plan for dining out

The miracle of your existence calls for celebration every day.
Oprah Winfrey

The 8-Step Game Plan for Dining Out

Today, dining out is often more common than eating a home-cooked meal. How many mornings does breakfast equal a cup of coffee and a bagel at Starbucks? A good portion of the American workforce eats lunch out every day. And how often do you just grab dinner on the way home—or have it delivered to your front door? Yes, we are a nation of consumers, especially when it comes to paying someone else to prepare our food.

Let's look at some ways to prepare for dining out.

1. Get a copy of the menu. This amazing thing called the Internet gives us instant access to just about anything. If you want to plan for dining out, you can find an online menu for almost every fast food joint and high-end establishment out there.
2. Look up nutrition facts. Once you've made your choices at home, you can easily look up the nutrition facts pertaining to those choices. Many low- to mid-priced establishments list not only their menus, but their nutrition facts online. For the higher-end places, you can look at each individual ingredient to figure out the approximate amount of protein, carbs, and fat. With this knowledge, you can figure out what might be the most appropriate choices, and what to avoid.
3. Eat your meals and snacks as scheduled. Now here's another rule: Don't go to a restaurant when you're famished.. So eat your already-scheduled meals and snacks for the day to help keep your cravings in check. If you're really hungry when departing for the restaurant, grab an apple on your way out the door.
4. Make sure you complete your workout. A study by a team of Brazilian researchers discovered that exercise actually increased feelings of fullness in your brain.
5. Write it down. So you've done your due diligence and you know exactly what you'll order for that lunch meeting. Before even leaving your desk, record it in your food diary. When you commit something in writing, you're a lot more likely to follow it through. You're also a lot less likely to add on a bunch of extras, like appetizers or dessert, which you'll have to account for later.
6. Be honest and firm. One of the most difficult things about dining out is peer pressure. Sometimes the way to get your companions to be supportive is to be very clear about your goals before you even sit down.  
7. Have a conversation plan. This particular point might seem ridiculous if you're dining with family or close friends, but if your intended meal is with someone you don't know well, like a business lunch or date, you should consider having a conversation plan. A lot of calories are ingested in this lifetime as the result of nervous energy.
8. Wear the skinny jeans.The right clothes can provide a gentle reminder that just enough food is enough.

A wise person once said, "The toughest part of a diet isn't watching what you eat. It's watching what other people eat." That really is the crux of the problem with dining out in public. When you're surrounded by people who are consuming the equivalent of their body weight in fat grams, it's really tough to stick to that chicken breast and steamed veggies. But if you have a game plan, you're more likely to walk out with both a satisfied tummy and a satisfied mind. So spend a few minutes on researching, on eating, and on exercising beforehand, and be strong when you get there. The effort will be worth it, and you might even be an inspiration to your dining partner. What greater reward is there than that? Oh, yeah—a six-pack.

In every single moment, we have the choice to be happy or not. No matter what is going on, we can choose to focus on what is right, what is good and whole in ourselves and our lives, and what options we have in any given situation. In other words, we can choose to be happy no matter what.

MJ Ryan