Welcome to the Eat This Not That podcast brought to you by Bob's Redmil. I'm John Hammond,

and this is Megan Murphy. Hi, everyone. And this episode, we're going to uncover some simple hacks to

use when eating out that can really help cut calories at your favorite restaurant. Of course,

there are times to indulge, right? But studies show that eating out, whether it's at a fine dining

restaurant, a fine dining restaurant,

a casual eatery, or a fast food joint leads to a greater daily intake of calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Now, you may already be using some great tips as your go-to

restaurant hacks, like skipping the breadbasket or ordering that salad dressing on the side,

but some of the tips will be sharing today may help to arm you with a new perspective on dining out. At the end of the day, you know, it's all about moderation and balance and picking healthy and delicious foods that will make you feel full rather than deprived. Right. And like so many, like, so many of us have like food guilt after a night out. Like you're there, you're in the moment in the moment you're like oh my god I'm totally going to have this this I'm waiting for this night and then like an hour after you're home and you're like unbuckling like a button gums loose and you're like oh why did I eat that so this is like this is look go have your cake and eat it too basically right like follow some of, little tips, simple things to do and just kind of cut down on some of that food guilt because going out should be a fun thing. A fun. And it should be fun in the moment and it should be fun after the moment. So that's what this is all about. So the first tip, the first hack, is to plan ahead, do some reconnaissance. scan the menus online because I have not been to a restaurant in the last five years that I could not find the menu in advance online. So what I'll do is I'll go on, I'll scan the menu and take a look and say like, oh, like they have like this, you know, nice lean salmon here. And you can think about ways you might want to mix and match before you get there. So it's not like a panic moment.

And like,

I'll just,

I'll just have the steak frets.

And I get excited about what you're going to be eating too.

And that's the other thing.

It's like you kind of take away that paralyzing decision making that, you know, the paradox of choice when you're, you've got the menu open for in front of you the first time and the waiter is there and

everybody else has ordered and you're like, oh, just this. And it's some creamy, heavy thing.

Like no in advance, have a plan,. And it's some creamy heavy thing.

Like no in advance, have a plan, stick to it.

And that way you'll enjoy your meal. You'll savor it and you'll not panic. Definitely. And another thing about ordering is always order first. This is great. This is a great tip. Yeah. I mean, rather than allowing your server to jot down, everyone's order before they get to you, volunteer to go first.

Going first means you're, like you mentioned, you're probably more... Yeah, I mean, rather than allowing your server to jot down, everyone's order before they get to you, volunteer to go first.

Going first means you're, like you mentioned, you're probably more likely to stick with your plant and be less influence.

If your friend Susie's ordering the chicken parmesan, your entree salad might feel, Sam, Suzy.

Your entree salad might feel a little lame, and you might get swayed into just having a little

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