Eating Out

Hi guys,

What do you eat when you go out?
If you went out for dinner once a week.
Is there any alcoholic drink thats allowed?

Can i have steak and salad or chicken supreme and broccoli?

Is it water only at the start?

So what is your eating out secrets?

I would say the more strict you can be at the beginning the better, but do not do it at the detriment of your mental health. :cry:

Dieting should not make you miserable and if a meal out is what it takes to keep you sane then go for it! Just take everything you have learnt so far from the book and the stickys at the top of this forum and implement it when making food choices.

Personally I would avoid alcohol for at least the first 14 days, but then again, I very rarely go out drinking anymore, so it was no big deal for me to not have anything for the first few weeks. Others may be different.

Being on the Atkins is not just about keeping carbs low it is about changing your whole way of eating and making the right choices.

Good luck with it all!

It is possible to eat out but you need to be very aware of possible hidden carbs. Go for the plainest meat or seafood dish on the menu. Most sauces, even the cream-based ones, will have been thickened with flour. Lots of marinades will have sugar in them. So you're best off with a plain steak with just garlic or herb butter if it is offered. If the dish comes with potatoes you can ask them to replace it with a salad, I've never been refused in fact they don't even blink.

I quite like tapas as an option because you can assemble your own low carb meal out of a few dishes, just so long as you're with someone who understands that you're not able to share their dishes or vice versa! But again beware of sugary marinades, go for the plainer dishes (there's usually a few garlic butter choices) and don't be afraid to ask the waiter detailed questions about what goes into each dish.

Best to stay off the alcohol for the first two weeks (in fact I would'nt eat out at all in the first 2 weeks of induction just in case...), then stick to spirits with carb-free mixers.

Boogaloo you beat me to it...

Ooh, just a quick word about salads, make sure they're not dressed or ask for dressing on the side.

I've also asked for prawn & salmon starters to be served without Marie Rose sauce or whatever, they have no problem with this in my experience.

I always order a mixed grill and leave the sausage behind Good idea about the potatoes there. I usually feel all 'holier than thou' leaving every scrap of potato on my plate!

Sometime, and this is going to make me sound like a right theiving gypsie, but, if I go to a restaurant or cafe that provides portions of mayo (like little sachets) I will grab more than I need.

Then next time I go out for a meal I will take a couple with me. This came in quite handy the other week when I realised that the restaurant I was in only provided low fat mayo . I just used my own. Result! (and a few carbs saved).

If we do go for a meal it tends to be grill houses or places like Harvester. I love harvester as you help yourself to the salad, so you choose exactly what you are allowed to have. So my choices there are chicken or steak, replace the chips with mushrooms and then add the salad myself. Topped off with my own (stolen) mayo!

Hi and welcome, yes eating out can be a problem, the trouble is if you haven't prepared it then you don't now what's in it. Have you read the stickies at the top of this Atkins forum?