Beware: Restaurant Calorie Counts Can Pile On

Restaurant calorie counts can really add up and throw your balanced diet out the window.

With a few good tips and advice, though, you can eat out and eat healthy.

To begin with, one of the reasons restaurant calorie counts are so high is that portion sizes have gone through the roof in recent years.

What restaurants put on your plate is typically enough for two meals, meaning it’s also going to have two meals worth of calories.

When you get your meal, plan on:

• Eating only half and
• Taking the other half home.

If the restaurant allows it, see if you can split a meal with one of your friends.

Another downfall with restaurant calorie counts is that people often go to restaurants with several other people and order appetizers and/or dessert.

These items can really cause you to consume many more calories than you need to.

Most appetizers are loaded with calories and fat; think about what you typically see on a restaurant menu:

• Potato skins
• Nachos
• Chicken wings etc.

All of these items are:

• Very high in fat and
• Pack in hundreds of calories before you even take the first bite of your main meal.

When it comes to desserts, you know that the fancy desserts you find in restaurants are going to pack in another several hundred calories at least.

So you’re ready to order your meal, how can you limit your restaurant calorie count?

When choosing:

• Look to see if the menu notes which items are lower in calories or are heart healthy.

(Heart healthy meals are lower in fat and calories.)

Many restaurants are aware that people are being more conscious about what they eat, and will offer healthier fare for this reason.

If your menu does note these items, consider choosing one of them.

Also, when offered soup or salad, the salad will almost always be much lower in calories than the soup.

Just remember that a high calorie salad dressing can blow that theory away, so stick with a low calorie dressing.

When choosing side dishes, a baked potato (without piling on butter and sour cream!) will always be better than French fries, and selecting steamed vegetables is even better than that.

For your main dish try to stay away from breaded or dried foods if you want to lower your restaurant calorie count.

Also think about which foods are healthier, chicken or fish is going to be better for you than a steak.

On a final note, think about what you’re choosing to drink.

Alcohol can raise your restaurant calorie count tremendously.

Water is always an excellent choice.

By planning your meal wisely, you can eat out in restaurants and overcome obesity.

Here are a few more tips to put you on the right track to losing weight.

• Incorporate a proven, complete nutritional program into your daily life.
• Enhance your nutritional program with a complete mutivitamin supplement because no nutritional program is perfect.
• Use a behavior modification and motivational program that will help you stay on track with your nutritional plan.
• Exercise at home with your own:
  Treadmill

  Stairstepper

  Exercise bike

  Elliptical trainer

  Hand weights or

  An aerobic video.

• See what kinds of weight loss aids your health insurance covers such as:
  Hypnotism

  Gym membership discounts

  Nutritional counseling.

You do not have to fear eating out as long as you make the right choices.

Remember, losing weight is ultimately up to you!

So, the next time you find yourself in a restaurant, remember that restaurant calorie counts are high.

This means—Do not go overboard!

Good luck with your weight loss efforts.