Tips for eating out and special occasions

Eating out

General strategies

• Plan ahead. Adjust your eating in the days before/after event, or earlier on the day of the event itself, to ensure not to consume more than what you have set out in your eating plan.
• Think about any challenges you will encounter to sticking with your plan and have a plan for how to manage them.  Review what you have done in the past to successfully address these challenges. Challenges include:
  • The amounts and types of food that will be provided
  • The social pressure to eat
  • Any “extras” that will be served (appetizers, chips and dip, sweets)
  • Alcohol
• Eat slowly and enjoy your food.

Restaurants

• Participate in the choice of restaurant.
• Look at the menu in advance or even call the restaurant to inquire about healthful options.
• Skip the bread that is often presented first.
• If possible, ask for modifications such as extra vegetables instead of potatoes and sauces and dressings on the side so you can control how much you use.
• Choose from the regular menu rather than a set menu, which often has unhealthful choices and it is difficult to resist all that is included when you have paid for it.
• Choose a healthy appetizer instead of an entree.
• Split an entree with someone else.
• Opt for fresh fruit for dessert or share a dessert with someone else.
• See tried-and-true healthy restaurant tips from Nutrition Action for more ideas.

Buffets

• Review what is available before you put anything on your plate. Identify a few foods you would really enjoy and select small portions. Complement with low-calorie options such as a salad or vegetables.
• Try using a small plate rather than a full-sized dinner plate.
• Visit the buffet table only once.
• Remove your plate once you have finished.

Eating at someone else’s house

• If possible, try to find out in advance what will be served so you can adjust your food and beverage consumption to remain within your nutrition goal.
• It may be possible for you to bring a low-calorie option to add to the menu.
• Fill your plate with salad and vegetables and take only small amounts of high-calorie dishes.

Entertaining at home

• Consider whether you are obliged to serve high-fat, high calories meals. A healthful meal is just as likely to be welcomed by guests and does not indicate poor hospitality.
• If you have food left over, offer it to guests or freeze it immediately.
• If you tend to pick at food while preparing it, chew gum while you cook.

Vacations

• Decide on your goal for the vacation. Do you want to prevent weight gain? Continue with your weight loss?
• Pay attention to temptations to eat at airports, on trains or at gas stations. Consider bringing your own food for travel such as nuts, fruit, sandwiches or low-calorie snacks.
• Does your alcohol intake tend to increase when on vacation? How do you intend to manage this?

Special occasions (parties, birthdays, weddings, etc.)

• Stick to your usual goal for the week. Be realistic about how you will do this:
  • Eating nothing all day is likely to lead to overeating later on. Eating lightly on the day before and the day after may be a more reasonable plan.
• Continue to monitor.
• Have a plan for dealing with alcohol. For example, you can mix a spritzer with wine and club soda or calorie-free lemon.
• Focus on the other pleasurable aspects of the occasion.
• Manage the pressure to eat. Have a polite and firm response to those who encourage you to eat more than you planned.
• Avoid snacks such as chips, chocolates and sweets.