by Michelle Graf

Created on: October 29, 2009

One of the great benefits of the Weight Watchers program is that it allows the flexibility to eat real world food, even dining out. This is part of the overall goal of the program to incorporate real life into a healthy eating plan where the individual makes the best choices, or at least prepares and plans for what would otherwise be diet busters on other programs.

First, if you know you have a special dinner coming up, plan ahead. The flexibility of the points program allows you to 'save up' a few extra points for the day of your dinner without impeding your progress.

Second, check out the menu ahead of time and pick out a few best choices for your meal. Most better restaurants have their menus on-line nowadays, especially chain restaurants. Many restaurants also provide a nutritional guide to their food, allowing you to convert the calorie and fat content provided into points.

Third, pick foods that are easily converted to point values. Steaks, for example, are generally sold by the weight, so there is no need to guess the portion size. Often in the menu description, they will give the size of meat portion, i.e. a 6 oz chicken breast. If these don't suit your fancy, brush up on your portion guide. A cup of a side dish (i.e. rice) is about the size of your closed fist. A 3 oz portion of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. Avoid entrees and side dishes that come with sauces or are complex recipes as this may make it difficult to determine exactly what is in the dish and therefore what the point value would be.

Lastly, watch out for hidden diet busters. Avoid dishes that use the words sauteed or fried - these use butter or oil, and you have no way of knowing how much is used in the preparation of the dish. Stick with entrees that are grilled or baked as these methods do not generally use added fats. For side dishes and salads, ask for any condiments, dressings, and toppings on the side. This way you can control the portions and also calculate the point value easily. Baked potatoes and rice are good bets. Keep in mind that vegetables are often tossed with a small amount of butter to make them look and taste better, and homemade dressings and sauces may not have the same calorie and fat content as the bottled dressings you are used to. Chefs vary their own recipes quite a bit, and extra butter, cream, cheeses and other fats add up quickly.

Eating out doesn't have to be difficult or consist of dry salad. There are plenty of lean meats and sides that can be readily incorporated into an overall healthy eating plan without breaking the diet bank. Love seafood? Most seafood has a very low point value, as long as you go easy on the butter and cream sauces. A sumptuous, luxurious meal of steak and lobster tail, baked potato and side salad is easily incorporated into a Weight Watchers program. Or grilled sashimi tuna with rice pilaf and vegetables. Just know your portion sizes, control the amount of added sauces and condiments whenever you can, and prepare in advance and you can have a great night out. No one will even guess that you are "on a diet". And in fact, you're not, you're just making better choices. Which is what the Weight Watchers program is all about.

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