it (maybe just one bite). Ofcourse I make sure to eat at home first because I don't want to be starving AND watching other people eat. Going out to dinner has become more of a social activity and less of an excuse to pig out!
I keep in mind that I won't be so self conscious of my weight when I go out AND I'll have MORE fun with my DH and friends! This keeps me on track. I don't ever want to go back to the days when it was the highlight of my week to go out to dinner, stuff my face with appetizer, steak, potato, salad, beer, AND dessert. Then I'd roll out of there feeling sick to my stomach and wishing I hadn't eaten all that. Yuck!
Kerry

Hmmmm I still eat out quite a bit. At least 3 meals a week. I don't really have too much trouble finding things I can eat on the menu, but that's most likely because I'm bossy and always pick the restaurant :P There are tons of places I won't go because it's too hard to find something I can eat. (I'm chemically sensitive, so I have that to worry about as well)

I think perhaps my area (western washington) is hippy enough to make it worth the while for most restaurants to have lighter options. We also tend to frequent Japanese and Vietnamese places, where half the menu is pretty friendly.

At our favorite breakfast spot, if I want pancakes, my husband orders them as a side with his breakfast and I steal them and also get a couple poached eggs. This gets me two smallish pancakes instead of a stack I'd barely make a dent in. They'll even make them multigrain.

I think the key is to remember you are going out to be with friends, or to watch a movie. Every event in our lives should not be about food. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we will have more fun going out. I also eat out at least 2 times a week and I always seem to find something that will work.

so true!

Ordering pancakes on the side is a great idea...I wonder if Humpty's or Denny's here would make them multigrain, since I haven't had pancakes at home in sooo long...so that would be a treat. I love poached eggs, and then I usually order a fruit cup, but not much fibre there, so I end up feeling hungry again shortly.

The last time we went to Old Spaghetti Factory, my sister made me laugh so hard...she told me that you can fit more food in your stomach if you spread your legs. You really had to have been there, it was a classical moment. And she's tiny - a smaller size 3 than I am, the differance is, she doesn't really have to care about what she eats!

I go out to eat a LOT, and I never have much of a problem with it. At Perkins, I order french toast made with whole wheat bread and sugar-free syrup, or their swiss mushroom chicken breast with only vegetables on the side. At Applebee's I order off the Weight Watchers menu. At fast food places, I get salads or just a diet soda. My very favorite place is Panera Bread, though. They have good soups and delicious whole grain bagettes. At Mexican places, refried beans are the way to go. It's really not too tough

Japanese food is wonderful. I lost 30 lbs when I lived in Japan I can't wait to go back. I've seriously considered living there the rest of my life because it's so much easier to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. It's fun, too :P Miso soup is very good for you, as is sushi. My favorite Japanese foods are probably bad for you (yakisoba, takoyaki, okonomiyaki...) but I ate them often and in large portions and I still got skinny over there, lol.

I lived in Japan too! I sooo wish you could get okonomiyaki here in the states!! Course, "yaki" does refer to grilled, and so no, it's not the best for you, but I walked a TON in Japan and think I could fit it in from time to time if I lived there. YUM!!

I am finding Vietnamese food to be a good option too. A less good option is Korean barbeque (kalbi)... but a careful indulgence of it once or twice a year isn't going to hurt me.

I also have learned that at many places that do burgers and sandwiches, you can substitute a salad for french fries, which helps a lot.