Top 7 Tips To Get Calories From Restaurant Meals

When I eat out, I want it to be special; as a result, I don't eat out often. You may have seen advice on shaving calories in restaurants, but really, do you want to pay the high restaurant prices for unsweetened salads and plain steamed vegetables? If not, how can you solve the dilemma of too many calories when eating out?

Here are seven tips for getting the calories out of restaurant food when ordering your favorites.

1. Say no to supersizing. The size you ordered is already too big. Stop supersizing, and you'll save money. Better still, order dinner and ask for an extra plate. Many restaurants will do this for a dollar or two, and it is well worth it. Then share the meal with your friend, and you split the cost directly. Another option is to order from the so-called "appetizer" menu. Two people can order three entrees, split a dessert and the whole thing, and it's still a ton of food!

2. Leave aside bread and rolls. Many family restaurants still serve bread baskets to accompany your meal. Unless it's freshly baked bread or some extraordinary bread, leave it out. You don't need a simple roti filling when you're paying good money for a meal. If you can't resist, just ask to remove it, but frankly, you're an adult; you can protest if you want. You can choose not to have rolled on your plate. Try it just once and see if you don't walk out of a restaurant that is oddly overpowered.

If you can't skip the rolls, at least skip the butter. This is right. Eat it simple Whole grain bread is delicious in itself.

3. Stop ordering drinks. Soft drinks are a big cash cow for restaurants. For pennies, they sell you syrup and a squirt of carbonated water and act like they're doing you a huge favor by charging you $1.29 for just 64 ounces of soda. Start saving those dollars. Especially if you're ordering "to go," then skip the drinks. If you're eating it there, ask for water, or at least switch to diet drinks. Never drink "Fat Pop."

4. Slow You Eat Too Fast! What's the rush? Take your time, enjoy the moment, enjoy the flavors. A big part of learning to stay in touch with your hunger cues and eat what will truly satisfy you is recognizing the subtle signs of hunger. You won't know when you're approaching satisfaction if you've nailed everything down to five minutes. Take a bite and notice how many times you chew before swallowing? Once twice? Try chewing your food, and your body will be more pleased. A great deal of digestion begins in your mouth, not to mention that you'll get more pleasure if you let the food linger.

5. Trim visible fat and skin. I know, you really love the skin—of course, you do, it tastes good, it must be pure fat. Do you want to be lean, or do you want to eat fat? You choose. I never eat chicken skins and never eat fat hanging off a steak, good taste or not. You have to decide whether you want more, the second worth of delicious taste buds, or a lifetime of carrying an extra 40 lbs.? I know this is contrary to the low-carb crowd's belief that fat is good and that carbs are bad, but I've lost 80 pounds for 18 years without dieting, and I don't eat visible fat or skin. Enough said.

6. Ask for the doggie bag at the beginning of the meal. When the meal is served, immediately portion something up to take home for tomorrow. Most restaurants in America serve too much. There is no law that you have to eat it all. Do this over and over, and soon, you'll find that you're getting an extra lunch out of that meal.

7. Grab a copy of Restaurant Confidential by Michael F. Jacobson and Jayne Hurley, and start checking how many calories you're really eating. If you frequently eat outside food and you are overweight, then maybe this is the problem. This little book can help you understand why it seems like you haven't eaten much yet still can't lose weight. Hardee's recently introduced a new burger that's just under 1200 calories on its own! Now that's scary.

If you really want to tackle your weight problem, first look at where you eat, second what you eat, and third how much you eat. Where, what, and how much? Try these steps, choosing one tip at a time, and see how easily you can cut a few calories out of restaurant meals.