What to do when you are on a diet but you are forced to eat out due to travel or for work reasons? These two needs, as we know, do not get along at all.
When we are on a diet, for most of our time we want to prepare meals at home , because this makes it easier to count both calories and macronutrients.
Let’s say, however, that it is not really possible to bring food from home: how can you not go into paranoia?
There are two ways.The first is to rely on packaged snacks, in this case a lifesaver especially if we know how to choose them: protein bars are for us, which we can also find in pharmacies, and which generally have a reduced fat content and not too much sugar; packaged yoghurts, preferably compact and natural like Greek yoghurt; and if we find them, portioned vegetables or fruit, often options also present in coffee shops.

The second way is to quickly adopt food strategies if our choice is limited to the restaurant, bar or diner: depending on the offer, we need to understand which dishes to focus on.
Here is my top list!
For restaurants: a grilled fish or meat, grilled meat or fish, meat or fish tartare with salad, sashimi, salad enriched with eggs and natural tuna (if it has oil, we dress only with lemon juice or vinegar), grilled tofu (not stir-fried Chinese style), simple legume soups, grilled vegetable side dishes.
For the hot tables:if they have vegetable side dishes, focus on those, leaving aside the sizes of lasagna, pasta with seasoning, stews; in fact, often these dishes in the hot tables are added with additional oil and condiments and re-heated from time to time.
For bars: if they can’t prepare a salad, opt for an orange juice or better mixed citrus fruit plus a large toast with cheese and ham or a sandwich with mozzarella and vegetables or caprese.
Finally an important rule : when you try to understand how much you have eaten, if it is something cooked outside, add an extra 30% to your count “by eye”; very often, in fact, those who cook in restaurants or bars have a heavy hand in condiments, or a portion may seem smaller than it is.