While diet and exercise are two of the most important when it comes to health and longevity. Another surprising lifestyle factor that all of the longest-living societies have in common is that they all focus on having strong social connections and strong communities (1).

Going out to get food at a restaurant,.or other food facility, is one of the most popular ways to celebrate with friends and family. Dining out with others can also allow time to bond and strengthen the social connections in your life, and strengthen your relationships.

Although, going out to eat can make achieving a specific body composition goal a little bit more difficult, because often times restaurants may not have the exact food that is on your meal plan, or cook food in a way that purposely minimizes the caloric content of the meal in order to aid in your weight loss journey.

With that being said, the majority of restaurants want to do their best to make sure that their customers are happy and satisfied, therefore it will be perfectly happy working with you to make sure that the food that they provide meets your expectations.

Eating out does not need to feel nerve-racking. Given that you enter the restaurant, or even a drive-thru, with the knowledge of how to correctly choose foods on the menu in order to eat a nutritious meal that is aligned with your goals, then eating at a restaurant or outside of the house doesn't always have to be a scary or difficult process. As I take people through their health journey, teaching them how to eat at restaurants and outside of the home without deviating very far from their typical diet is imperative to allow them to both achieve their health and physique aspirations while also ensuring that they can maintain the strong social connections that are such an important factor to a healthy happy life.

Following the simple steps, you can effortlessly fit eating outside of the house, and not having full control of your food, into your day without feeling as if you set yourself back. In essence, it all comes down to finding a quality protein source, and whole food from whatever menu you are choosing from.

Doing your own research

You may have heard the saying "failing to plan is planning to fail," and in a sense this can be applied to eating outside of your house. Most restaurants and fast food locations will have their menu posted somewhere online. Therefore, there's absolutely no reason not to look at the menu before arriving. Furthermore online menus and websites will typically provide a little bit more information about rules and regulations around allergies, cooking practices, and regulations around menu modifications.

Knowing what you want to get beforehand can help reduce your anxiety while you are dining out, which allows you to enjoy the moment just a little bit more!

Protein

When dining out, finding a source of protein is going to be beneficial for a myriad of reasons. Protein is going to be the most satiating of the macronutrients for most. Whether you're tracking your macros or not, feeling satiated after a meal is one of the most important factors when it comes to staying on track with a weight loss goal.

Moreover, ensuring there's a source of protein at each meal has more benefits on top of just helping with satiety. A higher protein diet has pronounced effects for both increasing lean mass and decreasing fat mass. The target intake for protein is 0.4 g/kilogram/meal or 0.18 g/pound/meal, depending on your unit of measurement (2). This means for a 200-pound individual they would be trying to ingest about 35 grams of protein per meal. With that being said, the ingestion of protein is important in stimulating the muscle protein synthetic process, which appears to be maximally induced around 25 g (3). Therefore, when dining out, since it's difficult to always eat a high-protein meal, the goal is to eat at least 25 g of protein.

The easiest way to do this is to find an animal protein on the menu, such as eggs, beef, poetry, or fish. Importantly, oftentimes the protein sources will be cooked in additional oil or butter in order to enhance the flavor. There Rhere is absolutely nothing wrong with adding in butter and oil to a meal, but the addition of liquid oil is one of the reasons why meals at restaurants will typically be higher in calories than meals that you cook at home. A few ways to avoid "hidden" added fats would be to choose a protein source that isn't cooked, such as shrimp or sashimi, however, this is only available at a select number of locations.

However, the protein sources that are grilled are the least likely to be coded in additional oil and butter, therefore something like grilled chicken or another source of grilled protein is another great choice. However, if you are unsure whether or not your protein will be coded in additional oil, then you can simply account for the additional oil and choose a protein source with less fat, such as chicken breast, egg whites or white fish.

Macronutrients (protein, fats, and carbohydrates) are extremely important, however, micronutrients are also extremely important for overall health and energy. Unbeknownst to most, animal proteins can provide a very dense source of micronutrients, specifically animal proteins higher in dietary fat (4). These include steak, salmon, and eggs. However, as mentioned these sources will be higher and dietary fat, so you may want to be a little bit more cognizant about whether or not they will be cooked in oil. Thus, you could always ask the server if they can cook your meal with no added fats, or as little added fats as possible gives you a better chance of receiving your food with as few added fats as possible.

Fruits and vegetables

Given that you found a healthy protein source on the menu, the next goal is to find fruits and vegetables, which will provide even more micronutrient density to your diet (4).

The majority of restaurants will have some sort of salad, however many of the salads will contain additional toppings that are unknowingly extremely calorically done. This includes nuts, cheese, and dressing. Thus, when choosing a salad I recommend finding the salad with the most fruits and vegetables, and the least amount of additional toppings.

In terms of dressing, I ask for the dressing on the side, so you can choose the amount of dressing that you use. Typically balsamic dressing is going to be the least calorically dense, and if you really want to you can simply just bring your own dressing that you would typically use at home.

If you decide not to get a salad, choosing fruit and vegetable off of the "sides" menu is the next best option. Most restaurants will carry some sort of steamed vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, or mixed vegetable blend.

Additionally, many restaurants will have some sort of side of fruit that you can add in addition to your vegetable. If not, a great recommendation is to simply double up on the vegetables!

Carbohydrates

If your caloric allotment allows you to add in an additional carbohydrate source at each meal, due to the fact that you have a higher caloric expenditure throughout the day, finding carbohydrates with one simple ingredient is the easiest way to go. These include things like potatoes, rice, quinoa, and the fruit that I already mentioned.

Potatoes are typically baked, and given that you do not add, or ask to remove, any additional cheese or butter, you will simply be getting a nutritious source of whole foods carbohydrates.

Rice and quinoa are typically steamed, meaning that you do not have to worry about any additional ingredients that may unknowingly increase the caloric content.

Unbeknownst to many, fruit is actually a reasonably high source of carbohydrates. Therefore, if there is a fruit on the menu that you find particularly enticing, doubling or tripling up on your serving of fruit is an easy way to meet your carbohydrate requirements while also getting a fantastic source of micronutrients.

Fast food restaurants

In a pinch, sometimes fast food restaurants are the most efficient and cheapest option. Many of the people that I work with are surprised that when in a pinch, there's nothing wrong with going to a fast food restaurant to get your meals.m, given that you know what to order. Most fast food restaurants have a grilled protein source, a salad, and a surprising number of them have healthier options for sides such as fruits and vegetables. So when eating at a fast food restaurant, you can simply follow the exact same strategy as outlined above.

Another important thing to note is that most fast food restaurants sell sandwiches that contain an extremely dense source of protein, such as burgers, or grilled chicken. An easy option is to double or even triple up on the protein, without ordering the bun!

Key takeaways

Eating at a restaurant can feel scary, however, it is pretty simple. The first step is finding a high-quality protein source, then finding a source of fiber in the form of a vegetable, and finally, if your caloric allotment allows for it, choosing a carbohydrate that is the least processed and the easiest for you to control. With that being said, understand that waiters and waitresses do have a very demanding job. Therefore being as kind as possible to your waiter, waitress, or whoever is serving you is extremely important. Furthermore, it makes it more likely that any request that you create, that may be contrary to their typical practices, will be fulfilled.

If you know that you will frequently be eating out, I recommend finding a location to dine-in that you are certain you can find menu options that meet your current dietary preferences is always beneficial. Additionally, making friends with the waiters, waitresses, Cooks, managers, and other staff members is an additional step that can be extremely beneficial for insurance that any exceptions and requests that you make are fulfilled.

That said, remember that one meal at a restaurant is not going to completely reverse days, weeks, months or even years of progress. And sometimes, the experience of spending time and making memories with friends and family is just as, if not more, important than ensuring that all of your food is absolutely perfect.

Sources

Buettner, D., & Skemp, S. (2016). Blue Zones: Lessons From the World's Longest Lived. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 10(5), 318–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827616637066 Schoenfeld, B. J., & Aragon, A. A. (2018). How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1 Paddon-Jones, D., & Rasmussen, B. B. (2009). Dietary protein recommendations and the prevention of sarcopenia. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 12(1), 86–90. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0b013e32831cef8b Beal, T., & Ortenzi, F. (2022). Priority Micronutrient Density in Foods. Frontiers in nutrition, 9, 806566. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.806566 Di Noia J. (2014). Defining powerhouse fruits and vegetables: a nutrient density approach. Preventing chronic disease, 11, E95. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.130390