How to eat "smart" when eating out - Clean Eating Tips....

Weekends usually mean date nights or fun Friday gatherings for our family. When I started the FIX this may have been one of the HARDEST things for me, I either told my family we simply could not go or I would blow it by eating food that was not on the plan. The fact is that if I was ever going to be successful at making CLEAN EATING a healthy lifestyle change and not just a FAD I was going to have to learn how to be smart when eating out. So if you are planning to eat away from home - here are some tips that have helped me:

Plan ahead, choose a restaurant with healthy menu choices, nowadays you can easily go online and preview the menu.
Drink water before you eat your meal
Watch portions and calories, if it covered in sauces and it's served FAMILY style - steer clear. You can always order a children’s portion or ask them for a box to package half of it away at the start
Split the meal with someone
Ask for it the way you want it, you can ask for sauce on the side, no cheese or to have extra veggies in place of a carb
Skip the entrée and have an appetizer for your meal. Often, that is more than enough food to fill you up.
Ask the waiter to SKIP the bread basket, this one gets me every time - if it is put in front of me I will eat it.
SKIP DESSERT

Smart choices to save calories:

Eat a 3 ounce serving of grilled fish instead of a double cheeseburger (you can save about 440 calories!)
Eat a soft taco with grilled chicken, skip the cheese (or ask on side and sprinkle on top) instead of nachos with meat and sour cream (You can save up to 1,000 calories!)
Swap that heaping tablespoon of mayo for some mustard (80 calorie saving in each TBSP)
Order your coffee with nonfat milk and skip the whipped cream (Save about 250 calories!)
Order eggs with veggies rather than an egg sandwich (Saves up to 200 calories) even more if you skip the cheese all together

If you haven't read my TOP TIPS for staying on track on the weekends you can check them out HERE