Nutrition Nutrition and Weight Loss

How to Make Healthy Choices While Dining Out

Summary & Participants

Whether it's fast food or fine dining, it can be tough to make healthy choices while dining out. But there are several tips dieticians recommend to help diners make the right choices.

Medically Reviewed On: August 04, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Whether it’s fast food or fine dining, it can be tough to make healthy choices when eating out.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, American Dietetic Association: You have to think about the restaurant’s goal. Basically, they want you to come back, so they want the food to taste good. What enhances flavor the most? Salt, fat and the big portion sizes.

ANNOUNCER: Super-sized portions are one of the biggest obstacles to healthy eating.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, American Dietetic Association: A lot of people equate value with gigunda portion sizes.

ANNOUNCER: So, the American Dietetic Association recommends health-conscious diners downsize their meals.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, American Dietetic Association: When they bring you your meal, cut off the portions of the meal that really don’t belong to you but that they happen to give you, and then give it back to the waiter and say, wrap it up.

ANNOUNCER: But health conscious diners don’t have to give up their favorite eateries.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, American Dietetic Association: You could eat in any restaurant and still eat healthfully and still maintain your weight or lose weight, if that’s your goal. You just need to learn about choosing.

ANNOUNCER: There are several tips on making healthy choices. First, hold off on the bread and save those calories for the meal. Second, ask for sauces and dressings on the side. And third, don’t be afraid to ask questions and make requests.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, American Dietetic Association: If you make a request like, I don’t like a lot of oil on there, so could you do this with very little oil,” you are not being a pain in the neck.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, American Dietetic Association: Be generous and share, a few forks of any dessert, your favorite dessert, is not going to make you obese.

ANNOUNCER: So Bon Appetit! And thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily.