Staying motivated while on a diet can be hard on its own, but once your friends invite you to eat out, it can become a nightmare! But what if we told you that dining out does not have to be a dread for any fellow keto dieters anymore?

Before anything else, keep in mind that if you are paying good money for your meal, you have a full right to ask your waiter for a meal minus the bun, or to slightly change your order compared to what is on the menu. Most restaurants will actually be happy to change your order, but if, for some reason, they are not, you can always blame it on stomach issues and you’ll be good to go.

The first thing you will want to do when ordering is to make sure you add extra healthy fats into your meal. You can do this by simply asking the waiter for some olive oil and vinegar dressing, or asking for some extra butter melted over your veggies or meat. 

 

Most restaurants’ foods can be somewhat low in fat, which makes it difficult to feel full without eating carbs. And also, try to avoid some of the cheaper vegetable oils lots of restaurants tend to serve.

 

The second thing you must do when it comes to ordering is eliminating starch in any way possible. No buns, no pasta and no rice for you! This means that if you were about to order a burger or a sandwich, you should simply ask to substitute some lettuce wraps for the bun. 

Or, when ordering an entrée, ask if the restaurant is willing to substitute some extra veggies or a salad for the starch. If both of these attempts fail, you can always remove the unwanted starchy side from your plate and enjoy the rest of your meal.

While you’re at it, you should also make sure that the sauces and condiments are keto friendly, and avoid ketchup at all costs, because it contains mostly carbs.

 

As for your choice of drinks, you may want to stick to water, sparkling water or some unsweetened coffee or tea. If soft drinks are not going to cut it, you will have a variety of low-carb choices like white wine, champagne, bourbon, rum, gin, scotch or vodka. If you are more of a fan of cocktails, make sure to check your choice’s carb content before ordering it.

 

If you are going to a Chinese restaurant, you will be lucky to hear that there are some keto-friendly meals you can order such as egg-drop soup, roasted duck, Suan la Tang, the Hot and Sour soup or pork spare ribs (but make sure it’s without the sauce). 

If you prefer Indian food, you are in for a feast! You will be able to order almost anything from the menu, minus Dahl or any lentils. This one is quite obvious, but avoid eating rice. 

Since Korma has a nice coconut base and it is topped with sliced almonds, you can eat it as a thick soup. You can also enjoy Tandoori chicken, chicken vindaloo or saag paneer (saag is the spinach-based sauce) or any kind of meat, for that matter!

As for Mexican food, you can choose between ordering Chicken or Steak Fajita Mix, without the tortillas, served on a bed of lettuce and topped with guacamole, or any Chipotle salads.

 

It may have been hard imagining yourself going to an Italian restaurant and eating a keto-friendly meal up until now, but you actually do have some choices other than pasta or pizza! You can order any oily salad with either cheese or meatballs as a base, or any meat (though you’ll mostly come across veal and chicken) with marsala sauce. 

Most Italian restaurants will also offer steaks or lobster on their menus, so they may be a great choice, too; but if you come across acqua pazza, make sure to order it!

 

As far as Japanese cuisine goes, you do not really have much of a choice since most of the traditional Japanese meals are rice-based; so you would only be able to choose from sashimi and teriyaki. And if you’re passing by a Vietnamese place, you can ask for pho without the noodles, and with extra sprouts.

Well, you should definitely feel better about dining out while staying in ketosis after reading this article! Even though you probably haven’t thought about it like this up until now, you actually do have a wide range of choices on what to eat out. All you have to do is put on some nice clothes and round up your friends for a great (keto) time!