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When you think of good nutrition, you probably don’t think of restaurant eating. You must make good nutrition choices while eating out or it will be bad news for your diet or fitness program. You must educate yourself on exactly what good restaurant nutrition is. It is not easy to resist the tempting treats while browsing a restaurant menu. Especially when you see pictures of fattening cheeseburgers and nachos and desserts; staying on your diet is nearly impossible. However, if you know what to look for and what choices to make, staying on your diet can be done even when eating out at restaurants.

Obtain Nutrition Information

Many restaurants will provide you with a card or a piece of paper with the restaurant nutrition information on it if you request it. This will give you the information you need to make a smart ordering decision. Almost all restaurants, whether sit down or take out, have this information available now that more people are asking for it. If a particular restaurant does not offer restaurant nutrition information, then you can still make good nutrition choices if you know even the most basic information about nutrition in general.

Good Vs. Bad Choices

When you’re trying to watch your weight, or just remain healthy in general, it’s best to stay away from anything fried, cooked with too much oil, anything with a lot of condiments or sauces on it, and anything that has too much cheese or butter on it. You can take in a lot of extra calories in these meals, as well as a lot of fat and cholesterol. In fact, many of these types of foods will provide you with all the calories you are required for one full day. Yes, all that in one meal!

Some natural ingredient options for restaurant nutrition include salads (dressing on side), grilled chicken breast over the salad or on brown rice, and stir fry with brown rice. Often times, restaurants will provide healthy items such as these in a separate section on the menu so that people can make good choices. These menu sections often have distinguishable subtitles, like “Heart Healthy” or something similar.

Restaurant nutrition in general is not good for you but by educating yourself on what you should and shouldn’t eat, you should be able to stay on track; even if you are eating out at your favorite sit down or fast food restaurant.

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Usually, you avoid eating at restaurants while trying to lose weight. That’s because restaurants provide too much temptation and, let’s face it, restaurant nutrition isn’t typically conducive to losing weight. However, you can make good food choices while eating out. Don’t hesitate to ask your server or a manager for the food nutrition facts if you don’t see them on the table. You still get to enjoy a meal out without going off plan when you obtain the food nutrition facts before ordering.

What Do You Look For?

When you ask for food nutrition facts, many restaurants will provide you with a sheet of paper or a card stating the calorie content of the various foods on the menu, the fat, sodium and even the carbohydrate content. If your goal is to order low fat, then this paper or card will tell you exactly which menu items you can order. Always ask for condiments and sauces on the side, since they can add a lot of calories to your meal, as well as fat, sodium, and sometimes carbs. If a salad looks fattening on the food nutrition facts, it probably includes a high fat dressing which you do not have to order.

If They Don’t Have Nutrition Facts

Equip yourself with basic nutrition information, so you can still order sensibly if a restaurant does not have food nutrition facts available. For example, you should already know that a double cheeseburger with bacon is not the best menu item when it comes to trying to lose weight. An example of a healthy choice might be a grilled chicken breast added to a salad, low fat dressing on the side.

Most large restaurant chains do have food nutrition facts. You just have to request them. Perhaps restaurants are afraid that leaving the food nutrition facts along with the menu might cause a rapid drop in orders of the unhealthy options. If they don’t know how much fat is in a food item, they’re more likely to order it.

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