Dining Out

This morning I woke up to a FaceBook thread about a popular blogger who has encouraged her followers to lie to restaurant servers about having food allergies in order to stay on track with their "diets", she also provided other obnoxious ways to ensure getting the kitchen staff's loogies in your food instead of diet derailing ingredients.  Needless to say, servers, those with real allergies and others in social media world are in an uproar.  And rightfully so.  Before becoming a fitness professional I worked in restaurants for 10 years, I still have the occasional nightmare about being "in the weeds" and vividly remember "those tables" that made Meg Ryan's on-the-side performance in "When Harry Met Sally" seem like a simple request for an extra napkin. Not only is lying about a medical condition annoying and unethical, it puts those with real, life threatening allergies at risk for being in a dangerous boy-who-cried-wolf scenario.

Although I recommend my clients prepare the vast majority of meals at home, I often field questions about choosing healthy restaurant options. Even I enjoy and occasional "date night" with my hubby or lunch with girlfriends.  Here are a few practical tips on dining out that won't put you at risk for ruining your diet efforts or getting more saliva than you bargained for.



1. Restaurant Recon- Most restaurants have their menus on line, some even have apps with menu items, ingredients and even nutritional information.  Choose restaurants that offer tons of grilled veggies, seafood and naturally gluten free options.

2. Choose restaurants that fit your needs- If you're trying to avoid fried foods, the local catfish restaurant should be off your radar.  If you're avoiding gluten don't go to an Italian restaurant.  And if dairy is the enemy, you probably want to stay away from the restaurant known for it's world famous cheesecake or supreme nachos.  Even if these restaurants offer other options, often the temptation to splurge or to make unreasonable requests can prove too great for even the strongest of will power.

2. Make Appropriate Requests- Asking a server to not bring the complimentary bread to the table, or to leave the cheese off of the salad, or even bring a to-go box before the food has arrived so you can control portion sizes are appropriate requests.
Appropriate requests also include- 
           -Substitutions clearly stated on the menu i.e. grilled instead of fried, grilled veggies or salad instead               of french fries or gluten free pasta or pizza dough.
           -Omission of toppings i.e. no sour cream, no grated cheese, no croutons.
           -Oil and vinegar instead of salad dressing.
Totally recreating menu items or asking the kitchen to change the very core of the meal, say requesting cheesy garlic mashed potatoes without butter and cheese, or even abusing the amount of appropriate requests you make, will only insure that you become "that table" and possibly the butt of a few crude comments in the wait station.

3. Timing is everything- If you have real dietary restrictions such as allergies or celiac disease, or are going to require more than a few modifications, dining out on Mother's Day (the busiest day of the year for restaurants) is probably not a good idea.  Servers and kitchen staff are far more likely to honor your requests and answer questions when they don't have 50 other tables to tend to.  Having lunch with girlfriends after the lunch rush, or dinner with co-workers at 5:30pm on a Tuesday evening often guarantees a more leisurely dining experience for you and the staff.  Most servers are happy to answer questions and make suggestions when they have time to do so.   Be patient...even modifications listed on the menu, like gluten free pizza dough or the veggie burger can be a pain for the kitchen if they are not commonly ordered items.

4. Sharing is Caring and Ordering a la carte-  Maybe you're a vegetarian and find yourself at an obligatory business lunch at the local steak house, or maybe Uncle Buck's surprise 50th birthday lunch is being held at the "Greasy Spoon" and you're healthy choices are extremely limited.  Chances are, someone else in your party is also desperately searching for something that won't negate their latest trip to the gym.  Offer to split an entree and order an extra salad.  Suggest dining "family style", ordering a few light appetizers and entrees that can be shared by everyone (be prepared to figure out how to split the bill on your own).  Or avoid the center of the menu all together and keep on eye on the appetizers, salads, soups and sides.  Ordering a la carte allows you to customize your meal without finding something suspicious floating in your special ordered, off-menu, meatless meatloaf with gluten free gravy...on the side.

5. Avoid hidden waistline wideners- Obviously, the fettuccine alfredo and chocolate lava cake are poor choices for weight management.  But that strawberry margarita could do more damage to your weight loss efforts than the strawberry cream pie.  Be aware that many restaurant drinks, including cocktails and sodas are loaded with sugar, sodium, artificial sweeteners, colors and flavors.  Stick with water or an occasional glass of wine.  Avoid freebies.  Even if you are not watching the wheat or carbs, forgoing the complimentary bread and chips will shave hundreds of unwanted calories and sodium from your daily food journal.  Salad dressings, especially ones labeled "lite", are chock full of sugar and sodium, ask for oil and vinegar instead.  You can even use the lemon wedge from your water glass to brighten the flavor of a salad or seafood dish instead of extra dressing or sauce.

Dining out should be a treat rather than habit or necessity.  No matter how cautious you are in your choices, or how diligent you are about portion sizes, you'll be hard pressed to find a restaurant that can create a truly healthful meal that can compete with a fresh, vegetable based meal made at home.  Although there are now, more than ever, organic, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, dairy free options, a restaurant's top priority is making food taste good and making a profit, often at the sake of your health.  Enjoy dining out responsibly and sparingly.