So, I'm on a diet since monday, and I would like to go out for luch on weekends, do you know of any place that doesn't have too much calories in their food?

Good luck!
You can get healthy options pretty much anywhere. Try picking up the restaurant version of the book Eat This, Not That.

@Likeradar It isn’t too much hard, actually…. We were doing the same diet before i got pregnant and we were following it for 4 months, I want to get rid of off 30 pounds…

@2late2be yeah, I didn’t say it was hard? I meant good luck, as in good luck with your diet… totally genuine. :)

Also, many restaurants now point out the lo-cal choices. Some use cutsey symbols while others put them in a separate part of the menu.

I know that Jason’s Deli has a new choice of having a “Slim Sandwich” with half the meat (and a dollar less) of their regular sandwich. Applebees has some Weight Watchers (I think; maybe it is some other trademarked diet program) choices that are really low calorie. Most of the chain “box” restaurants (On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden and others) offer lo-cal choices.

You can also leave off cheese, mayo or creamy sauces or dressings, or even leave out the meat – have a veggie plate, for example. Also, opt for a broth-based soup (not a creamy one) and fresh fruit instead of chips or fries.

And finally, ask for a to-go box to come at the same time as your food and immediately put half your food in the box and take it home to eat later. That will cut the calories in half very nicely, so that 1000 calorie serving of Fettucini Alfredo is now two 500 calories servings, one for today and one for tomorrow (or for the dog).

Finally, many Vietnamese restaurants offer low fat choices. Have a bowl of pho or a shrimp and vegetable wrap and you will get flavor without calories.

Darwin pretty much nails the best strategies and a lot of other sites from the super-professional – like Weight Watchers to the more home-grown like this will go through and list nutritional content so that you can make smart choices.

Also, the women in my office really like the Hungry Girl site because it’s got great tips, tricks and ways to eat healthy throughout the rest of the week when bad habits or workplace food constraints can derail you.

Good luck!

I’m with you – trying to lose weight and stick to about 1,000–1,2000 calories a day. Going out to eat is one of the hardest things. A Japanese restaurant for sushi is a great choice if you eat it. If I am being “good”, I will get won ton soup and an egg roll as a Chinese take-out meal and stay within my calorie limits. At other restaurants, I will get a simple salad and an appetizer or soup as my main dish; depending on what it is, I can sometimes afford a glass of wine. A lot of the chains such as Chili’s and Applebee’s load up their food with salt so they are hard to eat at; I don’t usually frequent them, so I don’t know about the low-cal options. Fish is usually a good choice most places. I will have a slice of pizza for lunch on my days off, but I keep it to only one slice. I almost always bring lunch to work; usually a diet soda and a veggie pita with a small amount of hummous.

-Stick to small cups of soup, and salads with the dressing on the side if those options are available.

-Avoid any and all kinds of breads when eating out. Save breads for home meals where you can chose high fiber, low carb/low cal breads that don’t taste shitty. Your average oil or butter doused breadstick is about 230 calories, which is about half your caloric allotment for one meal…. and breadsticks are offered as an APPETIZER.

-Keep in mind that when it comes to restaurants, that everything is cooked in oil.. and that 2 tablespoons of oil is about 180 calories. This includes most veggie sides and chicken breasts. You can request that they use PAM instead, most places have it.

- 3 or 4 pieces of sushi (california rolls) are about 250 calories, so if you stick to about 8 rolls, you should be ok. It is really easy to go over your meal limit with sushi. Healthy stuff generally if you get more fish than rice in your rolls, but keep in mind—-sumo wrestlers diet consist of primarily sushi and a high protein stew called Chanko Nabe. Just because it’s nutrient rich and healthy, it doesn’t mean it’s a good “diet food”. Everything in moderation.

-If you order a full meal (hopefully off their low-cal section of the menu), ask for a to-go box at the start. Put half of your meal in it and put it to the side, then begin eating.

In sum… eating out is a really bad idea if you’re trying to lose weight, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.

Following Darwin’s advice would be your best bet. As far as going to places who have decent tasting low-cal choices I’ve always had good luck with Applebee’s and Chili’s. I didn’t feel still hungry afterward and I felt like there were some actual options instead of being stuck with one thing.

What @3or4monsters said! Eating low cal is totally up to you, wherever you go.