i think that GOOD resturaunts HIDE stuff too... and they are LESS likely to have their nutritional lists somewhere to read..*L*
danged if ya do.. and danged if ya dont..*L*
i live in a hick town and if i DO eat somewhere in a REAL TOWN it is usually a salad bar or steak place (they cant hide much there) or fish..broiled .. but everything else? your fortune is held in the palm of the cook you will never see..*L* (spoken by the pizza goddess i used to be... we put SUGAR in our pizza sauce that i made...*L*.. sad but true..
fast food? i get carls jr. (hardees) low carb burger.. skip the ketchup or CATSUP for those who know the difference..*L* and mayo and and tomatoe... get a side salad and SKIP the dressing.. and i am in seventh heaven.. wish they made hamburgers like THOSE in my town.. alas it is the ones that are paperthin ...bleh!

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kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
KIMS BLOG !!
SUGARFREE BLOG

EAting out is getting easier - a lot of the restaurants are offering more lc options. I think Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, and Friday's. I'm like Kim, we tend to go to steak houses with salad bars so it's pretty cut and dry. Before going, see if they have a website - they just might have menu's with nutritional values there. I guess if all else fails, ask!

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Angie



at least for now...

Mexican fajitas are good - just leave out the tortillas.
I like the buffet because I can get all the salad, vegies and protein I want.
Karen

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If you are looking for fast food then I would suggest McDonalds grilled chicken cobb salad. They actually put their nutritional info on their web site so you can check it out. The only bad thing is it is high in sodium but I enjoy them on a once every couple week basis. Of course I use my own dressing because there's is too high in carbs.

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Noël


Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strengths.

I like Wendy's Chicken BLT salad, but the thing you need to do with it is change the Honey mustard dressing to Ranch or Ceasar

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I eat out a lot. Sometimes for work, other times because I'm too lazy to cook or pack a lunch. I've made some mistakes and some good choices. The key is to talk to the waiter/waitress and find out what goes into the food. Be aware that they may not understand low-carb eating.

If you're dining for business, try to show up 15 minutes early so you can look over a menu and discuss the choices with a waitress before sitting down with your dining companion. I recently did this at a Mexican food restaurant. I ended up ordering a carnitas burrito with bean or the tortilla. They served me the carnitas on a plate with guacamole and chopped tomato salsa on the side.

Some fast food restaurants are started to catch onto the low-carb eating idea...sort of. I've had the "do you want fries with that?" question at Carl's Jr. (Hardees), too. KFC has a nice roasted chicken salad...but beware of their side orders. Even the green beans has 5 net grams of carbs.

If it's a larger franchise type of place, look up the restaurant on the Internet. Typing in things like "KFC Nutrition" will give you the nutritional page. Some of them, such as El Pollo Loco, let you adjust the ingredients listing to nutritional values. For instance, you can get the values of a Chicken Caesar Salad without tortilla strips. Some restaurants aren't the least bit helpful...Islands comes to mind. Even an email requesting information didn't answer my question.

Carbs can be hidden in many places. A bit of BBQ sauce here, a touch of ketchup there. But if you plan for it ahead of time, or even overestimate what you think the carbs are, you'll probably be alright. For instance, I sometimes eat at Sizzler, which allows me to order broccoli in place of fries or a potato. That's good! But sometimes I wonder what type of seasoning they use on the meat. (I should ask, but I've not eaten there on induction and haven't been that worried about it) If I order the hibachi chicken, I wipe the barbecue sauce off but still figure a touch of it into my FitDay calendar because there's probably a bit of carb in the residue. (yeah, I could order it without, but I like the tiny bit of flavor it gives and as long as I figure a few extra carbs into my food planner, I can work it into my meal planning.)

Kim, I also put sugar in my homemade spaghetti/lazagna sauce. It kills the tartness of the tomato product...but it's been awhile since I've made either.

Ed, I had Wendy's BLT salad today...with Ranch. The last time I went there, the girl at the counter insisted that I could have Honey Mustard on my diet because it was low-fat. I told her that I was on a high-fat diet and that I wanted the ranch.

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Melissa

I usually order fajitas (Chili's new fajitas with portobello mushrooms are yummy), skip the peppers, onions and tortillas, and eat just meat, mushrooms, sour cream, guacamole and some pico de gallo. It's quite satisfying.

Also, any shrimp of fish dish (I love blackened tuna! :-))) with broccoli instead of rice and with a small side salad and ranch dressing on the side - probably can't go wrong. :-)

Once I ate this dreamy pecan-crusted chicken breast in Mark's in Houston, but could not find anything quite that good since...

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i wonder what the CARB COUNT is in the margarita tuna that chilis has.. god i LOVED that before LCing... do they have a site? anyone know? with nutritional counts,,, i mean,,
you also have to consider the SIZE of a PORTION.. when believing the nutritional things on websites..
as a former resturaunt owner... i can tell you that many workers do NOT go by the portions that the owner states should be done.. of course when i see them use a scoop or baggie of measured out i feel a BIT more confident...
but i had employees that would put UP TO FOUR TIMES or more of the portions of cheese i told them to on pizzas... especially when busy..

and as a consumer... in my old TACO BELL days i always used to be amused that SOMETIMES a burrito would be the size around of a taquito.. and sometimes they looked like they would feed a family of 4.. i NEVER knew what to order .. get 2? might be too much... get one? get one of the pencil sized ones and go hungry..*L* (like i have ever done THAT..*L*)

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kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
KIMS BLOG !!
SUGARFREE BLOG

Chili's is another one of those places that has a site, but no nutritional information. Maybe we need to start writing these places, en masse, and see if we can get them to put together some information...preferably on their website.

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Melissa

I see you live in Cleveland. Do they have Uno's there? They offer a small, but good, low carb selection. I like their chicken wrapped around a filling of cheese and broccoli. Of course, I usually gain a half pound after eating out, but that's just water weight from the salt and gone in a day. They also have a cauli mash. Not as good as Marcie's (recipe on this site) but hey! it's progress.

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Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

I have been very happy with the Cracker Barrel Low Carb menu. They seem to get it, and the food is pretty good. I usually get the grilled pot roast with green beans. Yummy!

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Renee
1/19/04
261/220/160
41 lbs off
60 lbs to goal



Race to 199 Challenge
Labor Day Challenge: Focusing on the Journey
Personal Goal: 199 by 12/31/05

I've never really had a problem eating out. Most places at least offer chicken ceasar or cobb salad - both good LC options (and you leave off the croutons). I just avoid ordering high carb foods like pasta or enchiladas, and ask for extra veggies instead of rice or potatoes or noodles when I order meat, poultry, or fish dishes. If there's a suspicious sounding sauce (i.e., "honey mustard glaze"), I either ask them to leave it off or serve it on the side.

I've never had any place bat an eyelash when I asked for changes in the way a dish is served - they have all been very obliging.

And, as pointed out above, many restaurants are adding more low carb options. Our favorite pizza place (Willow Street Pizza) is one of the ~best~ low carb places to eat locally. They have lots of grilled meat dishes; and now have their menu set up so that you can order 2 sides to go with entrees (mixed fresh veggies, sauteed spinach, mashed potatoes, or rice).

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

weirdly enough, IHOP wouldn't sub out stuff for me. he said they have a policy, only sub starches for startches, etc.

so i don't go there anymore. i guess they may have saved a couple of dimes, but you know. not very progressive thinking.

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

I think they are changing the name of IHOP to International House of Obsese People.