Dining out. Just the thought of it might make some of us think of "being bad" and splurging on "sinful" foods. Although I'm a big believer in moderation and not eating off-limits foods if they'll be harmful, so many delicious and yet healthy restaurant items are offered these days that you really can have your cake and eat it too!

Here are 5 tips for enjoying dining out without tipping the scales in the wrong direction:

• Plan ahead with a healthy snack beforehand. Going several hours without eating before dining out is like hitting the grocery store when you're starving...not a good idea. You're less likely to have a problem controlling your impulses if you have a "strategic snack" before you head for the restaurant. This means healthy and (ideally) unprocessed snack foods full of both protein and fiber, which will help hold you over until your real meal. Examples include hummus and veggies or low-fat string cheese and an apple. Forgo the snack packs that supply nothing but simple carbs without any fiber or protein—they'll just leave you hungry again in no time. And avoid having any alcohol before your meal, since a drink before dinner sharpens the appetite even more, while upping the calories in the process.
  
• Watch out for calorie- and fat-laden appetizers. Try to stay away from fried appetizers like mozzarella cheese sticks and buffalo chicken tenders (accompanied no doubt by the bleu cheese dip that adds insult to injury), and look for a fresh veggie alternative wiyh a low-calorie dip. If your dining partners do order the cheese sticks, I recommend doing what one of my creative patients did recently: She took the fried coating off the cheese sticks and had string cheese! Brilliant! Also, remember that even the healthy fats like olive oil have as many calories as the unhealthy ones (125 calories a tablespoon, or 3 servings of fat, a day's worth, according to the Food Guide Pyramid.
  
• Know how your meal is prepared. These days, servers are savvy about how the meals are prepared and they usually expect diners to have a few questions. When watching for increased fat in the cooking process, key words to look for in the menu are fried (bad), broiled (good), sautéed (usually bad), etc. When in doubt, ask your server about the ingredients. You can also ask for minimal oil and no sauce with the meal, so feel free to ask about alternatives.
  
• Beware of portion distortion. I teach classes at the hospital about how government studies have revealed that Americans are eating—and being served—larger portions than ever before. Part of the problem is that over the years our eyes have adjusted to these outlandish portion sizes, and then our brains start believing that the outsized portions we're being served are quite normal and proper—when in fact they are far more than our bodies need. I often recommend that protein portions (e.g., meat, chicken, fish, tofu) be about 3-4 ounces, or the size of a deck of cards. Half your plate should be (non-starchy) vegetables and one-quarter of the plate starches like pasta, rice, or potatoes. Something to keep in mind when you're dining out: If you make a fist, it's about the same volume of a cup of cooked pasta, or 2 servings.
  
• Consider splitting/sharing your meal and dessert. When my husband and I are dining out, we often split a meal, and we still have to ask for a doggy bag most of the time. Eating half portions saves us from feeling bloated, helps cut the calories, and it's also economical—a win-win situation!

Below are dining-out resources some of my amazing colleagues have written that may help you eat out with more confidence:

• Eat Out, Eat Right (3rd ed,), and What to Eat When You're Eating Out by Hope Warshaw
• Dining Lean; How to Stay Healthy & Fit on the Road; and Dr. Jo's No Big Deal Diet by  Joanne Lichten 
• Rebecca Scritchfield writes several helpful dining-out blogs, including Healthy Eating while Traveling; Calories on Restaurant Menus; and Wellternatives
• Robin Plotkin has a Web site that highlights a personalized way to deal with healthy eating challenges like dining out

These are just a few of the many creative dietitians out there who can help you not only zero in on healthy choices while dining out but also enjoy those experiences, too. I'd love to hear about what you've done to maximize your dining-out pleasure while still watching your waistline.

Cheers to healthy and fun dining out, my dear readers!