Eating out while losing weight: how to order without stress

Losing weight doesn’t mean turning down dinner with friends. Restaurant meals tend to be bigger and richer than home cooking, but a few habits make it easy to enjoy the meal and still keep your week on track.

Can I eat out and still lose weight?

Yes. It’s the whole week that counts, not one meal.

A dinner out is one meal in about 21. Plan for it, choose what you’ll enjoy most, and let the rest of the day be a little lighter. That works better than skipping meals beforehand and arriving starving.

Where do I find the calories?

On the menu itself at most chains, and on request for the fuller facts.

The FDA requires restaurants that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations to list calories on menus and menu boards. They must also give written nutrition information on request, including protein, fiber, sodium and sugars. Independent restaurants often don’t have numbers, so use the habits below and estimate.

What should I order first?

A protein and a vegetable. Then choose the rest around them.

• Protein: grilled chicken, fish, shrimp, steak, tofu, beans or eggs
• Vegetables: a side salad, steamed or grilled vegetables, a broth soup
• Then the rest: rice, potatoes, bread or pasta, in the portion you’ll actually enjoy

The FDA suggests steamed, grilled or broiled vegetables and fruit as sides. It notes that dishes described as baked, roasted, steamed, grilled or broiled are often lower in calories than ones described as creamy, fried, breaded, battered or buttered.

Where do restaurant calories hide?

In the sauces, dressings, butter, oil and drinks.

Rounded USDA FoodData Central values. Restaurant portions are often bigger.

A salad can carry more calories in its dressing than in everything else on the plate. Ask for sauces and dressings on the side, then dip your fork instead of pouring.

What about portion size?

Decide how much you want before you start, and box the rest early.

Restaurant plates are often big enough for two meals. The FDA suggests using the calorie numbers to decide how much to enjoy now and how much to save for later. Sharing a main or a dessert works too.

Does starting with soup or salad help?

It can, if it’s a broth soup or a salad with the dressing on the side.

A 2017 review by researcher Barbara Rolls found that eating a large portion of a low-calorie-per-bite food first, like salad or soup, has been shown to lower the calories eaten at that meal.

What should I drink?

Water, sparkling water, unsweetened tea or coffee, most of the time.

The FDA notes that calories from drinks add up quickly. If you’d like a cocktail, a glass of wine or a soda, have it and count it, and keep water on the table between sips.

How does Imi help?

Ask Imi before you go, or snap a photo after you eat, and it shows what’s left for the day.

Imi can balance the rest of your day around a meal out, and it looks at the whole week rather than one day at a time. If weekends keep running over, it will say so plainly, then help you plan Saturday. Your calorie target never drops below 1,200 for women or 1,800 for men, and it takes off no more than 25% of your daily burn.

See your numbers with the calorie and protein calculator, or see how Imi plans for weight loss. For more on what to order, read how much protein to eat to lose weight.