Blog: Two Restaurant Hacks

“What do I do when I don’t have control over my food choices?”  That is the #1 question we get from our nutrition clients when referring to dining out.  The problem is that in many cases we get to the restaurant feeling ravenous because we waited too long to eat. In some situations, people “save up” their calories to be able to dine out. Take a moment to think about a time when you went out to eat and were hungry…….Did you find yourself NEEDING an appetizer, then a salad, and your entree? Maybe you even ordered a glass of alcohol or possibly a dessert.

Now let this statistic settle in: The FDA recommends on average that we consume about 2,000 calories a day (we know this actually varies depending on the person and their lifestyle), and the average entree when dining out is 1,200 calories.  Imagine how much we are over eating when we get that high calorie entree, the appetizer, salad, alcoholic beverage, and maybe even a dessert .  The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are TWO restaurant hacks I provide to my clients.

Tip #1: Know before you go!

I can’t stress how important it is to make your choices as soon as you know you are dining out. Take a moment to review the menu to look for veggies and lean protein options. Doing this one tip will help avoid making poor choices because you waited until you are hungry to decide what to order.

Tip #2 Eat your veggies first!

If you can fill up on veggies first that will help ensure you are getting good quality food into your system, then you can move on to that lean protein option. Can you guess what’s last?  If you said the carbohydrate– you are correct!