• Get online before you go: Many big restaurant chains have menu calorie counts on their websites so you can choose what to eat before you go.
  
• For maximum enjoyment: Budget around 600 calories for the meal itself and allow 200 calories for drinks (that's a couple of small glasses of wine). It means you can still have a 200 calorie breakfast (eg bran flakes with skimmed milk and half a large banana) a 300 calorie lunch (eg low fat chicken sandwich) and a 100 calorie snack (such as two apples) before you go, plus the meal itself, and carry on losing weight at 1-2 pounds a week.
  
• Be the first to order: Hearing what other people are choosing may sway you from your decision.
  
• At the salad bar: Heap your bowl with fresh veg and add no more than one tablespoon of dressing and one tablespoon of crispy bits like bacon bits and croutons.
  
• Say no to the bread basket: Nibble at olives instead of munching on bread.
  
• Order for starters: Another Way to cut down calories is to eat two starters instead of a starter and a main.
  
• Ask how foods are cooked: That innocent grilled fish might be swimming in butter. Terms to avoid are creamed, breaded, alfredo, tempura, battered, bearnaise or hollandaise. They all mean high fat!
  
• Best starters: Non-creamy soup or an undressed salad - they've both been shown to cut down how much you eat for your main course and the amount of calories you eat in your meal overall.
  
• Best main courses: Salmon and new potatoes, a lean 5oz steak with a jacket potato. Or half a spit-roast chicken as long as you discard the skin and have it with salad rather than chips.
  
• Best puddings: Sorbet, fresh fruit or just a couple of scoops of ice cream. If you want something naughtier, ask for two spoons and share.

Source: Daily Mirror

Picture credit: ilker