Tips For Eating Clean While Eating Out

1. {Believe it’s Possible}

Don’t assume that just because you’re leaving home you’ll have to relax your nutrition plan. The answer is planning and always being mindful of what you’re eating.

2. {Research your Restaurant}

Instead of waiting until you sit down and hoping there will be something appealing on the menu, go online and scan the menu ahead of time. Avoid the usual suspects - deep fried, creamy, etc. At the restaurant, don’t be afraid to ask your server questions like how a particular dish is prepared, what toppings come on it, or if you can substitute certain unhealthy sides for steamed vegetables, a side salad with olive oil and vinegar or a plain sweet potato. You should also be aware that restaurants always use way too much salt to enhance the flavor of their dishes, so ask your server to limit the salt or hold the salt…that way you control the amount of salt used.

3. {Order Water}

This is a simple one – get rid of the empty calories found in sodas, beers, and sweetened beverages. Free refills and sitting around a table chatting with friends for nearly an hour is an easy way to consume ridiculous levels of sugar (or even worse, chemically altered products that are turned into sugar). If you need some flavor in your water, squeeze a lime or lemon into it. As an added bonus, you will save $2.00 for every meal you dine out…and you will be surprised at how quickly that adds up!

4. {Create your own Entrée}

Despite how it appears at most restaurants, you’re not limited to how things are organized and offered on the menu. For instance, you can order the fish but tell them to replace the butter sauce with the mango salsa that’s on the nachos. And if broccoli accompanies the prime rib, you can order some of it even though it’s not listed as a separate side dish. The point is, if the ingredients are already in the kitchen, the chef should be willing to combine them in more healthful ways. Likewise, don’t be shy about ordering an entrée portion of an appetizer or even a side that better fits your dietary needs.

5. {Win them to Your Cause}

If the waiter scoffs, tell him you’re training for a fitness competition or participating in a fitness challenge.  This will win you the support and respect of your server.  He/she will become more compassionate and willing to help you!

6. {Don’t be Afraid to be “That Guy”... or “Girl”}

There will be times when you are with a new crowd, and you may feel like it would just be easier to not look picky and order a standard dish without “cleaning it up”.  But you have to press on and do what is best for you and your health!  Again, sharing your goals will win you their support and respect!

7. {Ask For a Box}

For those needing to practice portion control and limiting calories, ask for a box as soon as you get your food and immediately put half of your meal in to the box, close it, and put it in a place you will not have the urge to go in for seconds.  Not only does this save on calories, but also it spreads your meal cost over two meals.

8. {Enjoy Your Meal and Revel in Your Success}

It’s important to remember that the satisfaction you get from eating tasty, but unhealthy foods is fleeting, but the satisfaction you will receive from building the body that you’ve always dreamed of is much more enduring.  You will have more energy and more self-confidence.  The more often you “practice” eating clean while eating out, the more habitual it will become, and the better you will be at it!