Even when they don't mean to?

I don't eat at regular restaurants very often, but it seems as every time I try to get something low carb, it turns out not to be when I plug it into Fitday.

For example, this morning ordered western omelet, because I remember DADNR & people on this forum mentioning them. I just got done plugging it into Fitday & it came to 10 carbs & almost 1000 calories! ! I ate at 8AM, so now I have to try to eat at least 2 more times today & don't have much room to work with.

The last time I went I ordered a salad: they had no oil or vinegar, so I had to have it plain & it had little sesame noodle thingey's floating all through it.

Does anyone have any fairly fool-proof suggestions for things you can order in a restaurant for breakfast and lunch/dinner?

I can't recall what's in a western omelette, but it's hard to believe that it could be 10 carbs & 1000 calories. Odd...

I go out to breakfast w/my DH & my father quite often. I've found that I can never go wrong w/good old steak and eggs! There's other things too, but if any of them are questionable, steak & eggs do just fine.

For lunch/dinner, I usually get steak or chicken (not breaded, of course) and substitute where I can.

Basically, if I find something on the menu that would be LC friendly w/some adjustments- I ask for it. If I'm unsure as to what's included in salads, veggies, etc., I ask. 99% of the time they're really nice and totally helpful. After all, the customer is always right. Right? (Boy how I hated that when I was a waitress. )

Nikki

If I am really careful, I can get something in a restaurant that meets the specs of the WOL. I usually have to remove something from a salad - croutons, crunchie noodles, something. But, I can order just a steak and just broccoli or something like that and do just fine. For breakfast I some kind of omelette and some kind of meat - bacon, sausage, hamburger. Sometimes it costs a little more to get things exactly how I want them, but it is worth it to treat myself properly.

My weakness is sushi. I absolutely love it and I travel for work quite a bit..... so, I tend to sneak in a sushi meal now and then. There are a few sushi places that I visit on my travesl that just have such a calming, quiet effect. Its more than the food, really.

It shouldn't have been that high. It's what three eggs, maybe a tsp of peppers, green onions and tsp of ham and cheese. What did you eat with it that put you so high? I'll be honest when I go out for breakfast. I do steak and eggs too. Why? Because I love Denny's T-Bone Steak. They're really cooperative. If I don't want the caesar salad no croutons that day, they let me PICK the vegetables I can eat (green beans). I find the sausage links unfortunately rack up high and honey ham is good to avoid.
Lunch I tend go for Salisbury steak no gravy.
But I find that if ask for what you want nicely, they'll try to get it for you. And they're a lot more understanding once you say you CAN'T eat something.
It just takes practice. I can tell later when something illegal was in it and I know for next time.

Maybe, the western omelette, on FitDay is considered being made with milk?? That might explain why there is so many carbs.

For breakfast, I order scambled eggs with bacon.

For lunch, I choose Chicken Ceasars Salads or a burger without the bun.

See you.

I eat almost all my meals out. For breakfast I usually have an Atkins bar or something like that, and then still order a side of bacon (2 strips, I have found it helps me feel full longer) at a local drive through. For lunch I either stop at McDonalds for 2 big-and-tasties without the bun, no ketchup and extra mayonaise, and an ice tea. For dinner I eat out again, usually a steak with melted bleu cheese on top with a salad with cheese, egg and bacon sprinkled on it (fresh bacon) and sometimes even add a chicken breast to it (and take that home for breakfast). Applebees is wonderful for that. At IHOP I usually order the steak and eggs (over-easy, no gravy or sauces), or the pork-chops and eggs. I drink water all day long, or ice tea. To snack I eat pork rinds with melted cheese over it on those days that I havent used my cheese quota yet. For dessert I always eat sugar free jeloo with whipping cream.

A pig I am.......oink oink.

Perhaps you need to stay away from Fitday for a while and listen to your body. Is your body telling you that you ate too much for breakfast? If the omelet had eggs, vegetables, and cheese, and you ate until you were full and then stopped eating, I wouldn't worry about it at all or think that you were in trouble unless your own body is sending you messages that this is the case. It sounds to me like you ate a normal low carb meal and, if I were you, I would just listen to your body and eat again when you are hungry (but don't wait more than six hours to eat). I often find that if I have a larger than normal breakfast I want a smaller than normal lunch and my food intake naturally evens out over the course of the day.

I think that sometimes we get fixated on numbers and forget that this is a way of eating, not a diet, and if we are going to maintain this way of eating we need to learn to listen to our own bodies and what they are telling us. If Fitday is making you nervous and making you feel like you are failing, you might want to stop using Fitday for a while. There is a carb counter on this site that you can use to check grams of carbs if you feel like you still need to. You shouldn't need to count calories unless you are not losing at all for long periods of time. I don't know why Fitday is telling you that the omelet had that many calories and carbs -- it doesn't sound right to me -- but your body is a better judge of what you ate than Fitday is anyway.

I eat out all the time and I don't think it has any effect on my rate of weight loss. I just do what I do at home -- stay away from starches and sugars. I have found that most restaurants will quite willingly substitute an extra serving of vegetables for the potatoes or rice.

i'm still so new to the woe that i rarely eat out. you know you tell the server no cornstart etc. do i really trust those people? no way jose!

I've been having pretty good luck at restaurants.

Breakfasts:
eggs + bacon + sliced tomatoes
omelet + salad
steak + eggs

Lunches:
salad with grilled chicken or steak

Dinners:
Steak + grilled vegetables + salad
fajitas with no tortillas

Desserts:
decaf coffee with cream (and I take a little flask of DaVinci SF syrup with me)

I've become VERY unafraid to ask for substitutions. If a restaurant won't cooperate, they're off our list of available eateries.

I have learned to speak up at restaurants to get exactly what I want. Cracker barrel is a good one for breakfast. I get a ham and cheese omlette made without milk and a side of bacon. The omlette is not on the menu, but I have never had a problem. For lunch I love Red Lobster. I usually get the caesar salad sans croutons, shrimp scampi and baked fish. and steamed veg instead of rice or potato. We have a Hunter Steakhouse that we like for supper. I usually get the caesar salad, prime rib or grilled fish, and steamed broccoli . No spuds or rice. I always ask for more butter to put on my veg. The way I look at it is, I am hiring them to prepare my meal and it should be as I want it, or they are fired! Actually I havent had any problems getting what I want. I did eat at a restaurant that did not have salad dressing that I could eat. I asked for oil and vinegar......but the didnt have any......hard to believe in a commercial kitchen. I asked if they had mayo and they did and brought me a little cup of it. So again, I prevailed.

Don't be afraid to expect food that you can eat. All you have to do is order it the way you want.

good luck,

Nanci

I feel better about it now. I could have entered it in wrong. Western omelet wasn't listed so I looked up a recipe for it & plugged the ingrediets in (they did have milk listed). I guess it was worth it to have something different that I really enjoyed.

I used to be the customer who never spoke up. If they messed up my meal or something I would never say anything and I would never ask for a substation ever!

That has all changed. I usually end up subing what I want or need for that day.

Denny's is good for that because all of there dinner items can be matched up with the sides you want I usually get cottage cheese and sliced tomatoes. I also started to ask how things are made. like scrambled eggs. I ask for them to be made with water and not milk. Or I will ask the server to leave all the crunchies out of my salad. If your nice about it most people don't have any problems.

Really IHOP AND DENNY'S ROCK FOR LC'ers and there CHEEP too!

Sarah

Be careful at IHOP -- they put pancake batter in their omelets to make them extra fluffy.

I hate cooking, so I am the queen of takeout (and every restaurant does takeout, even if they don't advertise it) - so I thought I'd chip in my 2 cents here.

Applebees, Red Robin and TGIF - they all have great steaks and good salads. At Applebees or Red Robin, the ribs are awesome w/out the bbq sauce (ask for it on the side). At TGIF, most of the steaks come with their "loaded baked potato" so ask for the toppings on the side - sour cream, bacon, cheese, and butter - and then use those toppings on your salad or steak.
Friday's also has a chicken thing with melted cheese and peppers and onions.

Friendlys has good grilled burgers, just ask for no bread, and they'll accomodate you.

Perkins and Denny's have awesome omelets, served at any time of day - ham and cheese are my favs - very filling so I don't need the hashbrowns.

Pizza toppings - I stay away from Dominos and Pizza hut and other big chains - they use fillers in their cheeses and meat toppings. Go with the small pizza places (who appreciate your business more anyway) and use good quality cheese (full fat) and meat. Eating just the toppings of 2 slices is pretty darn filling!

Outback - I LOVE steak and king crab legs - all that yummy butter! The only thing I really miss there is the walkabout soup (a creamy onion that is delish!).

I should mention that most of these places have premium burgers - ask for no bun, and they will happily accomodate you.

Any restaurant that offers blue cheese anywhere can give you some to top your steak with - don't be afraid to ask. Also, if they have anything on the menu that is grilled, they'll grill anything you want - even if they only order grilled salmon, you can ask for grilled chicken and they'll do it up for you.

Two other notes for eating out: I am a diabetic and say so up front - I can't eat carbs! The more we ask for low carb dishes, the more likely they are to offer low carb dishes. They want to make money and are always adding and subtracting dishes to menus to find what will sell best. You can explain that you have a "medical condition" (being overweight or obese IS a medical condition) and you will find most times that they are very receptive to adapting menu items for you.

Also, give your favourite restaurants a call and request nutrition information ahead of time (and a copy of the menu). Having the knowledge ahead of time allows you to make choices with confidence even if a group of other people are sitting around you.

I hope this helps!

Twitch, who doesn't care if this isn't Burger King, she wants it HER way!

Hello!
I manage a store for Pizza Hut and we use only 100% Real Cheese and out toppings are top quality. I am Lcing just fine and I eat stuff (cheese, meats and veggies too).

I am not at all trying to push pizza hut at all but I wanted to let you know if you love there pizza like I do then don't be afraid of there toppings!

Sarah