Calories come from your food, but your body doesn’t simply take that chicken leg you just ate and throw it into some sort of biological furnace. First, your body must take the nutrients in the food and break them down into their smallest elemental form, a substance called glucose. If your body doesn’t need the energy for an immediate function, the calories get converted into body fat and stored for use later – like a savings account.

Every 3,500 calories that you save for later is the equivalent to one pound of body fat. You can only lose fat by creating a calorie deficit – either eating fewer calories than you use in a day or burning more calories than you eat in food. Once you take 3,500 calories out of your “savings”, the scale will show a one-pound weight loss.

You can still maintain a fatloss program, save yourself a lot of grief and inducement by doing one of two things. First, never go to a restaurant starving. The same golden rule that applies to dinner or cocktail parties is most applicable when dining at any commercial establishment. If you are hungry when you arrive, you know what will happen. The first thing brought to the table is the bread basket and you will dive right in. There is a natural inclination to pick. If ever there is a place where finger have power over is crucial, it is at a restaurant.

Second, simply tell your waiter} that you would prefer not to have a bread basket on the table. If your dinner companions want bread, turn your bread plate over, ask them to keep the bread basket on the other side of the table, or ask the waiter to remove the basket after everyone has taken what they want. You may find, as I have, that others share your susceptibility to the temptations of the bread basket and are only too pleased} to have it gone.

The same goes for the small cookies or mints that some restaurants serve with coffee or dessert. Ask the attendant about it in advance. You needn’t feel uncomfortable or timid about such requests. More and more people are making these requests every day. Invariably, a good maître d’ always appreciates anything specific you can tell him about what you need to keep you happy and satisfied.

When it comes to ordering beverages, mineral water is better than club soda from a nutritional perspective – have it with lemon or lime. Don’t let the menus persuade you. Some individuals find that reading the menu sabotages them and makes them crave. You can just ignore the menu and ask the server} for a simple primed grilled chicken breast. Or ask the member of staff serving at table} for his recommendation on the best fish entree in the house. Or just keep your reading to the chicken and fish sections of the menu. Dining out should be fun and a satisfying experience. Don’t deny yourself this enjoyment because you are afraid to read the dessert section on a menu.

Predressed salads are a big source of unseen calories, since most restaurants tend to drown their healthy green salads in less-than-healthy oil-based dressings. To control the amount of dressing, request your salad with dressing on the side and choose a vinaigrette dressing.

When ordering your entree, steer clear of foods that are prepared with heavy sauces or gravies. To be in control of your fatloss plan, look for dishes that have been primed without butter, cream, and other fatty condiments.