Eating out and takeaways while losing fat

A simple framework for any menu

1. Look at the menu in advance if you can, and decide before you arrive hungry.
2. Choose a protein-based main. Grilled, roasted, baked or tandoori usually beats fried, battered, creamy or crispy.
3. Add vegetables or salad as a side rather than a second carb.
4. Pick one extra. A starter, a dessert or a couple of drinks, not all three.
5. Ask for sauces and dressings on the side so you control how much goes on.
6. Eat slowly and stop when satisfied. You do not have to finish a portion designed for someone twice your size.

Curry houses

Curry is a Greater Manchester staple, and it can fit a fat loss plan well. Tandoori and tikka dishes (not tikka masala), grilled kebabs and tomato-based curries tend to be lighter. Creamy sauces and fried starters are much richer, and restaurant cooking generally uses more oil and ghee than home versions.

• Better picks: tandoori chicken or fish, chicken tikka, shashlik, and tomato-based dishes such as jalfrezi or bhuna.
• Go easy on: korma, pasanda, masala and makhani sauces; pilau rice; naan, especially peshwari or garlic and cheese; poppadoms with dips; bhajis and samosas.
• Simple swap: plain boiled rice or a chapati instead of pilau rice and a naan, and a vegetable side instead of a second curry.

Portion size matters as much as the dish. Sharing two mains and one rice between three people, rather than ordering one of everything each, is an easy way to enjoy the meal and eat noticeably less.

Chippy, pizza, burgers, Chinese and kebabs

• Chippy: a small or regular fish and chips beats a large one with extras, and fish with mushy peas and a few shared chips goes further still. You can leave some of the batter.
• Pizza: thin crust over deep pan, with lean toppings such as chicken, ham, peppers and mushrooms. Two or three slices with a side salad rather than a whole large pizza, and share the garlic bread and dips.
• Burgers: a single patty over a double, lettuce and tomato over extra cheese and bacon, and regular fries or a side salad.
• Chinese: stir-fried chicken, prawn or beef dishes in black bean or chilli sauces over battered sweet and sour, boiled rice over egg fried rice, and prawn crackers shared.
• Kebab shop: a grilled chicken shish with salad and chilli sauce is one of the best high-protein takeaway options. A large doner with chips and garlic mayo is the opposite.

Our guide to smarter takeaway choices has plenty more swaps for the usual favourites.

Drinks: the hidden course

Drinks with a meal can add as much as a starter and dessert combined. Two large glasses of wine come to around 450 kcal, and a couple of pints of lager are not far behind. Cocktails can be more. Soft drinks count too: a pint of full-sugar cola from the bar is well over 200 kcal, while diet versions and sparkling water are close to zero.

You do not have to go dry. Pick a number before you sit down, alternate with water, and consider a spritzer or a lower-strength beer. Our guides to calories in drinks and alcohol and fat loss go into more detail.

Planning around the meal

If you know you are eating out tonight, make the rest of the day lighter and higher in protein. A breakfast of Greek style yoghurt and fruit and a lunch of lean protein and salad leaves room for a proper meal without going far over. Do not skip meals entirely, because turning up starving is the fastest way to empty the bread basket before the menu arrives.

Add a longer walk on the day, or walk to the restaurant if it is practical. And think in weeks: one meal over your target is a rounding error across seven days. What matters is getting straight back to normal the next morning, not trying to make up for it with a crash day. If you track, log your best estimate and move on, as covered in tracking calories without obsessing.

How often is fine?

For most people, eating out or ordering a takeaway once or twice a week fits comfortably into a fat loss plan with a moderate deficit, especially using the choices above. If it is four or five times a week, that is usually where progress stalls, and cooking a few more simple meals at home is the most effective change. How to stop the weekend undoing your week covers the Friday to Sunday pattern.

If you want help building a week that includes meals out, Lycan Strength offers nutrition and accountability coaching alongside its classes.

Over a few weeks, notice what you order and how you feel afterwards. Most people settle on two or three go-to orders at their usual places that they genuinely enjoy and that fit their goals, which takes the thinking out of it.