It’s Friday night and the reality is even if we are on the Ideal Protein protocol, it is not realistic to eat every meal at home.The process of eating out the first few times can be scary! Thoughts like, “Is this going to throw me out of ketosis?”, “Am I going to pay for this later?” The feelings of anxiety are normal and understandable because I have definitely had my share of concerns around it. I know there is some good introductory material given out at initial sign ups, but I wanted to share some tips I have discovered and a list of a few restaurant I have been to that have proven successful.

Tips:

1. Take a screen shot or photo of your protocol sheet to have on your phone as a reference of all the allowed meats/ select vegetables/ occasional vegetables for a quick reference. I can honestly say I did this yesterday 😉
2. Ask! Ask! Ask! Most restaurants in this day and age are more than happy to show you an ingredients list due to all the allergies people have. I make a happy of making sure something doesn’t have sugar added to it. If it is made with butter, I ask if they can substitute it with olive oil instead. All these little details bring me the peace of mind I am searching for.
3. Consider packing your own dressing for a salad or just use Olive Oil (most restaurants will have this).
4. Sick of water and want to spice it up a bit? I pack my water enhancers with it. It makes my drink look fancy and pretty while being a simple thing to do. Yum!

Restaurants I’ve eaten at:

I started the program January 6th, have lost 34 pounds, 20 inches, and I have eaten out roughly 5-10 times. Below are some of the restaurants I have eaten at:

1. P.F. Changs- I ordered the Ginger Chicken and broccoli. This was delicious and I requested that they make it without the sugar sauce so it still had ginger, garlic and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). I will be back!
2. Morton’s Steakhouse: I went out for my honey’s birthday a couple weeks ago and ordered a nice piece of Filet. For side dishes we ordered the sautéed broccoli (in EVOO) and asked them just to hold the breadcrumbs and grilled asparagus (hold the balsamic).
3. Fish’s Wild: They have an assortment of seafoods and shellfish that can be ordered grilled or blackened. I had the blackened salmon which was lovely. For the side I had grilled zucchini.
4. The Counter: This was amazing! There is a huge selection of meats to choose from, but I also go for the buffalo. The “Build your own burger” allows you to make a burger bowl and has a list of veggies you can add to your bowl (here’s where pulling out your handy protocol sheet comes in handy). For a side dish, I ordered the grilled veggies kabobs. I wanted just grilled zucchini and when asked what they season it with they told me EVOO, Salt, and Pepper (perfect!)

These are just a few examples to get you started and going. Have you found any restaurants you really liked? Happy eating!