Dining out while eating healthy

I had no idea Hungry Girl did that - I thought it was just recipes. That tip about having them remove the breadsticks from the table is a good idea to take that temptation away if everyone at the table agrees.

I'm sensitive to sodium too and I'm shocked by how little salt it takes to make me swell. I can't tell you how thrilling it is to not have my feet and fingers swelling all the time since I stopped eating processed food. That darn sodium is so well hidden in all the processed food.

One of the easiest things about eating low carb is that it's easy to eat out.  The hardest part for me is my husband telling me it's ok to go off of my diet just this once...he doesn't get that lifetime commitment thing.  What I do is list three of his favorite restaurants that I know I can eat at, that throws him off of thinking about me and then tell him it's his choice, the only place I can't eat is Krispey Kreme.  He's happy, the scale is happy, which makes me happy!

Mary

At this point in my journey I have a big NO ENTRY sign when it comes to restaurants.  It's too easy to slip back into the convenience and enjoyment of eating out and it's nearly impossible for me to not select the foods I want but shouldn't be having.  On the weekend my daughter had a soccer tournament and we had to be there from 2 to 6 p.m. so I packed a big salad as a precaution (I'm not in the habit of packing food when we go out so it's a big learning curve for me)  So while there people started getting the normal chicken wings and fries etc and the aroma was just KILLING me.    I pulled out my salad and got a few strange looks and some comments but it's a good thing I had that salad to take the sting off my hunger otherwise I might have fallen off the wagon big time.  I felt a little uneasy eating my home made salad at the game but better that than continue to be obese and unhealthy.  I learnt a valuable lesson.  On the weekends or whenever we are out I am going to make sure to take something with me and close my eyes whenever I see restaurant signs.     Going into a restaurant is like going into the enemy camp unarmed, I can never come out alive!!!

Gloop - wow you are really doing well. It does become easier with time especially once everyone is used to seeing you bring your salad - and the reward is your weight loss but also increased health. 

I went through a phase where I avoided restaurants too - I didn't want to fall off the wagon and I didn't know what to do to get healthy food there. It just seemed too intimidating. I also turned off the TV so I didn't see all those food ads, some of which are very EVIL. And yes, I avoided looking at restaurant signs. I did find it helped as I got over all those cravings.  DH was still eating out a lot when he travelled for work and he eating the Standard American Diet and he wanted to be %100 compliant on the diet since he could see and feel the difference when he was home. That's when I realized we needed strategies and plans on how to eat out. When you're ready, you will do the same thing.

There are some places that have no choices for me at all - and LOL one of them is Krispy Kreme. Zippo. I don't even consider that food anymore - to be more accurate, I know lots of people eat and enjoy donuts but they make me sick so I now see the signs but don't associate them with enjoyment or treats or anything - it's just like passing a gas station. It was a process to get to that place.

I found that you can eat whatever you want, but in moderation.
You want a burger, then get one! Just get a little 99 cent one from McD's...no need for a whopper.
You want some chinese, get it! Split a meal with someone.

You get the pic.