Key Strategies for Restaurant Dining
Dining out is one of life's pleasures, but it's also a challenge when you're trying to maintain a healthy diet. At home you can control what you put on your plate, but when you eat out, you're bound to come up against some common pitfalls: oversized portions, tempting refined carbs, extra ingredients that add bad fat and bad carbs, and of course menus that don't offer many South Beach Diet-friendly options. The following tips will help you stick to your healthy eating plan.

• Have a protein snack before you leave the house.
  By eating something with protein ‑- a hard-boiled egg or a piece of reduced-fat cheese, for example ‑- about 15 minutes before you arrive at the restaurant, you'll take the edge off your appetite. If you're not ravenous while you're reading the menu, you'll be able to make better food choices.
• Banish the bread basket.
  And the tortilla chips basket. And the crispy noodle basket. They're all filled with bad (refined)carbs, such as rolls made from white flour or deep-fried tortilla chips. Eating these carbs will give you a glucose jolt that could raise your blood sugar, and you might end up feeling hungrier. If it's okay with your fellow diners, ask your server to remove the basket before you even have a chance to nibble. If not, wait until everyone has taken some and then ask the server to remove the basket. (If that's not appropriate for the group you're with, at least position the basket as far from yourself as possible.) Once you're on Phase 2 or 3, you can indulge in a slice from the bread basket ‑- as long as it is made from whole grains. To prevent a rapid rise in blood sugar, dip the bread into olive oil or even spread a little butter on it. The added calories are offset by the feeling of fullness that the fat adds.

Best Choices at Your Favorite Restaurants:

• Qdoba Mexican Grill
• Olive Garden
• The Cheesecake Factory
• Boston Market