How To Eat At Outback and Lose Weight

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“Do you want to go out to dinner?” If I had a dollar for every time I’d been asked this question I would be rich! People gather, socialize, and reconnect over a meal, and this OK! For those of us watching our weight, dining out can feel like dodging landmines, but with a few tricks and a little bit of “diet knowledge” you can enjoy a meal out and keep losing weight.

Before You Go:

1)      Know before you go. Don’t get to the restaurant and romance the menu. There is just no need to torture yourself reading every bite of this sauce and that side… just don’t do it.

2)      Investigate online. Before going to the restaurant check out their menu online. Today we are talking Outback, here is their online nutrition calculator: http://www.outback.com/nutrition

3)      Anticipate. Know your pitfalls before you go. For example, if your friends order dessert and that is hard for you, plan to have a cup of coffee or drink hot tea. If you plan ahead, visualize it in your mind, and have strong defensive maneuvers in place, you will win!

 

1)      Choose A Protein:

 

Joey menu: Chicken on the Barbie or Sirloin Medallions.

From The Sea menu: Simply Grilled Mahi.

Signature Steak menu: Outback Special, 6 oz. sirloin.

Order the protein cooked with NO BUTTER AND OIL, this is called dry grilled. Making this simple request will save you 10 or so grams of unhealthy fat. (Healthy fats are good for you, but the type restaurants use for grilling are generally not healthy fats).

2)   Partner Up. Pick a side from their classic sides menu, either choose Broccoli or Asparagus, both are steamed, fresh, and full of flavor.

3)   Add a salad? If you’d like to add a salad, go for it. Just order a side salad with cucumbers and tomatoes. PS – I no longer use negatives when ordering….so instead of saying “Side salad without croutons, onions, and cheese” I now say “I will take a side salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.” To me that feels so much better. As far as salad dressing I either bring my own or choose oil and vinegar.

WHAT? No Salad Suggestion? I bet many of you expected me to suggest you order a salad. You certainly can, but keep in mind most of the salads at Outback are over 1000 calories. If you choose to order a salad as a meal be sure to be very specific about what you want on your salad.  

Gluten Free options are easy at Outback because they offer a gluten free menu. When you order your meal be sure to advise your server you want your meal prepared gluten free.  The 6 oz. sirloin or Chicken on the Barbie are both on the gluten free menu and are great options for you Metabolic program.

Here are the meals I selected with a nutritional breakdown from the Outback website. You will notice all these meals are over 30 grams of protein, making them just right for all MRC menus. The carbs and fat are within range. If you are watching your sodium intake you can ask them to grill your meat without seasoning to reduce the sodium content, but for most of us on plan this count is just fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**The Simply Grilled Mahi has 728 grams of sodium, but you can almost eliminate that by ordering it with no added salt. Just tell your server you need it seasoned without any added salt. The total fat is 13 grams, you can reduce that too by ordering this wood fire grilled.

 

 Photo Credit: Chicken On Barbie and Outback Sirloin photos from Outback.com