Restaurant portions have gotten bigger... and so have our waistlines. Frequent your local eatery and you'll quickly find you got more than you bargained for, or actually needed. Restaurant portions are the ultimate diet trap. Those pasta portions are often enough to feed a family of four. Most portions of meat, chicken or fish should be about three to four ounces. However, it isn't uncommon for a serving of steak to weigh in at upwards of eight ounces. Also take into account the serving sizes of most starches like pasta and rice. A typical serving should be about 1 ounce or 1/2 cup. So if you're consuming two to three cups you're overdoing it by a lot. One half a cup of pasta is 100 calories. Going over by one cup can cost you more than 200 calories. There are steps you can take to trim the fat from your entrée. We're talking about saving both calories and cost.
Save on cost and calories by splitting an entrée with your partner. Select a dish that appeals to both of you and have the server bring it out on two separate plates. Size up the portions and put any extra in a to-go container. Enjoy a fresh salad with fat-free dressing on the side prior to your meal. If you're going to go solo when it comes to an entrée, ask the server to box up half of your meal before it ever comes to the table. This will eliminate any temptation to overdo it. Another tip is to skip rice, pasta and potato sides and ask for double servings of vegetables. Also, bypass the buffet at all costs. All-you-can-eat offerings come at a high price... and it's your waistline. Don't feed into the urge to hit the assembly line of eats - instead select a smart entrée that's a balance of lean protein, vegetables and a small amount of starches or grains.