The Traveler's Guide to Restaurant Eating

Eating away from home can be a nutritional minefield full of high-calorie obstacles just waiting to blow your healthy eating plans to pieces.

But you don't have to avoid restaurants or not enjoy eating out just because you're on a diet or watching what you eat. The key to being nutritionally successful when eating out -- and not doubling your daily intake of calories in one meal -- is to understand how to control your hunger and your environment when sitting down at a restaurant table. Seven simple steps can make things a little easier for you the next time you're presented with a menu.

Plan Ahead

Before you head out to eat, do some nutrition recon work. Thanks to the Internet, this is much easier now than it was five years ago. Just about every restaurant has an online menu these days. And even when a restaurant's website doesn't include its menu, there are countless third-party sites that aggregate not only restaurant reviews, but menus as well. Check out what the restaurant has to offer in side dishes, entrees and appetizers. Choose beforehand what you'll eat and how you'll ask that it be prepared. Taking these steps will remove any anxiety you may have about "finding something that fits in your diet" when you get to the restaurant, allowing you to relax and enjoy the experience.

Don't Go Hungry

Just as it's a bad idea to go grocery shopping with an empty stomach, the same is true when going to a restaurant. Controlling choice, portions and calories when eating out is difficult enough when you're not starving; don't make it harder on yourself. Try to never enter a dining establishment feeling extremely hungry. The sight and smells of food, as well as the sounds of eating, will heighten your hunger and lower your sense of control, increasing the chances you'll order food that doesn't fit into your nutrition plan, or you'll eat more than you should. If you find you're really hungry, have a small apple before you get to the restaurant. The fiber in the apple can help curb your hunger. If you don't get the opportunity to eat an apple before arriving at the restaurant, order a small salad and eat that before you order your entree. This also helps curb your hunger and ensure that you don't overeat.

Turn Away What You Don't Want

A major part of being successful when eating out is controlling the environment and limiting temptation as much as possible. This is especially important when it comes to the "free" foods restaurants like to give you. Bread baskets, chips or other high-carbohydrate, low-nutrient foods are frequently offered before you even order your meal.

The key to avoiding these temptations is simple: Ask your server not to bring any. You aren't going to eat the bread, so why let the warm, buttery rolls sit in front of you, within easy reach? It's best to eliminate the temptation and just politely say "No, thank you" when a member of the wait staff brings it to your table.

Choose the Method Wisely

When navigating the menu, look for foods that are grilled, broiled, baked or seared. These are methods that don't add calories in cooking.

Searing and grilling use high heat and are good ways to cook lean protein sources such as chicken breast, white fish or lean cuts of beef because the high heat locks in the flavor and juices, giving you a great meal without unnecessary fat or calories.

Be Skeptical of Sauces

Always order sauces and salad dressings on the side so you can control how much is added to your dish. Just 2 tablespoons of some salad dressings contain more than 150 calories. Most restaurants are concerned with flavor, not your waistline, so ask not only that the sauce or dressing be served on the side, but also if it's made at the restaurant and what's in it. No one is going to ask those questions for you; and don't forget, you're the one paying for this meal, so be informed and get what you want.

A few rules to keep in mind: In general, the creamier or thicker the dressing, the higher the calorie content. These, therefore, should be used sparingly. It's a good idea, too, to limit yourself to 2 tablespoons of any salad dressing. And if you're ever in doubt about the choices, just order oil and vinegar.

Replace the Starches

"No starches, double the vegetables." If you can make that your eating-out mantra, you'll do well. Request that items such as rice, pasta, potato and corn be replaced with extra vegetables instead.

Dining establishments commonly use starchy foods because these items inexpensively increase the look and size of the dish being served, but they'll sabotage your health and weight-loss plans. High-carbohydrate, higher calorie foods can increase the hormone insulin, which may block the fat-burning processes in your body. Vegetables, on the other hand, often contain higher levels of nutrients and lower levels of carbohydrates -- and the carbs they do have tend to be slower-acting. Slower-acting carbohydrates don't raise insulin levels so aggressively, allowing your body to keep the fat-loss gates open and your waistline shrinking.

Another reason to ask for double vegetables is that most restaurants don't serve large portions of vegetables to begin with. Doubling the vegetables in your dish not only raises the nutrition level of your meal, but also fills you up and prevents you from consuming the caloric equivalent of two meals.

Order Off the Menu

If all else fails and you can't find anything to eat, order something that's not on the menu and request that the chef make what you want. Of course, don't order grilled skewered shrimp at a restaurant that doesn't offer seafood. But if you choose from items that are available on the menu, you can build the meal you're looking for.

This works at even the unhealthiest of restaurants. You just need to ask. Find a lean protein source on the menu -- even fast food places often have grilled chicken breasts -- and combine it with the vegetables of your choice, prepared how you wish. If, for example, the restaurant has only stir-fried vegetables, ask them to take those vegetables and steam them instead. You'll have to be persistent, but in doing so, you'll be rewarded by reaching your health and nutrition goals.