Eating Out Healthy: 20 Tips for Smarter Dining Choices

Ditching home cooked food for once and eating out in a good restaurant is one of the favorite things, which many families enjoy and it also helps with the social aspect of life. Frequent travellers also have to rely on outside food instead of home cooked meals. However, research has shown that eating out is linked with poor food choices and overeating.^{(1, 2)}

So, is there any other option or should we just ditch eating out completely? In this article, we will talk about 20 smart ways to eat healthy when dining out. These smart tips will not only help you in enjoying eating healthy food in a good restaurant, but also you do not have to give up your social life in case there is any family or office event scheduled in a restaurant.

When you go outside and reach the restaurant feeling ravenous, then it increases the risk of overeating. So, it is recommended to have a light healthy snack at home before leaving for the restaurant and this can include high-protein low-calorie snack, such as having some dry fruits or nuts and seeds before leaving to curb the extreme hunger pangs so you can make healthier food choices when you are ordering in a restaurant and also prevent you from overeating. ⁽³⁾

If you do not know what is available in the restaurant, then it is better to find out what they serve before you get to the restaurant.

When you are distracted or hungry, the chances of making unhealthy food choices are more. ⁽⁴⁾

The smell and sight of the aesthetically pleasing food served in a restaurant makes it all the more difficult to go for a healthy item, more so when you are hungry.

If you know what is on the menu beforehand before leaving for the restaurant, then it makes it easy for you to select healthy food as soon as you arrive.

Water is a good choice to drink before meals especially when you are planning to eat outside. Avoid sugar-sweetened drinks and instead choose water to curb your calories intake and avoiding unnecessary calories and added sugar. ⁽⁵⁾

A study has shown that individuals who were on a diet and who drank 500 ml of water 30 minutes before a meal tend to consume lesser calories and lost about 44% additional weight when compared to those who didn’t. ⁽⁶⁾

The manner in which the food is cooked is important as it can have a significant impact on the number of calories it has.

When dining outside always choose food that has been grilled, steamed, poached or roasted, as these cooking methods tend to have lesser calories and also have less fat when compared to other cooking methods.

Foods which are described on the menu as fried, pan-fried, crunchy, crispy or sautéed will often have more calories and more fat.

When dining out and when we are deciding on what to place order for, this crucial decision can easily be swayed by what others are ordering and subconsciously one tends to mimic the same kind of order which may not be healthy.

The choices which people decide upon when eating out can be highly influenced along with eating patterns of other individuals at the table. ⁽⁷⁾ Make sure that you have decided what to order and place your order before anyone else; especially if you are with a group which tends to order something unhealthy and can hinder with your healthy diet plan.

Mindful eating is important if you want to be healthy and keep your weight in check. It means making conscious decision about what you eat and paying full attention to your food when eating and savoring all the different textures and flavors present in it instead of eating in a hurried and distracted manner where you can easily overeat.

Mindful eating has been associated with making healthier food choices when eating out. ⁽⁸⁾ It also helps in improving your self-control and prevents you from overeating. ⁽⁹⁾

Now ordering two appetizers instead of one main is an excellent and healthy choice when eating at restaurants. Studies have shown that people are more likely to overeat when they are served with larger portions of food. ⁽¹⁰⁾ So, choosing two healthy small appetizers instead of one big main meal is a good way to keep your eating choices healthy when dining at a restaurant, especially if you are a frequent traveller and rely on outside food or if you are a working professional who has to network or discuss business during meals.

Eating slowly, mindfully and chewing the food thoroughly is beneficial by making you eat less and it also helps in making you feel full better and faster. ⁽¹¹⁾

One great way to make sure you are chewing slowly is to appoint a minimum number of chews per mouthful. Another way is to keep your utensils down between mouthfuls and relax and focus on chewing the food. This is a great way to slow down and allow time for your satiety signals to kick in.

Skip dessert and get a coffee instead. This is another healthy choice for you when you have to dine out in the restaurant. Doing this will not only help in cutting calories and the added sugar, but one can also reap the health benefits of coffee.

Dressings and sauces are filled with fats, oil and sugar and they add a lot to the calories; so, when ordering any dish, ask them to serve the sauce or dressing on the side.

For example, two tablespoons of ranch salad dressing will have 16 g of fat and 140 calories which are added to your meal. Keeping them on the side makes it much easier to make sure you are not eating lot of it.

Many of us tend to eat very less vegetables. ⁽¹²⁾ Vegetables are a good healthy choice as they not only have less calories, but are also loaded with healthy nutrients and fibre. ⁽¹³⁾

Increasing the intake of vegetables is also associated with reduced risk of various diseases, such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart problems and depression. ⁽¹⁴⁾

When eating out in a restaurant, tell the server to swap the unhealthy part of your meal, such as potatoes or fries for extra salad or vegetables. This will help in increasing your vegetable consumption and reduce your calories.

Always choose salad or soup before moving onto your main meal, as this will prevent you from overeating. ⁽¹⁵⁾

Research has also shown that having a soup before the actual meal helps in cutting down the total calorie intake by around 20%. ⁽¹⁶⁾

Like mentioned before, arriving at the restaurant hungry will lead you to overeat the nibbles that are provided before the actual meal. A choice would be to send them back and order your appetizer right away.

A study has shown that people who have successfully lost weight and managed to keep it off had often ordered half a portion or shared their food when dining out in a restaurant. ⁽¹⁷⁾ This is a simple and effective method to prevent overeating and to cut back on the calories when eating out.

In case the person you are with does not want to share the meal, then tell the server to pack half of your meal, so you can take it home instead of finishing it off in the restaurant.

All of us unknowingly consume a lot of sugar through our diets, which is not good for the health. ⁽¹⁸⁾ One popular and notorious source of sugar, which we are better off without are sugar-sweetened drinks, such as sodas and fruit juices. ⁽¹⁹⁾

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is strongly associated an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity. ⁽²⁰⁾

If you want to drink something with your meal then go for water or unsweetened coffee or tea.

Alcohol adds a significant amount of calorie to your meal. The number of calories present in an alcoholic drink depends on the size of the drink and the strength of the alcohol.

For example, a large glass of red wine (250 ml) having 13% alcohol in volume can easily add about 280 calories to your meal.

If you enjoy an alcoholic beverage with your meal, then it is recommended to order smaller glasses of wine to reduce the number of calories it has.

If you take alcohol with spirits like vodka, gin or whiskey, then it is advisable to mix the spirit with a diet drink rather than a sugar-sweetened drink.

We all like our sauces, some are rich in calories; whereas as others not so much. A healthier choice when it comes to choosing a sauce would be to go for tomato- or vegetable-based sauces instead of cheesy-cream based sauces, as it will be rich in fats and calories.

People are infamous for estimating wrongly the portion sizes whenever they have to eat. ⁽²¹⁾

So, this is especially seen when you go to a buffet that offers unlimited supply of food, which makes eating healthier and in the right amount quite challenging. In such situations at a restaurant, it is recommended to use a smaller plate, which helps in portion control and eating less. ⁽²²⁾

Another effective choice is to use a normal-sized plate and fill half of it with vegetables or salad and the other half with regular food so the calories consumed are less and you are eating healthier too. ⁽²³⁾

You can find dietary labels everywhere including the restaurant menus. There may be meals highlighted as “gluten-free;” “paleo;” or “sugar-free.”

Many people get tricked into thinking that these are healthy choices for a meal. However, not many know that they contain hidden added fats and sugars within them to enhance their taste.

Even the desserts which are labelled as “sugar-free” will have some added “natural” sugars. So, be aware of these things and don’t fall into the trap of thinking that as these are healthy, so might as well eat a lot of it! You have to treat such kind of labeled meals as others and consume in a limited quantity. Just because they are categorized as healthy or sugar free doesn’t mean you can overindulge in them.

There will be times when you really want to indulge yourself and not think about your diet and you just want to eat your favorite food for pleasure only. In such cases, do not worry or overthink as you can have a cheat day once a week where you can eat whatever you want and there is no need to feel guilty about it as you will be back on track the next day.

In fact, depriving yourself of something which you like and following a rigid diet increases the risk of overeating. Having flexibility regarding your food choices is known to result in better overall health and weight management. ⁽²⁴⁾

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