I typically only go out to eat once or twice a month, if that, and because it is not very frequent I usually don’t hold back when I go. Since it isn’t that often, it is pretty easy to make adjustments with my nutrition so the meal doesn’t mess with my goals. But I know a lot of people that eat out at least once a week, if not all weekend long. There may be plenty of people that eat out every day as well. Sometimes, eating out can make sticking to your fitness goals very difficult. I don’t believe this always has to be the case and there are some restaurants that can even help you adhere to your fitness goals.
From what I have noticed, meals that are eaten out are usually higher in calories, which could be for a number of reasons. First, the portion size alone that is given to you at a restaurant is usually much larger than what I would typically serve myself at home. At home when I eat, I usually eat just enough, but when I leave a restaurant I will often times be completely stuffed. Then regardless of the portion sizes, many restaurants will cook their food to be savory rather than be health focused. So lots of butter, oil, sauces, and cheese are usually added to meals to help enhance the flavor. Even though these additions make the meal taste phenomenal, it also quickly racks up calories. Lastly, this may vary from person to person, but at home I typically drink water. But when I go out I will usually order some sort of alcoholic beverage or at least something other than water which adds even more calories. So a typical dinner at home for me may be around 500-800 calories, whereas when I go out, I can easily clear well over 1000 if I don’t pay attention.
For someone like me who does not eat out very often, the easiest thing I have found to do is just eat less the rest of the day. I typically know when I am going to go out for dinner in advance, so I just eat less throughout the day to compensate for my super high calorie meal. That way when I enjoy an appetizer, beer, and savory meal, I’m not worrying about what it will do to my nutrition goals. If I am in a position where I’m trying to stick to strict calorie goals, I will even just look ahead at the menu to pre-pick what I am going to eat. A lot of restaurants have their nutrition info posted online and even if they don’t, you can find a meal option that will be easy for you to guess the calorie count. This way I will know exactly how much I need to limit myself throughout the day to account for my meal later in the evening.
This approach can also work for someone who eats out every weekend. Maybe you have a decent nutrition routine for the workweek, but on your days off you like to go enjoy a meal out somewhere. So rather than follow your same eating habits like you do on your workdays, account for that one large meal and eat accordingly the rest of your day. This may mean foregoing the bacon at breakfast and chips at lunch in order to save some extra calories for dinner. Or if you are a breakfast person, go all out for breakfast and just eat a few smaller meals or snacks for the rest of your day.
For any of these types of diners, whether you eat out once in a while or every weekend, you can also look at overall calories for the week. If you know you are going to go out to eat every Friday or Saturday evening, you can cut out a few calories from each day which will cushion your one extravagant meal. If you were to lower every other day of the week by 100 calories, it would add an additional 600 calories you can give to your meal “out”. Then when you look at overall calories for the week, it is the same. The options to split up your calories are endless. Just try to be consistent with whatever method you choose.
For those of you like to eat out every day, it may be a little harder to stick to nutrition goals. Unless you’re going to a restaurant that caters to or is designed for fitness goals, the meal options usually aren’t very macronutrient friendly. Also, even a restaurant that has its nutrition information posted online, it’s not always 100% accurate. The variation won’t hurt for a day or two, but if you are constantly tracking meals with wrong macros, it will make it much harder to actually stick to your nutrition goals. I would also assume for most people, consuming such a large amount of calories in one sitting is setting yourself up for going over your daily calorie goal. I’m not saying you can’t get most of your calories all in one sitting. I’m just pointing out that if you aren’t accustomed to fasting, you would have to really be careful for most of your day, every day, so you don’t overeat all the time.
Now there are some restaurants that are geared for helping people adhere to their fitness goals. Not only do they provide healthy meal options, but some will even do meal prep for you. It may be more expensive than cooking on your own meals, but they are quick options that make eating out and adhering to a diet a little easier. Even some fast food places make for some good options that are calorie and macro friendly. Chipotle and Potbelly are 2 of my favorites. Even if the calorie count online isn’t accessible or wrong, either a burrito bowl or sandwich are created with ingredients that are easy to track yourself. Both options can also be made as low calorie or indulgent as you’d like. If you are going out to a more traditional sit down restaurant, I would apply the same logic if I was trying to keep my calories down. I would look for dishes that were made with simple ingredients and probably aren’t made with a lot of butter or oil (don’t be afraid to ask for none to be used when cooking your meal if you have really strict goals). A lot of restaurants do have “healthy choice” options, but if not, salads and sandwiches are always easy to track choices in my opinion.