Eating Out

Weight Watchers advertises that it is not a "diet." However, it can certainly feel that way when it comes to eating out. EVERYTHING is fattening at a restaurant. We have been doing Weight Watchers for about 5 months now, and we still haven't found very many things we can eat when we go on our weekly date. You do get 35 flex points a week. Those come in handy if you want to splurge, but you also don't lose weight as quickly. I use them and Jason doesn't and he has lost almost 4 times as much weight as I have. It all depends on what your goals are. I know it is not a very big list because, like I said, we haven't had much luck, but here is what we have discovered in the eating out world so far:

Wendy's Sour Cream and Chive Baked Potato - 5 points with the sour cream, no butter.

Wendy's small chili - lots of hot sauce - 4 points.

Taco Bell Spicy Chicken soft taco - 4 points.

Taco Bell has an entire "fresco" menu with some decent choices.

Subway - We split a turkey, ham, chicken, or roast beef footlong with no cheese. Get sweet onion or honey mustard sauce for the dressing. We also split a bag of Baked Lays and a diet soda and the whole meal is 7 points.

Applebee's - actually has an entire Weight Watcher's menu.

Salad Bar restaurants like Sweet Tomatoes, Souplantation, Garden Spot, Fresh Choice, Souper Salad, etc. A lot of buffet type places have some really good choices if you can stay away from the temptations.

Panda Express - get veggies instead of rice or noodles - their chicken dishes like black pepper chicken or Kung Pao are relatively low points. Just don't get anything fried like Orange Chicken.

McDonald's - several salads available as well as a grilled chicken sandwich. Their ice cream cones are only 3 points - yum!

Baskin Robbins - Berry Banana frozen yogurt. It's 2 points for a single scoop, 1 point for the cone. VERY yummy. If you really want to indulge, try the Maui Brownie Madness (also frozen yogurt) for 4 points. Double the points, but it's SO decadent. Doesn't even taste like yogurt.

See's Candies - 2 points each. Rich enough to appease the sweet tooth.

Sbarro - 1 big slice of cheese pizza with red hot pepper = 10 points.

Cafe Rio - we figure their shredded beef salad is about 20 points with the dressing. I get the salad and cut it into thirds. Then, I eat the first third of the tortilla/meat/rice/beans with ALL of the lettuce they give you and a third of the dressing. The other two pieces I eat at home and add my own lettuce. It makes three yummy meals of 7 points each.

Grilled chicken sandwiches - You can find these at Chick-fil-a, Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's etc. They are usually about 6 points each. Just make sure there is no mayo.

California Rolls. The trick is to find a place that makes them without adding mayo to the crab. Without the mayo, they are about 1 point each.

We have eaten at some other places with success. You do need to be careful, and it is best to know what you are going to order before you go. We always visit dietfacts.com before trying a new restaurant. It is GREAT!! They actually calculate the points for you. Whatever menu items they don't have on dietfacts can usually be found on thedailyplate.com. You just have to calculate the points yourself. Mimi's Cafe is another good place with a decent light menu. All of their nutrition information is found on their website.

I'll add to this as we get more creative - feel free to share your ideas too!