How to make better food choices when on vacation?

[egoldber]

So just when I am ready to turn my eating habits around, we're getting ready to go to Disneyworld next week! LOL! The good news is we've rented a place with a kitchen, so we'll really only be eating lunch and snacks outside the room. We'll make breakfast and probably eat dinner most nights in the room.

When you're eating out, does anyone have tips for making better choices. Or at least the lesser of many evils?

Thanks!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

always keep this in mind:
Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

Now for some practical tips. Take some healthy snacks with you and eat as soon as you get hungry. If you wait until you get to the restaurant and wait for your table and sit down, you will be starving and you will not only eat all the rolls on the table, you will order something really bad for you. Or at least I do. :) I find that if I have a snack as soon as I start to feel hungry, I can make better choices when faced with temptations. Also have water with you. Many times when we think we are hungry, we are actually thirsty.

Sometimes I tell the waiter not to even bring the bread/rolls to our table. I just don't want to be tempted.

Another tip: plan your cheats. If there is something you know you really really want, plan ahead as to when you will eat it and how much you will eat. It isn't so devastating and doesn't set up a chain reaction of "oh well I blew it, I might as well eat dessert too". I am already planning my pumpkin pie at thanksgiving dinner. If I were going to Disney, I might plan to have a candy apple, or funnel cake or some other treat that I knew would be there tempting me. By planning ahead, I don't obsess over it so much.

If you are really craving something, have a taste of it. For me, a taste is enough most of the time. It's never as good as I imagined it would be. And since nothing tastes as good as thin feels, I don't need to have any more of it.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[lukkykatt]

Beth, for the future, I highly recommend the "Nutrition Action Newsletter". These are the people who "outed" the shocking calories and fat in restaurant Chinese food, Italian food, and deli sandwiches. We subscribe to the NL, but there is also a wealth of information on their website: http://www.cspinet.org

DH and I have learned so much about eating out from this site. Alot of issues have listed specific restaurants and given the nutritional information for their popular menu items. Also, from time to time, they will have the nutritional information for food court places too (DH and I were sad to learn that there is almost nothing you can get at Panera that is "healthy", for example).

Besides getting this NL, when eating out I ask for no butter, and to have all sauces/dressing on the side. Also, if something has cheese, I used to ask them to leave that out (I have gotten away from that though...need to get back to that). Or on vacation, I try to have one "special" meal a day, and make the other 2 "regular", ie, healthy.

Have fun, and remember - you will be doing alot of walking, too!

[Karenn]

Depending on the restaurant, DH and I will sometimes split an entree. There is almost always enough food for two people on one plate so when you're splitting an entree it's not as tempting to eat more than you need.

I wish I were going to Disneyworld! :)