Why Eating Out Feels Like a Minefield
Life is busy. Between family, work, training, and the occasional attempt at a social life, eating out is inevitable. But for many people, restaurants are where progress derails. Either you throw in the towel completely (“screw it, I’ll just start again Monday”) or you white-knuckle your way through a meal of plain lettuce and leave unsatisfied.
The truth? Neither approach is helpful to your goals or sustainable long term. What works is learning to make choices that align with your goals, while still enjoying the experience of eating out. And yes — it’s possible.
The Key: Match Your Meal to Your Goals
When you’re training hard — whether it’s for strength, endurance, muscle growth, or fat loss — food isn’t just fuel. It’s the recovery tool that allows you to come back stronger tomorrow. Here’s how to frame your restaurant choices based on what you’re working toward:
- For Strength: Prioritize high-quality protein and enough carbs to support heavy lifts. Think steak with a baked potato and veggies, or grilled chicken with rice.
- For Muscle-Building: Focus on protein variety and total calorie intake. A big salmon filet with roasted potatoes and sautéed veggies checks all the boxes.
- For Weight Loss: Stay mindful of added fats and oversized portions. Opt for grilled over fried, ask for dressings on the side, and fill your plate with lean protein + extra veggies.
- For Conditioning & Recovery: Carbs are your friend here. A grain bowl with chicken and roasted vegetables gives you energy for tomorrow’s metcon.
The “Backwards” Planning Trick
If you know you’re going out, you can plan your day around that meal. Now, that DOESN’T mean eating starvation for the first half of the day in order to eat overindulgence later on.
If you track your food, you can log it in your food tracker first before the rest of your meals so you can build the rest of your day around it and manage intake of each macro. This way, you don’t show up at the restaurant with “poverty macros” left over and feel forced into a YOLO dinner.
If you don’t track your food, I’d tell you to do the exact same thing as the example above, but with mindfulness instead. Take a look at the menu ahead of time, if possible, and make food choices the rest of the day to find balance…. if the meal you want to eat out is higher in fat, choose lower fat options like cottage cheese, lean meats, more veggies, etc earlier in the day.
Bottom Line: Not sure what’s on the menu? Do a quick scan online. Most restaurants post menus, and many list nutrition info. Even if they don’t, you can spot the smart choices ahead of time: grilled vs fried, lean proteins, customizable sides.
Ordering Like an Athlete
Here’s where most people overthink it. The simplest approach? Stick with what you know works:
- Prioritize Protein First – Choose grilled fish, chicken, lean steak, or even plant-based protein options. Skip the “mystery sauce” proteins swimming in fat. And if you don’t see an option, ASK! Most likely there’s one they can do to help that isn’t on the menu.
- Choose Smarter Carbs – Rice, potatoes, whole-grain options, or even that burger bun (yes, carbs fuel your training). From there, just ask for the extras on the side so you aren’t taking a healthy food and killing it with extra calories.
- Load Up on Veggies – Ask for an extra serving of vegetables, preferably steamed or roasted. This is honestly my biggest ‘must do’ at restaurants because the vegetables portions are never large enough!
- Control Fats – Request sauces, dressings, butter, sour cream, cheese on the side so you control how much you’re eating. Remember a serving of healthy fats is only 2 tablespoons and your house salad comes with a 1/4 cup cheese and a 1/4 cup dressing which can add 30+ grams of fat to your meal! Ask for proteins “dry” or “grilled” instead of fried or covered in sauces.
Think of portion sizes:
- Protein = size of your whole hand
- Carbs = your fist
- Veggies = two cupped hands
- Fat = about both thumbs put together or 2 tablespoons
What If It Wasn’t Planned?
Sometimes you end up at a restaurant with ZERO warning. That’s fine! Here’s how to game plan without freaking out:
- Stick to foods you eat regularly (you’ll be better at estimating portion sizes).
- Customize your order (most restaurants will accommodate grilled instead of fried, steamed veggies, dressing on the side). **did you know most restaurants steam their veggies in toxic plastic bags in the mircowave!? YIKES! Feel free to ask if that’s the case where you are and if it is you can always ask for a raw vegetable option like a salad instead.
- Keep it simple (protein + carb + veggie). Bam, you’ve got a balanced plate!
And remember: progress isn’t made or broken in a single meal. One meal out won’t ruin your goals, just like one perfect meal won’t guarantee success.
How It Feels When You Get This Right
Here’s the best part: when you fuel your body well at restaurants, you feel it in the gym.
- You’re not sluggish the next morning — you’re energized.
- Your lifts move smoother because you’ve got the fuel for strength.
- Conditioning workouts don’t bury you; your recovery is faster.
- You notice better body composition over time because your food choices consistently match your goals.
This is where eating out shifts from being a source of stress… to being an extension of your training and lifestyle.
A Balanced Perspective
Will every restaurant meal be 100% accurate? No. And that’s okay. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s consistency. Make the best decision you can with the options available, enjoy the company you’re with, and then move forward.
If the scale jumps the next morning, it’s usually just water from sodium or a change in your normal foods. Don’t punish yourself. Don’t starve yourself. Just get back to your plan.
Eating Out Should Support Your Life, Not Stress You Out
At BGB, we coach our members to view eating out as an opportunity, not a setback. With a little planning, some smart menu choices, and flexible thinking, you can eat well, hit your fitness goals, and still enjoy nights out with friends.
Because when your nutrition supports your training, every meal becomes another step toward a stronger, healthier you.
Coach Dana
