Restaurant Survival Tips

To eat sensible food portions when dining out, Kelli Hughes, a dietitian at the University of Virginia Health System, suggests:

• Share your meal with your companion. "If you're eating half a meal at a restaurant, you're still probably getting more than a full serving."
• Or, ask the waiter to box up half your meal before you start eating. That way you can enjoy eating everything on your plate-and enjoy it a second time as a future meal. "The first time I did this, the waiter looked at me like I was crazy. But I thought to myself, ‘What do I have to lose-I'm the customer.'"
• Stay away from all-you-can-eat buffets. It's like eating chips right from the bag-you just don't know when you've eaten too much.

Adds Hughes, "We pigeonhole ourselves into believing we're not capable of certain things, like leaving food on our plates. I tell my clients, expect to be served too much food-and know what you're going to do about it."