Why do we eat out so much? First the obvious … busy work schedules, business and leisure travel and hectic lifestyles take us away from home. When we get home, being time-pressed leaves little time for food preperation. Then there’s the enjoyment and adventure of restaurant dining.

So how do you eat right if you eat out often?

Challenge 1: Making The Right Choices

For most people, occasional restaurant eating isn’t an issue. But if you eat out often, your choices may significantly impact your diet and weight. Trying to justify “indulgence-eating” decisions day after day—with the promise of smarter eating at home tomorrow—doesn’t work!
Solution: Make smart food choices away from home!

• Choose your restaurant wisely. Go where the menu offers variety—it’s key to nutritious eating! For more vegies, choose a restaurant with a salad bar or one with lots of vegetable options.
• Get menu savvy. Ask about ingredients, preparation and portion size. 
• Order it your way. Ask for sauce or dressing on the side, a grilled chicken sandwich with peppers, tomato and lettuce.  Fish steamed not fried, salad or coleslaw instead of fries, or fresh fruit for dessert. 
• Look for health-focused mains—featured in some restaurants. Fast food chains often provide nutrition information; you can also check their websites. 
• Ask for basics. Adopt nutritional eating habits: perhaps low fat milk with your burger, whole-wheat bread for a deli sandwich or extra vegies on pizza. 
• Order for flavour adventure! Make eating out your chance to try different fruits, vegetables and interesting food combinations. Perhaps go “ethnic” or vegetarian.

Challenge 2: Overcoming Temptation

Do you eye the enticing dishes with mouth-watering aromas, carried by waiting staff to nearby tables? Does the descriptive language of menus tantalise your palate? Does temptation interfere with your best judgment when you eat out?
Solution: Try this to stay in control:

• Order first. Place your order before your meal companions’ choices tempt you. Then stick with your choice.
• Learn from the menu. Just remember, it’s designed to sell food. You can learn and ask questions, without over-ordering.
• Remove temptation if you can’t control the urge to nibble. Ask waiting staff to skip baskets of salty snacks. Request bread and beverages, other than water, with your meal, not before.
• Skip the buffet. Order from the menu, for easier appetite control. If you end up at an all-you-can-eat buffet, use a small plate. If you are still hungry, you can go back—with another small plate.

Challenge 3: Too Much Food

Do you tend to overeat when you eat out? If so, it’s not surprising. Restaurant portions are often substantial, frequently larger than what you’d serve yourself at home. Why? Generous portions are popular with customers and food costs less for a restaurant than the service that goes into every dish.

For customers, over-ordering is a common sit-down restaurant phenomenon. Out of habit, people often order an entree, main, and dessert - whether or not they’re hungry enough for all that food.
Solution: Make it your order, make it your size:

• Plan your sit-down meals—around lunch  menus. Portions are usually smaller - so is the bill.
• Split the dish “50-50”.  For half the kilojoules, you double the pleasure by sharing it with your meal companion. (Sharing an entree or dessert is also a great idea.)
• Dump the “clean plate” notion. Give yourself permission to leave food on your plate when you’re full.
• Skip “large, super-size, value size” items—commonly marketed in fast food places. There’s no true value in ordering and eating more than you want or need!

Challenge 4: “Sit-Down” Dining

Is eating out a sit-down experience? Think about it. You likely sit or stand: to order, to wait for your food, to eat and perhaps to linger (at least sometimes) at the table. Taking time to enjoy a relaxing meal out, perhaps with family or friends, adds pleasure to life; it also can fit with active living.
Solution: Eat out with an active-living mindset:

• Take your meal for a walk. For deli, fast food or other counter service, order food “to go.” “Walk” your meal to a nearby park; enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
• Take a walk to your meal. Sixty-minute lunch break? Map out restaurant or deli options that are near enough to walk to.
• Take your food with you. Carry along some easy, non-perishable options, such as nuts, energy bars, dried fruit, whole-grain crackers or cartons of 100% juice.
• Trade off your time. Redirect the food-prep time you saved by eating out. Spend those 15, 30 or more minutes on a brisk walk, a fitness workout, gardening or whatever gets you moving.