Restaurant Calorie Counter for Dummies41242

Health & Fitness/Nutrition

Making Everything

Easier !

™

2nd Edition

2nd Edition

This portable guide gives you fast access to the nutritional
information for menu items at top fast-food and sit-down
restaurants in the United States and Canada. Tuck it into your
glove box, briefcase, or purse, and have key information at
your fingertips whenever you find yourself eating out!

Open the book and find:
Achieve your dietary goals even if you have a
• Nutrition information for 150
special diet consideration
chain restaurants in the U.S.
and Canada
• Guidance on making healthy
menu selections if you’re trying
to lose weight or if you have high
cholesterol, high blood pressure,
or diabetes

• Keep your balance — discover how to maintain

a balanced diet, strive for a little variety, and
embrace exercise and sleep

• Suggestions for helping kids eat
healthy when the family’s on
the go

• Get the skinny — get the 411 on making smart food
choices when eating out, whether you’re looking to
lose weight or control or prevent diseases

• Dining-out advice for athletes to
keep them going strong when
they’re on the road

• Take special note — find healthy nutrition advice
and dining out tips for children and athletes

• The top picks at select restaurants
for certain health conditions

• Have at-a-glance access — flip through the menus
of 150 top restaurants to get the scoop on a dish’s
calorie, fat, saturated fat, sodium, carbohydrate,
fiber, sugar, and protein counts

• The best bets for kids and athletes
at some popular chain restaurants

Restaurant

Calorie Counter

Achieve your health
and lifestyle goals
even when eating out

Restaurant
r
e
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n
u
o
C
e
i
r
o
Cal

Learn to:

Go to Dummies.comđ

ã Track calories, fat, saturated fat,
sodium, carbs, fiber, sugar, and
protein on the go

for videos, step-by-step photos,
how-to articles, or to shop!

• Make smart choices at popular
drive-thru, quick-stop, and
sit-down chains
• Pick the right restaurant foods
for your health, kids, and
athletic performance

$7.99 US / $9.99 CN / £5.99 UK

ISBN 978-0-470-64405-8

Rosanne Rust is a registered dietitian,
freelance writer, and online weight-loss
coach for Real Living Nutrition Services.
Meri Raffetto is a registered dietitian,
weight-loss coach, and the founder and
CEO of www.reallivingnutrition.com.

Rosanne Rust, MS, RD, LDN
Meri Raffetto, RD
Rust
Raffetto

Coauthors of Calorie Counter
Journal For Dummies


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p

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A
e
l
i
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o
M
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Restaurant
Calorie Counter
FOR

DUMmIES

‰

2ND EDITION

by Rosanne Rust, MS, RD, LDN
with Meri Raffetto, RD


Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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BE RELIED UPON AS RECOMMENDING OR PROMOTING A SPECIFIC METHOD, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT BY PHYSICIANS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PATIENT. THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN VIEW OF ONGOING RESEARCH, EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS, CHANGES IN
GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS, AND THE CONSTANT FLOW OF INFORMATION RELATING TO THE USE OF MEDICINES, EQUIPMENT, AND DEVICES, THE READER IS URGED TO REVIEW AND EVALUATE THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE PACKAGE INSERT OR INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH MEDICINE, EQUIPMENT, OR DEVICE FOR, AMONG
OTHER THINGS, ANY CHANGES IN THE INSTRUCTIONS OR INDICATION OF USAGE AND FOR ADDED WARNINGS AND

PRECAUTIONS. READERS SHOULD CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST WHERE APPROPRIATE. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER
INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE
AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN
THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY ANY PROMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THIS WORK. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM.
THE NUTRIENT VALUES FOR PREPARED FOODS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MAY NOW DIFFER FROM LISTINGS
HEREIN, WHICH ARE BASED ON RESEARCH CONDUCTED PRIOR TO FALL 2009. BECAUSE FOOD MANUFATURERS
CONSTANTLY CHANGE THEIR PRODUCT AND REGIONAL DIFFERENCES CAN AFFECT THE NUTRIENT VALUES OF
FOODS, THE MANUFACTURERS ARE THE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE FOR FOOD’S MOST CURRENT NUTRITIONAL
VALUE.

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not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011924139
ISBN: 978-0-470-64405-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


About the Authors
Rosanne Rust is a registered, licensed dietitian with 25 years
of experience in food and nutrition. She currently provides
virtual weight-loss coaching as a licensed provider for
www.reallivingnutrition.com and is an online
nutrition instructor for Penn State World Campus. Her
private practice includes freelance writing, media and
spokesperson work, and corporate wellness consulting.

Rosanne is the coauthor of Calorie Counter Journal For
Dummies and Glycemic Index Cookbook For Dummies
(both published by Wiley).
Meri Raffetto is a registered dietitian and recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She’s the
founder of www.reallivingnutrition.com, providing
one of the only interactive online weight-loss programs.
Meri is the author of The Glycemic Index Diet For Dummies
and coauthor of Calorie Counter Journal For Dummies and
Glycemic Index Cookbook For Dummies (all published by
Wiley).


Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Cover Photo: © iStockphoto.com/
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Cartoons: Rich Tennant
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Publishing for Technology Dummies
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General User
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services


Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................... 1

About This Book.......................................................................2
Conventions Used in This Book .............................................3
How This Book Is Organized...................................................5
Part I: Dining Out 101 ...................................................5
Part II: Restaurant Guide..............................................5
Icons Used in This Book ..........................................................6
Where to Go from Here ...........................................................6

Part I: Dining Out 101.................................... 7
Chapter 1: Keep Your Balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Balancing Act ............................................................................9
Strive for a little variety .............................................10
Eat fruits and vegetables ...........................................10
Embrace exercise and sleep......................................12
Basic Tips When Dining Out .................................................12

Chapter 2: Eating on the Go with Your Health in Mind . . . 15
Weight Loss: Bringing Down
That BMI..............................................................................16
Menu options for weight loss....................................16
Best bets for weight loss ...........................................17
Heart Disease or High Cholesterol .......................................19
Menu options for heart disease or
high cholesterol......................................................20
Best bets for heart disease or high cholesterol .....21
High Blood Pressure ..............................................................23
Menu options for high blood pressure ....................23
Best bets for high blood pressure ............................24
Diabetes ...................................................................................25
Menu options for diabetes ........................................26

Best bets for diabetes ................................................27


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Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 3: Healthy Dining Out Tips
for Children and Athletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Nutrition Tips for Kids...........................................................30
Menu options for kids ................................................30
Best bets for kids ........................................................31
Nutrition Tips for Athletes ....................................................33
Menu options for athletes .........................................34
Best bets for athletes .................................................34

Part II: Restaurant Guide .............................. 37
Applebee’s...............................................................................39
Arby’s.......................................................................................43
Au Bon Pain.............................................................................46
Auntie Anne’s..........................................................................53
A&W .........................................................................................54
Back Yard Burgers .................................................................55
Baja Fresh................................................................................57
Baskin Robbins .......................................................................60
Ben & Jerry’s ...........................................................................63
Blimpie.....................................................................................64
Bob Evans................................................................................68
Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ’n Biscuits ...............................75
Boston Market ........................................................................75

Boston Pizza ...........................................................................77
Bruegger’s ...............................................................................80
Bruster’s Real Ice Cream .......................................................84
Buffalo Wild Wings .................................................................85
Burger King .............................................................................87
California Pizza Kitchen ........................................................89
Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen.................................................93
Carino’s Italian........................................................................94
Carl’s Jr. ...................................................................................97
Carvel .......................................................................................99
Casey’s General Store ..........................................................101
Charley’s Grilled Subs .........................................................102
Chester’s ...............................................................................103
Chick-fil-A .............................................................................104


Table of Contents

vii

Chili’s .....................................................................................106
Chipotle Mexican Grill .........................................................110
Chuck E. Cheese ...................................................................110
Church’s Chicken .................................................................111
CiCi’s Pizza ............................................................................112
Cinnabon ...............................................................................113
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ................................................113
Cold Stone Creamery ...........................................................115
Così ........................................................................................120
Country Style ........................................................................124

Cousins Subs.........................................................................128
Culver’s..................................................................................130
Dairy Queen ..........................................................................134
D’Angelo ................................................................................139
Denny’s ..................................................................................143
Domino’s Pizza .....................................................................147
Donatos .................................................................................150
Dunkin’ Donuts .....................................................................152
Eat’n Park ..............................................................................158
Einstein Bros. Bagels ...........................................................165
El Pollo Loco .........................................................................169
Fazoli’s ...................................................................................171
Firehouse Subs .....................................................................173
Five Guys Burgers and Fries ...............................................174
Freshëns ................................................................................175
Friendly’s ...............................................................................177
Gatti’s Pizza...........................................................................183
Godfather’s Pizza .................................................................185
Golden Corral .......................................................................189
Great Harvest Bread Company ...........................................194
The Great Steak & Potato Co. .............................................196
Harvey’s ................................................................................198
Hungry Howie’s ....................................................................200
IHOP .......................................................................................203
In-N-Out Burger.....................................................................210
Jack in the Box......................................................................210
Jamba Juice ...........................................................................213
Jersey Mike’s Subs ...............................................................215

viii

Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Jet’s Pizza ..............................................................................223
Jimmy John’s ........................................................................226
Joey’s Only Fish & Chips .....................................................227
Johnny Rockets ....................................................................230
Kentucky Fried Chicken ......................................................232
Krispy Kreme ........................................................................235
Krystal ...................................................................................236
Little Caesars ........................................................................237
Lone Star Steakhouse ..........................................................237
LongHorn Steakhouse..........................................................239
Long John Silver’s ................................................................242
MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream and Treatery ...............................243
Marble Slab Creamery .........................................................243
Marco’s Pizza ........................................................................245
Maui Wowi Hawaiian............................................................246
Mazzio’s Italian Eatery.........................................................247
McAlister’s Deli ....................................................................249
McDonald’s ...........................................................................252
Moe’s Southwest Grill ..........................................................256
Mr. Sub ..................................................................................258
Mrs. Fields .............................................................................260
Nathan’s Famous ..................................................................262
Noble Roman’s......................................................................264
Old Country Buffet ...............................................................264
Olive Garden .........................................................................271
On The Border ......................................................................275
Orange Julius ........................................................................279

Outback Steakhouse ............................................................281
Panago ...................................................................................283
Panda Express ......................................................................286
Panera Bread ........................................................................287
Papa Gino’s ...........................................................................291
Papa John’s ...........................................................................295
Papa Murphy’s......................................................................297
Pei Wei Asian Diner ..............................................................299
Penn Station East Coast Subs .............................................302
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro ....................................................303
Pizza Delight .........................................................................307


Table of Contents

ix

Pizza Hut................................................................................309
Pizza Inn ................................................................................313
Pizza Pizza .............................................................................313
Pizza Pro ................................................................................316
Popeyes .................................................................................317
Port of Subs...........................................................................319
Pretzelmaker/Pretzel Time .................................................320
Qdoba ....................................................................................321
Quiznos..................................................................................327
Red Lobster...........................................................................329
Red Robin ..............................................................................336
Rita’s ......................................................................................340
Romano’s Macaroni Grill .....................................................342

Round Table Pizza................................................................345
Rubio’s Mexican Grill ...........................................................351
Ruby Tuesday .......................................................................353
Ryan’s ....................................................................................357
Schlotzsky’s ..........................................................................362
Second Cup ...........................................................................365
Sheetz ....................................................................................369
Sizzler ....................................................................................379
Skyline Chili ..........................................................................382
Smoothie King.......................................................................385
Sonic ......................................................................................387
Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q .....................................................393
Starbucks...............................................................................395
Steak ’n Shake .......................................................................401
Subway ..................................................................................406
Swiss Chalet ..........................................................................409
Taco Bell................................................................................412
Taco Bueno ...........................................................................414
Taco Cabana .........................................................................417
Taco Del Mar.........................................................................420
Taco John’s ...........................................................................422
TacoTime ..............................................................................424
TCBY ......................................................................................426
Tim Hortons ..........................................................................439
TOGO’S ..................................................................................441


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Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Tropical Smoothie Café .......................................................443
UNO Chicago Grill ................................................................446
Vocelli Pizza ..........................................................................450
Wendy’s .................................................................................451
Whataburger .........................................................................454
White Castle ..........................................................................456
Wienerschnitzel ....................................................................458
Winchell’s ..............................................................................461
Zaxby’s ..................................................................................465


Introduction

A

ccording to the most recent data from the
National Center for Health Statistics, about twothirds of adults in the United States are overweight,
and about 34 percent are obese. Consumers must
come to terms with the fact that eating behavior and
choices are what drive their struggles with excessive
weight. Changing your eating behaviors is a multifaceted
process that involves commitment and support, but
one thing remains true: You must consume fewer
calories.
A major influence on today’s high calorie intake is
the wide availability of restaurants. On a typical day
in the United States in 2010, more than 130 million
individuals patronized a food-service establishment,
and there’s no sign that this trend will change. But
just because more people are dining out doesn’t mean

they’re any less concerned about making healthy food
choices. What they may not realize, though, is that
diet plays a role in disease risk and management, and
typical restaurant fare is often heavy in three dietary
factors involved in that role: sodium, saturated fat,
and calories.
Because people tend to eat in restaurants more often
than they did decades ago, it’s important to have information about how those choices stack up nutritionally.


2

Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition,
is the perfect companion for eating on the go because
it includes nutritional information for many popular
restaurants, fast-food chains, and quick-stops. With
it, you have the knowledge you need to balance your
diet for better health no matter what restaurant you
choose.

About This Book
Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition,
is your handy nutritional reference guide for dining out
at popular restaurants. It helps you understand how
different menu items compare to each other. It also
helps you discover how to decipher restaurant choices
so you can determine what the best bet is for your
health.

This book is for anyone interested in good health.
Although we’re casting a wide net with that statement,
we think it rings true. If one or more of these descriptions
hits home for you, you’ve come to the right place:
✓ You frequent restaurants on a daily basis, and you
feel now is the time to take control of your dietary
decisions.
✓ You only use fast food in situations where you’re on
the road or away from home, and you want to make
the best choices.
✓ You’re on the road for work a lot and are forced to
eat in restaurants often.


Introduction

3

✓ You’re watching your total calorie, saturated fat,
and/or sodium intake for weight control, high blood
pressure, diabetes, or heart disease.
✓ You’re a parent who wants to help your child
make the best nutritional choices when you’re
eating out.
✓ You’re an athlete who’s on the road for competitions and concerned with making the right menu
choices to better your performance.

Conventions Used in This Book
This guide provides you with nutritional data for
150 popular restaurants. We’ve chosen to highlight

a few key nutrients that have the greatest impact on
health and disease risk: calories (Cal), fat, saturated
fat (Sfat), sodium (Sod), carbohydrates (Carb), fiber,
sugar, and protein (Prot).
Following is a quick primer on how these different
nutritional values are measured (we skip over calories
because that one’s pretty self-explanatory):
Nutritional Value
Fat
Saturated fat
Sodium
Carbohydrates
Fiber
Sugar
Protein

Measured In
Grams
Grams
Milligrams
Grams
Grams
Grams
Grams


4

Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Here’s a cheat sheet to some other abbreviations we use
within the nutritional data:
Abbreviation
&
"
amt
approx.
avg
ea
g
indv
lb
lrg
med
mg
ml
NP
oz
pc
reg
sml
std
tbsp
tsp
w/
w/o

Meaning
and
inch

amount
approximately
average
each
gram
individual
pound
large
medium
milligram
milliliters
not provided
ounce
piece
regular
small
standard
tablespoon
teaspoon
with
without

We also want to mention that we didn’t really have room
to include trademark symbols for all the various nuggets, nibblers, uperchinos, and other brand-name items
offered by the fine restaurants in this book. So we reiterate what’s on the copyright page: All trademarks listed


Introduction

5

in this book are the property of their respective owners.
Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product
or vendor mentioned in Restaurant Calorie Counter For
Dummies, 2nd Edition.

How This Book Is Organized
The two parts in this book are designed to provide you
with guidance in making better food choices when you’re
dining out.

Part I: Dining Out 101
Here we’ve outlined some basic guidelines for healthier
eating and included dining-out tips based on a few common
health concerns: weight control, high cholesterol, diabetes,
and high blood pressure. We’ve also included restaurantfocused guidance for kids and athletes. Take note of the
specific guidelines that apply to your needs to make the
best menu choices for your situation.

Part II: Restaurant Guide
In a perfect world, you’d have the time and energy to
cook a fresh, healthy meal every night, but that’s just not
how most folks live these days. That’s why we’re giving
you the nutrition facts for 150 popular restaurants — so
you can make informed choices when dining out. You
can even impress your friends with these handy facts!
(Beware the fallout of reporting the calories in that threecheese, triple-patty burger with bacon that your friend
just ate for lunch though.)

6

Restaurant Calorie Counter For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Icons Used in This Book
Scattered throughout the margins of Part I are icons
we’ve added to help draw your attention to the text in
question. Here’s what those little images mean:
If you take nothing else away from this book but the
information tagged with this icon, you’ll have the info
you need to start making healthier menu choices at your
favorite restaurants.
This bull’s-eye indicates pointers that can make eating
healthy on the go a little easier.

Pay attention to these paragraphs to help you protect
your health based on your particular circumstances.

Where to Go from Here
If you want some general tips on dining out the healthy
way, take a look at the chapters in Part I. If you’re curious
about the nutritional content of food items at your favorite restaurants, dive right in to Part II. You’re likely to find
some helpful, and at times shocking, information.


Part I

Dining Out 101

N

In this part . . .

o matter what your personal situation may
be, eating healthy is easy to do when you
have a few basic guidelines in mind. That’s why
this part introduces you to the concept of balanced
eating and explains the basics of how to go about it
when you dine out. It’s easier to include more variety in your diet when eating at home (where you
have more control over portion sizes, ingredients,
and cooking methods), but if you use some of our
tips, you can make the best possible choices when
you’re at your favorite restaurant too.
If you dine out frequently and are trying to lose
weight, or if you have high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, or diabetes, this part is also your
resource for specific healthy-eating information
geared toward your personal needs.
Finally, kids and jocks will find helpful information
here too. Parents, we arm you with information to
help keep your children healthy when faced with
fast food. Athletes, we’ve made this your stop for
tips designed to help you maintain a competitive
edge when faced with restaurant fare.


Chapter 1

Keep Your Balance

In This Chapter
▶

Developing a balanced lifestyle

▶

Making healthier decisions when dining out

B

alance is what a healthy body is all about. Every
system within your body constantly strives for
balance, and this balance is what keeps your health
stable and your systems functioning.

We bet you’re no stranger to the phrase balanced diet.
However, do you have any idea what that phrase really
means? This chapter takes a stab at defining it for you.
And although doing some of your own cooking in the
kitchen is always a great way to achieve a wholesome
diet, we know you like to dine out or take out too. That’s
why, in this chapter, we also feature tips for eating
healthy at your favorite restaurant, so you can find
balance every time you enjoy a meal out.

Balancing Act
So what exactly is a balanced diet? There’s no one perfect way to eat a healthy diet, but a balanced diet is one
that includes a variety of foods from each basic food

10

Part I: Dining Out 101

group every day. Eating different foods from each food
group guarantees you’re getting adequate carbohydrates,
proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. A balanced diet
also infers that calorie intake is balanced with physical
activity; that is, you take in the right amount of calories
to support your daily activity and exercise and therefore
maintain a healthy weight. You can use the guidelines in
this section to create a balanced diet, especially when
eating out.
Of course, most people can’t eat perfectly at every meal
of every day. To really succeed in achieving a balanced
diet, consider your diet throughout the week, not necessarily at only one meal.

Strive for a little variety
Nobody likes to eat the same thing all the time. One of
the ways you can help yourself eat a balanced diet on a
daily basis is to really make an effort to choose a variety
of foods. By variety we mean pick different types of foods
within each food group. So even if you love bananas, try
to mix things up and eat an apple, a plum, some melon,
or berries every week. Hey, go crazy: Try a kiwifruit or
mango once in a while too!

Eat fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are nutritional powerhouses

that play a vital role in a balanced diet and add fiber
to your diet (which helps control hunger). Vegetables
in particular are very low in calories and have healthy
phytochemicals — nonnutritive plant chemicals that have


Chapter 1: Keep Your Balance

11

protective or disease-preventive properties. Try to eat at
least two servings of fruit and two servings of vegetables
daily, gradually increasing these amounts to three or four
servings each of both fruit and veggies. (Note: One serving is just a half-cup or a small piece of whole fruit.)
When deciding which fruits and veggies to devour, think
about color and eat the rainbow. Adding more color to
your diet is an easy way to ensure you’re getting a variety
of fruits and veggies weekly. So go for dark orange, green,
blue/purple, reds, and yellows, and remember that every
color provides a different vitamin, mineral, or antioxidant.
When you’re on the go, bring fruit or raw veggies to work
or school, or grab an apple on your way out the door.
Getting into this routine helps round out your diet by
providing important vitamins and minerals, thereby balancing out the higher-fat, higher-calorie choices you may
make at other times.
If you’re not a fan of raw vegetables, consider grilling
them. Grilling is a quick and easy way to prepare vegetables as a side dish or pasta topping. Vegetables such
as bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, onions, potatoes, and
Portobello mushrooms all do well on the grill.
Adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet when you

eat at home is important because choices are slim and
sometimes nonexistent in many restaurants, especially
the fast-food variety. If you can choose a fruit or vegetable when dining out, do so, but in some restaurants, your
best bet is simply to make lower-calorie, lower-sodium
choices. Doing so gives you a better shot at balancing out
nutrients to meet your body’s overall needs.


12

Part I: Dining Out 101

Embrace exercise and sleep
The diets of people who are overweight are usually
unbalanced. Being overweight is a risk factor for Type 2
diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Even if
you aren’t overweight, a balanced diet can help lead to a
balanced lifestyle. Check with your physician about your
personal health needs and consider the following:
✓ Move more. Strive to include more physical activity (also known as exercise) in your daily regimen.
For instance, if you dine out at lunch for business,
arrange to walk to your destination. When you partner daily exercise with a balanced diet, you have a
great way to stimulate weight loss.
✓ Get more sleep. Research has shown that getting
adequate sleep helps with long-term health and
even stress management. When you’re well rested,
you’re able to make reasonable decisions, thereby
passing up that 460-calorie sweet potato casserole
in favor of the 60-calorie steamed vegetables.
Losing weight is all about finding balance. (There’s that

word again.) Make exercise a habit, but also make sure
you get enough rest.

Basic Tips When Dining Out
Dining out can be an enjoyable experience, but it can also
be a high-calorie, high-sodium one. However, with a bit
of planning ahead, you can manage to enjoy your dining
experience without the worry of eating too many calories
or sacrificing health.


Chapter 1: Keep Your Balance

13

Consider these tips to save calories the next time you
dine out:
✓ Ask for dressings or sauces on the side, or skip
the mayo.
✓ Consider an appetizer or side dish as an entrée, or
choose the regular, small, or kid-sized portion. (Skip
anything that’s extra-large or supersized.)
✓ Choose nonfat or lowfat milk and coffee drinks (pick
the small or “tall” size for the latter).
✓ Select grilled or oven-roasted items and skip the
deep-fried foods.
✓ Drink more water with your meals.
✓ Choose the smallest size of beverage available, or
go with water, coffee, or unsweetened tea, to avoid
racking up several hundred calories a day in sugary

liquid.
✓ Watch out for main-course salads; they aren’t always
the low-calorie choice.
✓ Include as many veggie toppings as possible on your
sandwich or pizza and in your omelet.
✓ Skip the butter on breakfast items, such as waffles
or pancakes, and use smaller amounts of syrup.
✓ Enjoy eggs with toast, but skip the extra meat.
✓ Forgo the extra cheese on anything whatsoever.
✓ Choose pastas with marinara or olive oil–based
sauces rather than cream or Alfredo-type ones.
✓ Consider splitting an item with a friend and ordering
a side salad to round out your meal (unless of course
you’re splitting dessert).