Dining Out

Eating at your favorite restaurants can still be enjoyable thanks to the Lose It! app and restaurants that actually offer lighter options. Red Lobster has to be hands down my favorite restaurant, but all of the menu options can be overwhelming. Thanks to Lose It! (and the fact that Red Lobster does offer lighter options) I don't have to worry.

Each restaurant in the Lose It! database shows each of the foods that they offer (give or take a few) along with the calories. So if you know you want to have a 550 calorie dinner at Red Lobster you know that you can have the broiled seafood platter for 280 calories, a cheddar bay biscuit for 180 and a garden salad for 90 calories. If you prefer to have the fried seafood platter for 1,090 calories, you know you could eat half of that to stay within your 550 calorie range.That is the benefit of using the restaurant section of Lose It!, the possibilities are endless.

It is rare that I go out to a restaurant, unless it is on the weekend, but the good thing is that there are plenty of restaurants to choose from in the database, some of my favorites are:

• Five Guys (yes, all those calories are enjoyable when eaten in moderation -- after all, I am human)
• KFC
• Longhorn Steakhouse
• Maggiano's
• Olive Garden (on the rare occasion that I go there)
• Outback Steakhouse
• Red Lobster
• Ruby Tuesday (again, on the rare occasion that I go there)
• Sonic (yes, when eaten in moderation)

Surprising fact: some of Sonic's hamburgers have more calories than those at Five Guys.

You see, eating out can be fun and enjoyable you just have to educate yourself on the healthier options that are available out there. Don't stress it, eat drink and be merry!!