Tips & Tricks – How to Track at a Restaurant

The time will come (if it hasn’t already) where you are faced with going out to eat and the stress of logging your macros. Before we go any further…please, do not let this stress you out. Be thankful that you have friends and family to go out and enjoy a meal with. Flexible dieting is flexible. With that being said…there are ways that we can approach this without feeling as if you are throwing the day away.
Easy!

Meals out with friends and family who have different goals than you are going to test your self-discipline. Just like getting up in the morning to hit the gym or brushing your teeth before you go to bed, your disciple to uphold your nutrition goals are going to come into play. It may or may not go as planned your first go round but as always…practice makes perfect.

So, let’s talk ways to navigate these scenarios!

#1 Find out the restaurant and look over the menu

- Most chain restaurants are going to have their nutritional information on their website. If you are eating local and they do not have this information, choose a chain that seems comparable.

#2 Plan! Log your meal ahead of time

- If you have been craving a burger, a big plate of spaghetti or even pizza, log it into my fitness pal that morning. This will allow you to work the rest of your day around that meal you’ve been looking forward to! Be mindful that you will most likely need to really focus in on your protein and most likely avoid fat throughout the day leading up to dinner (or whatever meal it ends up being).

#3 Ask the waiter questions

- Let’s say you order fajitas at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Ask your waiter how many ounces of meat is prepared for the dish. Most restaurants know exactly the amount for each dish.

#4 Dressing/Sauces on the side

- This is a BIG one!! Do not be afraid to request dressings and sauces on the side. This will save you so much unwanted & unnecessary calories. You can be in charge of how much dressing your salad has!

#5 What to do about bread basket and basket of chips…

- Here is the thing…if you are not capable of not eating the entire basket or stopping after 1 roll or 10 chips, tell the waiter to not bring them to the table. I know that sounds like no fun but one brutal truth is those baskets of bread and chips can completely derail an entire meal. If life just isn’t complete without chips and salsa…just make sure you account for those calories!