“I try to check out a restaurant’s Instagram account or online menu so I can get a realistic idea of how big the portion sizes are and what healthy choices are available. This way, I can plan what I’m going to order before I get to the restaurant—which helps prevent me from making less healthy choices just because I’m hungry,” says Lori Zanini, R.D., a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, based in Manhattan Beach, CA.
Go Overboard With Veggies
Order salad and extra veggies (choose nonstarchy options like leafy greens, carrots, or cauliflower) and eat those first, advises Lisa Stollman, R.D.N., a nutritionist based in New York. Try to have half your main entrée plate filled with vegetables. If you’re still hungry after finishing your plate, ask for more vegetables.
Research published in the Journal of Marketing Research found that subjects who ate out in well-lit rooms were 16-24% more likely to ask for healthy foods and ordered food with 39% fewer calories compared with those who dined where the lights didn’t shine quite so brightly. Researchers speculate that since you feel more alert in a brighter room, you may be more likely to make healthful decisions.
