Weight Management Strategies:  

Compared with some previous blowouts -- a nine-course extravaganza at New York's decadent Per Se, or a carbohydrate apocalypse at the pasta exemplar Babbo -- the meal I'd just sat down to at Wolfgang's Steakhouse was a respite. And yet my table still had an iceberg wedge with blue cheese, a porterhouse for two with enough fat-skirted flesh for four, and a fudge sundae -- all needing to be tried, all begging to be devoured.

I'd just begun my tenure as restaurant critic for the New York Times (which I recently completed), and the meal spooked me. How could I do this every night without gaining 100 pounds, welcoming elastic waistbands into my life, and enduring the eye rolls of anyone in coach trapped beside me and my love handles? I faced a daunting challenge ahead. Especially because of my past.

Since childhood I'd fought a prodigious appetite, and the battle had often turned ugly: bulimia during college; amphetamines and fad diets after that; and then a miserable surrender. Although I was just 5'11", I ballooned to 270 pounds in my mid-30s.

I lost 75 of them before starting as a critic on the cusp of my 40th birthday. But could I keep them off in the face of six or seven restaurant dinners and two or three restaurant lunches a week? Some businessmen eat out that often, but unlike them, I couldn't skip appetizers or edit out the fattening entrées. It was my duty to dig in.

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Frank Bruni was the New York Times restaurant critic from 2004 to 2009. His memoir Born Round will be released in August,2009 by Penguin Press.

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My duty also turned out to be my salvation. Like so many dieters, I had learned to practice a periodic self-denial so extreme that when my resolve cracked, it crumbled, and I'd binge. But as a professional eater, I couldn't do extreme self-denial. My only option was pacing -- portion control -- and I found that approach manageable precisely because it wasn't attended by resentment about the treats I'd skipped yesterday or the harsh regimen I'd submit to tomorrow. Instead of outlawing any foods, I embraced all of them -- in moderation.

I'd sit down with half a dozen companions at the madly popular Momofuku Ssam Bar for its trademark bo ssäm feast: seven glistening, meltingly tender pounds of pork shoulder with kimchi, white rice, and oysters, along with several bottles of wine to wash it all down. Everything about this over-the-top tableau was a cue to go wild, so I'd remind myself that I had big dinners lined up for the next four nights and that I'd been sampling serious food all week long. I'd hold that thought as I used the tongs on the table to grab maybe 5 ounces of that pork, and then maybe just 2 ounces more. Rising at dinner's end, I'd be happier than if I'd stuffed myself with more, because I wasn't consumed by panic about the calorie toll.

At the hyperexclusive, 12-stool Momofuku Ko, I'd tunnel to the bottom of its signature dish, a sort of savory sno-cone of frozen foie gras shavings. But I considered it a tradeoff: I indulged, so I'd only sample the deep-fried apple pie. I measured, meted out, and moderated my pleasures -- the key to being able to keep eating, while staying happy and healthy, through time.

And I exercised, faithfully, because I couldn't postpone it or rationalize away the need for it on a given day. It was the only antidote to days that could sometimes be kept below 4,000 calories but almost never fell below 3,000. To prepare for the lamb shank, I ran. To recover from the gnocchi, I ran some more. I thought about the calories I was burning so that I'd feel as if I'd earned space for my next meal.

Over 5 years on the job, I had dozens of dinners like the one at Wolfgang's -- and dozens that were much more indulgent. I'm maybe 6 pounds heavier than when I began. And that's not the eating. That's just age.

Go on to the next page for some tips to remember next time you eat out...

Frank Bruni's restaurant survival tips

1. Don't fast beforehand
If you prep for a big meal by avoiding food all day, you'll eat madly and mindlessly, your hunger and sense of sacrifice egging you on.

2. Pace your alcohol
If you start right in with two martinis, you'll lose perspective and restraint. Enjoy a cocktail or two--but gradually, as the meal progresses.

3. Lose the breadbasket
Indulge for 10 minutes, max, and then have the basket removed. If it's there, you'll reach for it without thinking. If it's not, you won't miss it.

4. Take inventory
You don't need to eat everything. If the food is great and you're not full yet, have some more. But if the food's disappointing, stop scarfing it down.

5. Share a dessert
It's a kindness to your wallet as well as your waistline. You'll still enjoy your sweet fix. And as sacrifices go, it's not a huge one.

Order wisely
Not everyone has multiple courses to pick through, as Bruni did, so make your servings count. Every restaurant offers good and bad choices. Here's a guide to some of them. (For more tips on smart eating, pick up one of our Eat This, Not That! books.)

Salad
Eat this: Panera Bread Asian Sesame Chicken Salad 410 calories, 19 grams (g) fat
Not that: On the Border Grande Taco Salad (with beef and honey mustard dressing) 1,700 calories, 124 g fat

Fish
Eat this: Chili's Guiltless Cedar Plank Tilapia 200 calories, 4 g fat
Not that: Romano's Macaroni Grill Parmesan-Crusted Sole 2,190 calories, 141 g fat

Steak
Eat this: Ruby Tuesday Peppercorn Mushroom Sirloin (with premium baby green beans) 499 calories, 23 g fat
Not that: Outback Ribeye (with sweet potato) 1,790 calories

Chicken
Eat this: Applebee's Garlic Herb Chicken 370 calories
Not that: Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken 1,210 calories

Dessert
Eat this: Dairy Queen Banana Split 520 calories, 13 g fat
Not that: Baskin-Robbins Classic Banana Split 1,010 calories, 34 g fat

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