As if eating less while eating out isn’t already hard enough…
ALSO, WARNING! Neurotic food-post ahead!!! Maybe you just want to skip and go see who won the giveaway…
There is a local Mexican restaurant* we used to go to a lot. And I always got the same thing – a Jarritos with a full vegetable fajita dinner. YUMMY!
**
We went on Friday night for the first time this year. I was trying not to eat as much***, so I skipped the Jarritos and ordered tacos instead of fajitas.
The waitress was shocked.
“No Jarritos? Why? No sugar?”
“Um, yes, because I had two cookies before I came.”****
“No fajitas? New year, new meal?”
“Uhh, yes.”
Are there any restaurants you frequent so often the wait staff knows what you order (or even knows your name)?
Ha ha! I almost felt like I was disappointing the waitress! She’s actually really cool. And while she doesn’t know our names, she does ask me about Gina‘s son, Luca, every time we go there (because we brought them in in August and November last year). The waitress is a sweetie.
Anyway. This whole situation made me think about how much I hate going to restaurants and trying to eat healthier/eat less. I hate only eating half my meal. I hate ordering less. I want to order a large plate and eat to reckless abandon. Ugh. I ate at a vegan Thai place with Anne a few weeks ago, and boxed up my food before Anne had made much of a dent in hers*****. Sigh. I HAVE TO PUT IT AWAY OR I WILL CONSUME IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually went to Red Robin with Steven a few weeks ago, and asked for a box when my sandwich came out so I could cut my sandwich in half and put half in the box. The waiter probably thought something was wrong with me.
And maybe there is something wrong with me! I feel like there is a very fine line between enjoying eating out while trying to still be mindful of what you are consuming… and then completely become anal about it. Ugh ugh ugh. I am going to try not to think about which side of the line I am on… and hope that automatically makes me not on the anal side.
*THAT WE LOVE!!!
**Interestingly, while looking for this photo, I went through many daily photo folders that showed pics of us eating out many times a week (oh, iPhone). I am so used to eating whatever I want when I want – not because of a great metabolism, but because that is what I do – that trying to eat less is a struggle for me.
***I knew if I ordered the fajita dinner I would clear my plate, so I tried to order less food.
****This is true.
*****I eat too fast.
The Knock Knock Giveaway winner is onelittlejill @ Finishing is Winning. Congrats, Jill! Please email me your mailing address and I will send the notebook your way!
Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! It’s been too long since I’ve done a giveaway, and I quite enjoy them, so I hope to come up with another one soon!
Restaurants are hard because the portions are usually just so so large….I think boing it up early is smart and shows a lot of willpower 🙂
And don’t get me wrong, I am not going to turn in to one of those old people who is all whiny about “Why do restaurants give us SO MUCH FOOD?” On the contrary, I have left restaurants hungry (because the portions were TOO small) and been annoyed. I just need some freakin’ control 🙂
I love going out for MExican… but it’s so easy to overeat in those places. I’m totally with you, although you seem to have a good plan of attack. I just stay out of restaurants all together ’cause I can’t trust myself.
I think I should just stick with that plan too. But it makes me sad! 🙁
Shut up! I am so excited! What a great way to start a Monday!
Also, I had fajitas for dinner last night. Only ate one as an actually fajita and then made a salad out of the rest 🙂
Congrats!
That is a good plan. I knew if I got 8 corn tortillas I would EAT THEM ALL 🙂
I hear ya on restaurant eating. In my county, most places include calorie counts on the menus which helps me a great deal. I found out that I used to order meals that I thought were lower calorie/healthier and that wasn’t always the case! I also will often check online and try to decide on something ahead of time.
I’m so glad that Jill won the journal!
I would find that helpful for a baseline idea (although I don’t count calories so maybe not, lol), but I wonder how accurate those counts are! I am always seeing studies that say they can be a little to a bit off!
I think sometimes they’re off, but it helps you pick choices that might be healthier (calorie-wise at least) than others. My parents live in a county with this requirement for any chain food establishment.
I agree it probably isn’t always accurate but it still helps me. I used to think that wraps and salads would always be lower calorie than regular sandwiches but that is definitely not true in most cases (from what I’ve seen anyway).
Yes! That is another thing – how loaded the salads and wraps can be! It’s easy to make a yummy salad very close to 1000 calories, with all the toppings! 🙂
Good job on attempting to make healthy choices! It’s hard – and I think the trick is identifying when is the “eat with abandon” types of eating out, and when is it a “because it’s Tuesday” eating out kind of night.
I eat fast too. I try to remember to force myself to pause at various points. Oddly, it’s easier when I’m eating out at a restaurant or bar than when I’m at home! Maybe that public eye to my eating habits?
Gosh, I wish the public eye made me slow down. That is something I have struggled with my whole life. I guess I just need to be more mindful of it, every. day. 🙂
I very much understand the eating with reckless abandon. I can easily do that at a restaurant and home too. I like the box it from the beginning idea and I also know how hard it is to do it. Wahoo! That’s me supporting you on your healthy (and difficult) choices.
Thanks for your support!!! 😀
Does a coffee shop count? I get coffee maybe once or twice a week out if I am in a rush and I always order a grande red eye (coffee and espresso) with a splash of soymillk. Its so awesome! Haha 🙂
Of course! They are the most important to know what your order is!
I struggle with this too. I’m definitely a “clean my plate” eater, so eating at restaurants means I always overeat. I don’t mind taking home leftovers, but some stuff doesn’t reheat well, and I’ve picked up the saying “better to waist than waste.” Which isn’t really healthy.
My mom has the habit of cutting her food in half as soon as it arrives, eating half and boxing up the rest. I am in the habit of cutting sandwiches in half … so they are easier to eat. I will still eat it all.
Also, don’t stress over the wait staff thinking you are weird. As long as you are polite and patient (and don’t make a mess), you can do pretty much whatever weird stuff you want and they won’t care.
Oh an the baristas at the Starbucks at my office know that I love tall soy lattes.
Has that always been a habit of your mom’s?
Word!
Eating out is soooo hard if you’re concerned about portion control/ calories. Each meal is probably more like 3 complete meals. I’ve recently decided indulging when I’m out a couple of times a week is ok. I would have missed out on some seriously delicious eats if I ordered the salad Instead of the omelette. I think with everything, moderation is key. Plus. Food is so yummy!
Oh yes! And when I travel, all bets are off. I want to enjoy what is there. 🙂
We have this little store in our building and I normally go down and buy a banana on Saturday and Sunday. But sometimes they have the nastiest bananas so I just walk in and walk out and the other day the lady at the register yelled at me ‘WHAT OUR BANANAS AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU’ and I looked at her and just walked out…
HAHAHHAHAH. OMG. Why is this story not on your blog? Complete with reenactment pics?!
That’s hilarious.
haha as soon as you asked.. I thought “Subway”! There’s a subway right around the corner and me and the bf would always stop there for last min dinner. They kinda know my whole family.. wierd lol And ofcourse know what we always order.
Usually when we go out to eat, I look up the food before. And drink tons of water. Usually I like to get a salad and if im craving tacos, I’ll get some on the side.. so I satisfy my craving and fill up on salad 🙂
i love places like Jasons Deli where it’s unlimited salad… yum 🙂
I definitely agree that eating out at a restaurant is difficult since I am a “clean your plate” eater. We developed this habit as kids as we couldn’t leave the table until our plates were clean. Here in the U.S. the portions are just so gigantic at every restaurant, it is so easy to overeat. I like the idea of ordering a box when you start to at least get you going on the right foot. It is probably a similar mentality “they” say to pour out food from a bag instead of eating directly from the bag/box. (I say this as I’m eating right from the box of goldfish crackers…)
There are plenty of places that I frequent, but none so often that they know my name. However, my husband goes to the same gas station every morning for his daily Redbull and they know him by name there. He thought it was weird so he started going to another gas station. Haha
LOL! Why do you think he thought that was weird?! I think that is cool 🙂
I think you should know that the vegan Thai experience was not representative of how I normally eat. I was totes blabbing and NOT eating, so that’s why you finished first! And I went home and finished my entire dinner, because I eat a LOT after I exercise. I used to do the box-up-half-my-meal thing when eating out too (that’s an old Weight Watchers trick that I read years ago), but now I just stop eating when I’m full (but not stuffed, since I know the difference).
If I ate out more, there would definitely be places that recognized me. The pizza place down the street used to know us – once I went in to pick up our weekly pizza (that was exactly the same every Friday night) without Bob, and the guy there seemed really concerned that we had broken up or something. I think our delivery places probably must all know us by now, and I have a friendly Twitter relationship with my favorite BBQ restaurants.
Ahh! How did you learn to stop eating when you are full?! HOW DO YOU KNOW? SHARE ALL YOUR SECRETS!!! Lol, I think my issue is that because I eat so fast I have no idea when I am full 😉 Well, it’s too late, because I have already passed that point.
Yep, I’ve definitely been there! It took me a while, but at some point last year I was finally able to stop myself from overeating when I go out, but not in a way that I’d feel deprived or hungry. But you hit the nail on the head – eating fast is what often leads to overeating, because it takes time for your brain to register that you’re full. I’ve read things that say to chew your food a lot and savor each bite (I do this), and even put your fork down in between bites to help slow down. I also drink lots of water before and while I eat, which helps me feel fuller a little faster. So I’d say give that a shot some night at dinner and see if you notice any differences. Or the next time we go out, tell me to shut up so you can do all the talking 🙂
Thanks for the tips! And it was not like you were running off at the mouth, lol. I just need to do the things you said, like put my fork down, actually chew my food, etc. Why am I always in such a hurry?!
I’m in a hurry if I’m eating family style at a restaurant I really like. I realized this a couple weeks ago – I raced through my meal like Jude does, because apparently at some point I had to compete with someone for food?
It is interesting you mention that, because growing up 1 of 4 kids, I felt like I had to race through my meals so I could be one of the lucky ones to get more (before it was all gone)!
Interesting! We never ate family style when I was a kid – we had evenly portioned plates that my mom made up. And my brother and I liked totally opposite things, so we were rarely fighting over food.
I’m a plate cleaner as well, although I’m such a slow eater I don’t hesitate bagging it to go. I think wait staff sees all kinds of behavior so I don’t think they’d find you weird at all asking for a box upfront.
I give you two BIG paws up for boxing up your food before you start eating!! Going to restaurants and trying to eat healthier/less is stressful for me too, for some reason, I want what I want and I want IT ALL because we are at a restaurant- doesn’t really make sense to me but whatever! But I am really proud of you for “being good”!
We have a restaurant we go to in town like that, they have beers and a bowl of queso waiting on us when they see us coming in.
=^..^=
BOWL OF QUESO? Hells yeah. Sigh. I am hungry.
LOL, thanks 🙂 I tend to want it ALL too. Sigh. I mean… they gave it to us, that makes it okay?! 🙂 I think this is why I like Red Robin so much. Bottomless Fries…
I have a hard time not eating everything on my plate when I go out to eat so I think you’re smart by packing up half your food. A lot of people recommend packing up half of your food at the start of a meal so I doubt waitstaff think it’s weird. They probably see it all the time.
The only place that knows my order is a little Argotea in one of the hospitals near my office. I sometimes go there on my lunch break to grab tea and I always get one of the teas they need to brew with almond milk. I think they remember my order because I’m probably one of the few people to order the combo.
Ooo, I didn’t know Argo had almond milk! What do you get? Any recs?!
So happy to hear I am not the only one who wants to clear their plate.
I like the masala chai with steamed almond milk. It reminds me of the chai you can order at Indian restaurants :).
Yummy! Thanks for the rec! 🙂
For the record, this is why i never go to restaurants. The only time i go is for social events where i care more about seeing the people i am with than the food. I feel ya. 🙂
Jason and I go out to eat so infrequently that when we do I just throw caution to the wind and eat whatever I want. I figure once in a while isn’t the end of the world. But, I know for some people that can be a slippery slope to thinking, “Well, I ate it all so I might as well give up and eat whatever I want all the time.”
Yeah, I kind of have that slippery slope (as you very well know). I have been talking with Bobbi a lot about not letting a “bad” (in quotes, because really, what’s so bad about it?) day become a bad week… or for me… cycle/year.
This is one of the very few problems regarding eating/overeating that I have never really faced. The only period of time I actively tried to eat everything on my plate was when I first moved to the US. Back home, portions are much smaller and having your leftovers boxed is not that usual. So, I tried to replicate that behavior here, where portions are just huge, and it didn’t really work. Apart from the fact that I gained weight, I lived in constant stomach ache for months. When I first saw people taking part of their food home it was a real revelation to me.
Now, if only I could replicate this behavior at home, I would never have weight problems. I think that when eating outside, I am more careful not to overeat because we generally have other things to do after the restaurant and I just don’t want to feel bad during those activities. Have you ever tried to play bowling with a too full stomach? Horrible experience.
You know, that is an interesting point you bring up, because one time I overate so bad that I didn’t enjoy the concert (ha ha, even more) that I went to after the meal!
Oh I hear you sister. When I eat out I want to relax and have fun. And for me this means not thinking about what I eat. Which means I will probably choose something not so healthy and eat a lot of it.
I know I always roll my eyes at people who just order a small salad or box up 1/2 their food. But really I am probably just jealous that they have more self control than I do.
I love eating out too but it is so hard to stick to ones healthy eating choices:) Well done on boxing half the meal the other night, if you leave it on your plate with your knife and fork together you’ll end up eating it for sure!!!
I think it depends on what the eating out experience is. For instance, we have a Mexican place (or two…) that we love, and we definitely try to take half of one of our dinners home (or some of both plates). But if it’s not a go-to place and is more of an “experience”, then I try not to worry too much about how much I’m eating. I will say that splitting appetizers is one way that we try to show a little bit of self-restraint. Sometimes.
Oh believe me, I always walk a fine line between keeping myself in check and not. I’ve been trying to eat intuitively lately but it’s been a huge work in progress. p.s. we should go to lunch! 🙂
Yes! Or do something up where we live, because I am not in the city that much! 🙂
There’s a really good mexican place in Libertyville. 🙂
Also, I could take you to my favorite yoga studio. 🙂 🙂
Ooo, what is it?
We should get a yoga date on the calendar! 🙂 Are you free the weekend of 3/9? 🙂
3/10- yoga and breakfast/Mexican/anyplace that’s louder than yoga so we can chat???
Sunday the 10th sounds good!
My philosophy is to eat whatever I want when I go out because I eat well when I am at home. I used to only eat a portion of my food, but then realized that I was hungry and wanted to eat all of it, plus food is better when someone else makes it. I guess it is a good thing I don’t have a personal chef, because then i’d be in serious trouble!!
I order fajitas every time we eat Mexican too, and you better believe I eat my heart out. I totally get what you’re saying though. I strongly dislike wasting food, so if it’s already 3/4 gone, I just finish the plate and become sickeningly full.
I think it’s great for you to be proactive and box up before you dig in! I tend to nearly starve myself before I go out to eat so I can cram all I can in, which isn’t the wisest choice. I need to learn that it’s not my last meal, and that it’s just that – a meal.
My husband loves going to the same places over and over again, so everywhere we live there are a handful of places that “know us”. My husband is tall and has an accent, so he is hard to forget.
I’m more into making sure I have bites of everyone’s dishes instead of finishing mine. I feel the need to try everything when there are lots of delicious things on the menu. I also concentrate on what I like on the plate and go big there. Sometimes the sides are not that great and not worth me splurging on the calories. For example, mexican rice is not my thing, I rather eat guac…
This is such a hard thing, and I could have written the exact same post. 🙁 I’m still struggling with it. I’d love to find a friend who could eat half the meal so we’d split and save some money-dollars. Oh well, I guess I’ll continue to work on it. If you ever need to rant about how difficult this is, definitely contact me. 🙂
Also, I think I know what the restaurant is. It was sooooo good!
As far as restaurants go, I don’t recall any places that know me. Now there are a few bars that I frequent that have my drink ready to go when they see me walk in. It’s very nice.