Part 2: Going Out to Eat on Weight Watchers

While I love to cook, there is a time and place for it! All weekend long, typically, we are eating and drinking our way to Monday. This post includes the top three tips for how to maintain your Weight Watchers goals while getting to live (a little) and cook for none. J

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

I guarantee there have been times that you’ve had an idea of what you wanted to order at a restaurant [relatively healthy], only to get there [so hungry] and order that fried appetizer or that tasty looking cheesecake.

NEWS FLASH: We’ve all been there.

The best way to combat this while on Weight Watcher is to look at the menu BEFORE you get to the restaurant. Here is this concept broken down into four simple steps: 1) Look at the menu online 2) Pick out what you are going to eat 3) Check the points in your Weight Watchers App 4) If you are happy with your selection, plug it in!

By plugging in what you are going to eat [and drink], you are less likely to peruse the menu when you get there and make a bad decision. Want to add some extra point security to your outing? Tell the person you are going with that you’ve decided what you are going to eat and plugged it in. This way, if you STILL make a bad decision it isn’t just you that knows. Insert judging eyes from your dinner date.

The last important piece about planning is that it provides a way to plan for your whole day. If you know you are going out to sushi for dinner (3 California Rolls = 15 points), by plugging it in at the start of your day you can ensure your breakfast and lunch allow for those 15 points. For me, 15 points for dinner is half of my 30-point day. In this scenario, I would likely bring it down to 2 California Rolls.

DON’T CHEAT THE SYSTEM

The Weight Watchers App has paired up with many restaurants to provide you with an exact point value for their menu items. Some restaurants include but are not limited to Chic-Fil-A, Subway, Outback and more. To search this restaurant list, view their Restaurants section in the app where you can sort by restaurant name and point value.

For the restaurants that you go to that are NOT in the app, don’t cheat the system or yourself. 

Let’s break it down into a real-life scenario:

If you are eating a cheese quesadilla and you go to search for that item under the food search it will return several different “cheese quesadilla” dishes. The dishes will likely range in point value from 6 to 25. I am not saying you need to use the 25-point value option, however, you likely aren’t eating the 6-point value one either. Use your best judgement and always overcompensate as opposed to under-compensate.

REMEMBER: If you cheat the system, you are cheating yourself.

MY GO-TOs

I wanted to list out some of my go-to items at different types of restaurants to make it clear that you can eat out and still be successful on Weight Watchers. I’ve listed out a couple of options at some spots. YOU CAN DO IT!

Mexican

1 Chicken Taco with all the fixins’ (6 points)

Salsa (0 points)

12 Tortilla Chips (4 points)

Ceviche (2 points)

Sushi

Lunch = 1 California Roll with side ginger salad (8 points)

Dinner = 2 California Rolls (10 points)

Subway

6-inch Turkey Sub (8 points)

6-inch Veggie Sub (7 points)

No, these don’t have cheese or mayonnaise!

Pho

Kids size Pho Tai (8 points)

Chic-Fil-A

8-count Grilled Nuggets (2 points)

Chicken Noodle Soup with Saltines (4 points)

Panera

Chicken Noodle Soup (3 points)

Half Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chicken (5 points)

Drinks

Vodka Soda Water with Lime (3 points)

Bud Light or Comparable Light Beer (3 points)

Wine (4 points)

Roughly 17 J Thanks again for stopping in!