11 Worst Restaurant Mistakes

As you go about your fat loss diet plan, if there’s one thing that can quickly throw you off your game, eating out in a restaurant is it.  Many people are quick to venture into dine-in establishments thinking that sticking with their diet will be a breeze.

Surely there is something on the menu that they’ll be able to fit within their plan, right?

Sadly, more often than not, this isn’t the case at all.  Even the most seemingly healthy restaurant meals can pack in far too many calories, loads of saturated fat, and even really pack a good dose of simple sugars, all of which are rapidly going to move you further and further away from your goals.

Dine out just twice a week in your favorite restaurant and you could in fact start gaining weight rather than losing it.

So what does this all mean?

Are you going to have to forgo your social life and hibernate inside your house for every meal if you hope to see success?

While that would be the superior option, we both know that it’s not something you’re realistically going to do, thus we need to come up with an alternative.

That alternative is becoming a pro restaurant meal sleuth, who’s quickly able to spot the healthiest dishes on the menu and then determine what alterations (if necessary) need to be made to that meal so that it will fit your diet plan.

If you’re willing to do a bit of digging, you definitely can piece together a restaurant meal in most locations that will be able to be integrated within your program plan.

Let’s have a look though the top eleven worst restaurant mistakes that you could be making so that you can clearly see exactly what you should avoid doing so you don’t fall into this dietary nightmare.

Restaurant Mistake #1: Opting For The Salad Without A Second Thought

Think ordering a salad while dining out is a fast way to ensure you stay within your calorie budget?  Think again.  Salads can sometimes contain even more fat and calories than a full meal, so you’ll really want to think twice before going this route.

The big problem with salads is not normally the dressing for most people because usually they are smart enough to order that on the side.

The problem is all the added ingredients that go onto that salad to ‘jazz’ it up.  Many restaurants are out to make their dishes seem as intricate as possible and thus you’ll find various foods added such as ramen noodles, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and cheese.

All of these added ingredients can really increase the overall calorie content so think twice before dishing them on.  Instead, opt for the simplest salad possible and order it without those added ingredients.  Fresh fruit is fine but try and stay away from dried fruit if at all possible.

Restaurant Mistake #2: Ordering Fish Off The Menu

Second, the next mistake that’s commonly made is ordering fish right from the menu.  Here again, people are trained to think that fish is the healthiest choice.  The problem is that when it comes to restaurant meals, fish is often fried in butter or served with a very creamy sauce.

When that’s the case, you can bet that all health benefits the fish would have provided are now supplemented with a whole load of saturated fat.

If you are going to order white fish, which is a smart option, be sure to have it grilled or poached instead.  Even baked fish is dangerous because typically it’ll be baked in butter.

Restaurant Mistake #3: Digging Into The Bread Basket

Moving on, whatever you do, don’t let yourself go digging into the bread basket as soon as you sit down.  Bread baskets are diet disasters for most people since they don’t even realize they’re eating.  Instead, they’ll continue on with their conversation and before they know it, their fingers have reached the bottom.

Next thing you know the waiter or waitress is bringing you yet another basket and you’ve already consumed over 400 calories worth of carbs – and the meal hasn’t even started!

Request for the basket to be removed before you even get to the table and save yourself the calories.

Restaurant Mistake #4: Trying Out The Cocktail Of The Night

If there’s one thing that you must opt away from when dining out, it’s all of the fancy cocktails that are served up.  These cocktails can easily pack in a good 300-500 calories per glass, and you’ll then have to add that to your meal total as well.

You risk taking in enough calories with the food alone, don’t go adding beverages to the mix or you’ll really be asking for trouble.

Restaurant Mistake #5: Not Considering Sides

Side dishes are another place where you can run into problems when dining out.  Many restaurants are good in that they offer a variety of different side dishes that you can choose from, but the drawback is most are anything but healthy.

You’ll have mashed potatoes that are loaded with butter, French fries that you obviously know are not a good choice, seasonal vegetables which are often also dosed in butter, a rice pilaf, again, made with – you guessed it – butter, and then finally you have the option of a side salad, which is typically a good choice as long as dressing is ordered on the side.

As you can see though, the vast majority of those sides will not be a good addition to your main meal, so you have to do some special requests here.

Rather than having the mashed potatoes, ask for a baked potato with salsa (not sour cream or butter).  Rather than a rice pilaf, go with the seasonal vegetables but ask for them to be steamed without butter and delivered to you in that manner.

If you go with either of these choices, the vegetables being a far superior option if you’re on a low carb diet, then you’ll be that much better off.

Even if the meal doesn’t state an option of sides, see if you can do a substitution. More often than not most restaurants will easily cater to this need.

Restaurant Mistake #6: Failing To Consider Sauces

Now, another place where fat, sugar, and calories can lurk on the restaurant menu is in the sauces that get added to the dish.

This will be especially predominant when ordering pasta, stir-fries, or sometimes even just protein based dishes if the meat is drizzled with some type of sauce.

You would think you’d be doing yourself a diet favour by ordering away from a cream based sauce, but if you order something like teriyaki or pad thai sauce, you’ll be getting a high dose of simple sugars.  Pad thai, since it also comes with peanuts is also higher in fat and calories, although at least it will be a healthier variety.

Cream sauces should obviously be avoided so that one is already a given, but beware of the seemingly healthy sauces that can pack that calorie punch.

The safest sauce options are typically light soy sauce, BBQ sauce (request for it to be put on lightly), tomato-based sauces, and any dishes that are just served with salsa.  These will contain the fewest calories and help you stay on your diet plan.

Restaurant Mistake #7: Ordering Full Size Portions

Perhaps the single biggest reason why restaurant meals are so devastating to one’s diet is because of the fact that the serving sizes that are dished up are just so incredibly gigantic.

Very often with pasta dishes you’ll take in not one but four servings of grains within that single meal (and hopefully you avoided that breadbasket from above!).

If you really want to gain control over your diet, always order the smallest size available on the menu.  And even then, you may still want to get half of that meal boxed up in a doggie bagbefore it gets to your table.

This is a very good trick that you should definitely make use of as often as you can.  Rather than having your full plate delivered and then only trying to consume half the meal (much easier said than done!) get half the meal boxed up before it even comes to you.

Then you really have no choice but to consume half the calories.  Out of sight, out of mind.  If that food is sitting there on your plate, it’s going to be very difficult to resist the temptation to pick at it and stop eating.

Restaurant Mistake #8: Filling Up On Appetizers

The next restaurant problem that you’ll want to avoid is filling up on appetizers before the meal is to begin.  If you are having a late lunch or dinner, try and have a protein based snack before you leave.  That way you won’t be completely ravenous upon sitting down that you scarf down whatever appetizers you can get your hand on.

While there are sometimes smart appetizers to choose from (such as shrimp with cocktail sauces), in most cases the appetizers will again be deep fried, battered, or filled with added sugar or fat.  They may be smaller than your main meal, but don’t be led to believe they contain fewer calories.

Sometimes the smallest of meals can contain the most calories so this is definitely not a good guide to be using.

On a side note related to appetizers though, if you’re stuck on something to order off the main menu, don’t be afraid to look at the appetizer menu for ideas for your main course.  Nothing is to say you can’t order two smaller, healthier appetizers off the menu and eat it as your main entrée.  A shrimp cocktail with a side salad for instance would provide protein and vegetables – the precise combination that you’re going for.

Plus, by doing this you may even save a dollar or two in the process!

Restaurant Mistake #9: Sprinkling Parmesan Cheese On Your Salad

If you’re eating in an Italian eatery and have ordered a salad or pasta, there’s a good chance that your server is going to come around and offer to sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese.

Don’t accept this offer.  This added sprinkling of cheese could have easily contributed a good 200-250 calories more to your meal, really causing it to tip the scales.

Save Parmesan cheese if you must have it for when you’re at home eating a meal you know has been prepared healthfully.

Restaurant Mistake #10: Downing Regular Soda

You would be quite surprised at the number of people who make an effort to order a healthier meal off the menu but then pair this with a regular soda.  If you want to come out of that restaurant with your diet intact, you must be paying attention to the beverages that you’re consuming as well.

We already touched upon alcoholic cocktails but don’t think that’s the only drink that will set you back.  Soda is an extremely fast way to rack up the calories and simple sugars and will quickly lead to fat gain.

Not to mention that most restaurants offer refills on soda for free, thus encouraging you to down glass after glass after glass as you continue on with your conversation.

Before you know it, you could have easily taken in 400-600 calories in soda alone!

Restaurant Mistake #11: Treating Yourself To Dessert

Finally, the last mistake is deciding that since you’ve been so good on your diet plan, you should treat yourself and share a dessert with your meal companion.

While it’s perfectly alright to treat yourself from time to time, restaurant desserts are not the way to do.

Usually these desserts pack in far more calories than a typical store bought or home baked dessert, so if you must satisfy that sweet tooth, stop off at the local grocery store and pick up something on the way home.

Or, better yet, prepare a sweet dessert to have at home that has a healthy twist such as some home-made pudding with skim milk.  This will easily allow you to stick with your diet plan and kill that craving for something sweet.

So there you have the top mistakes that people often make when dining at a restaurant.  Did you see yourself in any of these? Do you have a good idea of some places where you may want to make some changes in the coming future?

As important as learning how to choose healthy when looking off a menu is, an even better approach is pre-screening the restaurant before you go.

More and more restaurants are choosing to place their full menu along with the nutritional content online for visitors to see, so you can check out exactly what the calorie stats are before you go to sit down.

In some cases, this quick check may make you reconsider a restaurant entirely if there are just not enough healthy options that you can choose from.

It can feel like a nuisance at times to be so strict about researching up on the restaurant of choice and then analyzing the menu and requesting modifications to your dish, but when speaking in terms of how many calories this could quickly help you save, it becomes clearly obvious that it really is well worth the effort.

If you want to succeed with your fat loss goals, dining out without some careful thought and planning is just not something that you can be doing.

Looking for more tips on healthy living and weight loss? Visit www.gngh.com.

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