Healthy choices when eating out on a diet

I am often asked about eating out when trying to lose weight. Often people find it difficult to know what to choose and I have found that too. Sometimes I chose to eat off-plan as such and eat what I want on a meal out. However many times I try to stay on plan too. If you are wanting to stick to your Slimming World plan, WW plan or any other diet but enjoy a meal out here are my top tips!

Eating out top tips

1. Have a good look over the menu and even the children’s menu. Also, make sure to double-check Diet Menus if you can’t find the full menus online

2. Check what potato options they do, even if they are not on your meal of choice. If they do a jacket potato on another meal they may be able to swap it, check for an extra charge.

3. Ask how vegetables are cooked and if they have any butter on them. A meal could sound innocent but if the vegetables are piled with butter then they won’t be as healthy. Don’t be afraid to ask for them without! I know Toby Carvery are happy to bring you vegetables without if you ask.

4. Ask for dressings or sauces to be put in a separate container. That way if you chose to have them you have an idea of how much you have had.

5. Consider the side dishes. If your meal doesn’t have salad or vegetables order a side dish so that you’ve got lots of healthier food to fill you up.

6. If everyone else is having a starter does that mean you have to? If you don’t want to be left out you could have a side salad as a starter.

7. Why is it when you go out for a meal everyone has cake or ice cream afterwards? If you don’t want to feel left out you could have a child’s dessert.

8. Think about your drinks. Take sweetener with you just in case they don’t have any and you fancy a hot drink. Look at flavoured teas they may have if you want a change from black coffee.

9. Take your own salad dressing. I have done this before and people rarely notice. When ordering food most eateries won’t mind you adding your own dressing!

10. Consider whether you are drinking alcoholic drinks and plan in advance what you will have so you can stay in control. I often opt to be the nominated driver!

11. Don’t be afraid to lie! If they say they can not swap something but you think it wouldn’t be too much of an issue as they already stock the other item. Lie and say you have an allergy or intolerance so are unable to have the original item. Do remember though, this may then backfire!

Venues I recommend when following Slimming World or other plans

When I have been losing weight with Slimming World or another weight loss plan some places have been great and extremely helpful. Here are a few I recommend.

Ask Restaurant, Slimming World friendly suggestions offered and cooking methods are easy to ask.

Toby Carvery vegetables can be made without any butter easily.

Bella Italia syns can be found on the Slimming World app but a general suggestion is to choose tomato-based dishes.

Costa Coffee syns can be found on the app for Slimming World and if you ask it is easy to swap to skimmed milk but I wouldn’t recommend the food options.

Pizza Express have pizzas that have a salad in the middle.

Dominos pizza syns can be found on the Slimming World app, whilst Dominos is not generally healthy the best choice would always be a small personal pizza.

Harvester is a great place to eat as salad bowls are available alongside any meal.

Pizza Hut syns are available on the Slimming World app and again offer a salad bowl you can enjoy with your food so a good choice in that respect is if you can have minimal pizza with your salad!

Nandos Slimming World syns are available on the app too with some choices being pretty reasonable if you would like to eat out there.

Subway syns are also available on the Slimming World app but a good guide is to choose a salad instead of a sandwich or to choose plenty of salad in any sandwich.

Takeaway suggestions

Whilst the Slimming World app shares average syns for Chinese takeaways and average syns for Indian takeaways these need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Every takeaway will cook things differently and offer different portion sizes so it is always much more accurate to make your own.

My thoughts on eating out on a diet

Obviously, you can choose to eat completely off plan if you like as the choice is yours. One meal off-plan in a week of 21 meals won’t do too much damage.

The choice is yours just remember it is your journey and one setback eating out doesn’t have to ruin it.

If you are looking at a takeaway why not check them out online and see what you can find from different takeaways that may be suitable.

Fakeaways

If you are looking for an alternative meal you could make at home then a fakeaway is a great option. Here are some of my most popular fakeaway options.

• Chicken and mushroom curry
• Piri Piri chicken
• Singapore chow mein
• Mushroom chow mein
• Chinese fakeaway recipe guide
• Malaysian curry
• Keema curry
• KFC fakeaway
• Vegetable biryani
• Tikka Masala
• Big Mac rice bowl
• Mac and cheese

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