Photo by Mzelle Biscotte.

Eating everything you want is not that much fun. When you live a life with no boundaries, there’s less joy. If you can eat anything you want to, what’s the fun in eating anything you want to? - Tom Hanks

My wife, Stephanie, and I love good restaurants. At one time our favorite hobby was dining out and we did it three or four nights a week. But we’ve recently discovered that she is an excellent cook and that going out so much wastes time and money so we’ve cut back. We do dine out, however, every Friday and Saturday night to reward ourselves for a healthy week. And if we are visiting friends and family, or vice versa, we’ll splurge at a sit down place. People’s social lives just seem to gravitate toward restaurants.

There are a lot of alternatives to eating out if social interaction is the aim (game/movie nights, potluck dinner, etc) but sometimes it just makes sense to go to a restaurant. I’ve found that in the 9-5 environment that going out for lunch is a very important social construct and the best way to network. Inviting your boss to your apartment to play Parcheesi at lunch doesn’t go over so well.

Boundaries and limitations are needed, however, since in the U.S. portion sizes and unhealthy dishes are on the rise. Some restaurants have a section of healthy dishes along with calorie counts (like Chilli’s) but most do not. I’ve compiled 10 easy tips that will help you make sure you don’t overeat when you eat out.

10 diet tips for eating out

1. Skip the bread

One breadstick at Olive Garden - 140 calories

2. Always skip the appetizer and dessert

A typical appetizer or dessert usually has as many calories as the main course. An Outback Steakhouse “Bloomin’ Onion” has 2400 calories.

3. Eat slowly and consciously

Pick up your utensils, cut a small piece (as big as your thumb), place it in your mouth, put utensils down and consciously taste the flavors. Chew thoroughly. Concentrate on savoring, enjoying, and being grateful for the food.

4. Ask if you can have lunch size portion or half in a to-go box up front

Most restaurants will have no problem with these requests.

5. Split dinner with your significant other

As long as you are not trying to woo someone’s affection and are afraid of getting pegged as a cheapskate this is a great way to be healthy and frugal.

6. Substitute veggies for fries

Fries often have more calories than your main course. Chilli’s homestyle fries side: 520 calories. Steamed Veggies with Parmesan: 80

7. If eating salad, ask for dressing on the side and use sparingly.

Vinaigrette typically has the lowest calories/fat/carbs.

8. Plan what you will eat before you go

I always check the calorie counts on dishes before I go online. Make sure to pay attention to the quoted portion size. Often sites will give you only half the portion (”Serves 2″) for something that, according to the menu, is for one. It should come as no surprise that dishes are typically much more calories than you think.

9. Skip or agree on a limit for alcohol

Non-light beer and any sort of sugary specialty drink are very calorie dense

10. Focus on conversation not finishing as fast as possible

It’s not a race. The faster you eat the less time you give your stomach to tell you when you’re full.

One other thing to think about is when to stop. A study that focused on French versus American women analyzed why American women were, on average, much more overweight. The researches noticed something very simple, the French just didn’t eat as much per sitting. A questionnaire was given to each set and what the researchers found was that unlike the Europeans, Americans eat until they are full, instead of until they are simply not hungry anymore. A subtle but important distinction in attitudes which has made the differnce in an obese country and a healthy one.