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Eating Out... Am I over thinking this?

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Jane16

Jane16

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi Everyone
I am very newly diagnosed type 2 (just a week ago) and am trying hard to cut out the sugar and lower my carbs as much as possible.
My question is I am going out for diner this weekend and I am looking at the menu on line thinking, cant have that , cant have that etc. There is very little on the menu that I could have and what I could have is pretty dull. I kinda begrudge paying good money for food I wont enjoy.
Anyway, I am practically house bound so going out for diner is a rarity only happens about once every couple of months , am over thinking this a bit, should I just have something that I like but go easy on chips etc? Its so hard to tell what is actually in the food anyway.
What do you guys do?
Thank you in advance
Jane x
 
Thanks Benny,
I suppose it depends where you go the menus I looked at did have vegetarian and vegan options but they are not my thing I also don't eat fish. low fat is often not low carb or low sugar I am discovering , I worry about the glazes and things being high sugar content on the chicken and ribs etc... probably have to just be a steak and salad then :(
 
Yup, you are overthinking it. Avoid full on carbs which can be tricky with Italian cuisine. Chips and the like, just eat a small portion or swap them out for veg as an alternative to salad. You can usually find something in the starters and sweets lists that have fewer carbs but there is no reason to forgo everything. I find Tapas bars to be quite good - you can usually find nice things that are not carb heavy and I have had a French meal and many Indian meals that have not resulted in a big blood glucose spike. If unsure about something, and you really fancy it, then go for it. The odd spike is not going to do you any permanent damage.
 
Hello Jane. The main thing is ,Go out for dinner and enjoy yourself.
An occasional treat is fine.

Or
It Should be possible to make a swap or two, ie extra veg instead of potatoes or you could just eat two or three small roast potatoes or 6/8chips. Dessert can be difficult, cheese board and go light on the crackers.

But to be honest if it were me , I would go for my first option as it’s only occasional
 
Oh I never go low fat. I eat what I call normal fats, ie what I used to eat as a child growing up in the 50s and 60s
 
Thank you 🙂 I need to stop the over thinking , its all a bit new 🙂 x

Docb said:
Yup, you are overthinking it. Avoid full on carbs which can be tricky with Italian cuisine. Chips and the like, just eat a small portion or swap them out for veg as an alternative to salad. You can usually find something in the starters and sweets lists that have fewer carbs but there is no reason to forgo everything. I find Tapas bars to be quite good - you can usually find nice things that are not carb heavy and I have had a French meal and many Indian meals that have not resulted in a big blood glucose spike. If unsure about something, and you really fancy it, then go for it. The odd spike is not going to do you any permanent damage.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you 🙂 you are right main thing is to enjoy, easy on the carbs if I can, luckily I am not a dessert fan and dont have a big appetite so I am not likely to do too much damage x


Ljc said:
Hello Jane. The main thing is ,Go out for dinner and enjoy yourself.
An occasional treat is fine.

Or
It Should be possible to make a swap or two, ie extra veg instead of potatoes or you could just eat two or three small roast potatoes or 6/8chips. Dessert can be difficult, cheese board and go light on the crackers.

But to be honest if it were me , I would go for my first option as it’s only occasional
Click to expand...
 
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So far the few times I've eaten out since being diabetic I have just asked for the chips (and any high carbs items) to be swapped out for salad and for the all day breakfast swapped out the beans and hash browns for salad.
We are in good times in some ways now as mostly food is made to order these days so changes are easier for restaurants to facilitate.
And just not had desert as they are all pretty much heavy carbs and also saving money as they are normally over priced compared to mains anyway - so win win.
Not tried an Italian yet - think options would be limited there.
Many places have their menus online these days - so working out what you may choose before hand makes it easier.
 
I find mostly that it's pretty easy to navigate a path through most restaurant menus but sometimes you get blindsided by dressings, sauces, whatever additions having carbs squirelled away in them somewhere.

But a one-off meal isn't going to do you any lasting damage.
 
I usually ask to replace chips or mash with a few new potatoes. For an Indian, I replace rice with a couple of popadums and a veggie side dish. Italian is trickier and I avoid pizza and white pasta. Again, a meat or fish portion with new potatoes is usually available. But, you know, as others have already said, don’t overthink it, go out and enjoy your meal for all that a one off treat might temporarily spike your BG.
 
Thanks everyone for you support I went out and enjoyed it so much, literally just had a couple of chips didn't need many had extra chicken 🙂
 
I usually ask for potatoes to be replaced with extra veg. Most places will do this but some charge a bit more if you have to pay for sides. Sometimes if you have to pay for sides they don't charge as you are not having potatoes. Depends on the organisation.

My GP told me that if I was going for a meal every few weeks to not worry too much about it but, if I was going 3 or 4 times a week, to be more careful.
 
my Diabetic Nurse said the much the same, I dont drink or have desserts , ditched the fruity non alcoholic **** tail and just had mineral water so probably ate about 98% less carbs than I usually would I reckon, 🙂 . The only thing I do miss is a fizzy drink or a fruit juice to be honest , there is just nothing you can sub in for them, I dont do diet drinks the stuff they put in them is not good especially for peeps with MS.:( next time I am going to take one of my fruit infuse cold brew teas with me 🙂 x


Maz2 said:
I usually ask for potatoes to be replaced with extra veg. Most places will do this but some charge a bit more if you have to pay for sides. Sometimes if you have to pay for sides they don't charge as you are not having potatoes. Depends on the organisation.

My GP told me that if I was going for a meal every few weeks to not worry too much about it but, if I was going 3 or 4 times a week, to be more careful.
Click to expand...
 
Jane16 said:
Thanks everyone for you support I went out and enjoyed it so much, literally just had a couple of chips didn't need many had extra chicken 🙂
Click to expand...

Glad you enjoyed your meal out. I found it important to be able to retain a relaxed, easy relationship with social ‘eating out’ experiences, and just accept a little occasional BG upheaval from them. 🙂
 
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