Going out for dinner is not just about a great meal, it's also about the company and having a good time. Eliminate the usual hubbub around deciding what to order, and eat healthier to boot, by making food choices in advance.
We make unhealthy food decisions when we are hungry, so before you leave for the restaurant, look up the menu on the web and decide what you're going to have. If possible, pick some healthy eats.
When you get there, don't get tempted by the sights and smells. Stick to your choice. As Harvard Business Review puts it:
Make your eating decisions before you get hungry. If you're going out to lunch, choose where you're eating in the morning, not at 12:30 PM. If you're ordering in, decide what you're having after a mid-morning snack. Studies show we're a lot better at resisting salt, calories, and fat in the future than we are in the present.
Not only does this ensure you eat right, but you also save several minutes around the table, which are better used talking to each other than being buried inside the menu.
I've successfully stuck to a healthy diet for over four months now by using this rule. To allow for a little spontaneity in the restaurant experience, I don't decide what to drink in advance and might even cheat on that, to a certain degree. A great sangria is going to cause you less harm than a fat slab of meat doused in butter.
What You Eat Affects Your Productivity | Harvard Business Review
Photo by Michael Coghlan.