How to Eat Healthy While Dining Out

Eating out is one of the most popular and enjoyable ways to spend time with other people. So it’s a shame to let weight loss plans stand in the way.

Dinner out in a nice restaurant with friends, family or a partner doesn’t have to be time spent overindulging. It’s perfectly possible to go out, have fun and eat delicious dishes with others while remaining committed to a new eating regime and embracing culinary health.

We’ve come up with some tips, tactics, strategies and tidbits of advice so you can learn how to eat healthy while eating out.

How to stay healthy while eating out

Eating out is one of the most popular and enjoyable ways to spend time with other people. So it’s a shame to let weight loss plans stand in the way.

Dinner out in a nice restaurant with friends, family or a partner doesn’t have to be time spent overindulging. It’s perfectly possible to go out, have fun and eat delicious dishes with others while remaining committed to a new eating regime and embracing culinary health.

We’ve come up with some tips, tactics, strategies and tidbits of advice so you can learn how to eat healthy while eating out.

Top Tips for Eating Healthy While Out

Identify the healthier cuisines before picking a restaurant

Due to the ingredients and the way dishes are cooked, some nation’s cuisines are naturally healthier than others—some Mediterranean cuisines for example. It’s a good idea to know how these various types of cooking stack up in terms of health.

As a general guide, these cuisines can help you eat healthy while dining out ¹:

• Greek
• Lebanese
• Indian
• Japanese
• Thai
• Korean
• Mexican

While the following quite often feature a high percentage of high-calories dishes:

• Chinese
• Italian
• French
• American
• German

That’s not to say you should always avoid restaurants from that second list, just be wary of the dishes on offer.

The type of restaurant matters too. All you can eat buffets may represent excellent value for money, but they’re likely going to result in eating more than you really need.

Research menus online before booking somewhere

Almost all places to eat advertise their offerings online now, helping you to eat healthy while dining out. Many will even publish specific nutritional information and calorie details. That’s great news for anyone sticking to an eating plan.

If you can decide before you go, you’re more likely to stick to the healthiest choice. Only it’s been shown that customers are more likely to pick unhealthy options when they’re distracted². Walking into a new and crowded place, greeting and talking to a friend are all liable to put you off and see you ordering off-piste.

Avoid arriving hungry

Turn up to the restaurant ravenously hungry and you may well over-order or pick something that’s not in line with your diet. To avoid this and eat healthy while dining out, try not to arrive on an entirely empty stomach.

We’re not advising you to eat a meal at home before you leave, but a quick high-protein snack like a handful of almonds or a Greek yoghurt should be enough to keep your stomach from rumbling³ and the French fries away from your side of the table.

Look out for ‘danger words’ on the menu

Learning menu jargon will help you identify what to pick and what to avoid.

When you’re not on a weight loss journey, you tend not to read into the ‘code’ of a restaurant’s menu. But once calories are being counted, it pays to really decipher dish descriptions.

Avoid anything with words such as:

• Creamy
• Breaded
• Crispy
• Buttery
• Sautéed
• Pan-fried
• Au gratin
• Braised
• Rich
• Indulgent
• Luxurious

To eat healthy while dining out, consider ordering dishes with these kinds of words describing them:

• Baked
• Grilled
• Poached
• Steamed
• Seared
• Light
• Fresh

Pick healthily and stick to your guns

If you haven’t decided in advance, it can pay to select your choices from the menu quickly. Otherwise you may be tempted to opt for some of the higher calorie options that the table’s other diners are selecting or considering.

Once you’ve identified a suitable order, put your menu down and be satisfied that you’ve made the right choice and you are eating healthy while dining out.

Don’t be afraid to ask for extra vegetables

Lots of eateries focus on the ‘star’ components of their dishes, leaving the healthier parts such as the vegetables as something of an afterthought. If you suspect that the veggies are likely to be mere garnish with your dish, ask your waiter or waitress for ‘extra’ or even ‘double’ veg. You may also want to request they’re not cooked in butter to ensure you eat healthy while dining out.

If the request feels cheeky, you can offer to pay a little extra. Although, chances are, any additional tenderstems or carrots are unlikely to feature on the bill.

Consider choosing the fish

Unless the menu specifically says that the fish option is fried, chances are picking the poisson is a smart move in terms of calorie intake, especially low-fat options such as cod.

Oily fish like sardines and salmon are also great choices for eating healthy while dining out. They’re packed with Omega-3 which helps decrease inflammation in the body, something proven to help with weight loss⁴.

Make sure the table always has plenty of water

Whether you like fancy still or sparkling or are more than happy with tap, it’s a good idea to keep water on your table throughout your meal. In fact, it’s a great trick for eating healthy while dining out as it can help lessen your appetite.

Not only does it have none of the sugar and calories of other drinks, it can help make you feel full⁵. Meaning you’re far less likely to want to order dessert.

Ask how dishes are prepared

If you’ve found a dish that sings to you but you’re a little concerned about how one or more of the parts of the meal are prepared, cooked or served, just ask your server. They’ll be happy to tell you, or find out from the chefs.

If you’re in a higher-end place where all dishes are made from scratch, chances are that the kitchen will be happy to make your dish lighter than normal. It won’t be a particularly unusual or challenging request. If you’re eating out somewhere a little less flexible, you may just need to order wisely from what’s offered on the menu.

Request sauces or dressings be served separately

Ordering a lean chicken or turkey dish is great for calorie control, but not if it’s smothered in a delicious but calorific sauce. It’s no real extra effort for the kitchen to serve the sauce in a separate dish on the side, so ask. That way, you can decide how much of it you enjoy. The same goes for salads and dressings.

When it comes to sauces, try to order vegetable or tomato-based ones over cheesy or creamy ones to maintain a healthy diet while eating out. They’re lower in fat and it will contribute towards your 5 a day.

Order coffee instead of a dessert

There’s something satisfying about ordering something after your main meal in a restaurant. It needn’t be a sugary pudding that’s full of fat, though. Try ordering a cup of coffee instead for a healthy alternative when eating out.

Not only does this mean you avoid the calories that come with a dessert, you also get to enjoy the weight loss benefits that come with drinking the world’s favourite caffeinated drink. For instance, studies indicate that increased coffee consumption has been associated with decreased body fat in both men⁶ and women⁷.

Full? Stop eating and ask for a doggy bag

You’re no longer hungry but your meal’s so delicious you don’t want to let it go to waste. Understandable. Just ask to take the remaining food home with you. You can reheat it and enjoy it again tomorrow.

It’s not a fuss, if anything – it’s a compliment to the chef that his cooking will account for tomorrow’s lunch too.

Follow just a few of these tips and we’ve no doubt you’ll be able to say yes the next time you’re asked out for a meal. And – crucially – you’ll be able to stick to your plans to eat well while having a great time.

Bon appétit!