How to survive dining out

I'm glad that this week's meeting topic was about dining out, because I go out a lot. I go to lunch with my girlfriends at least once a week, Hubby and I like to go out on the weekends, and there's some days during the week that we just can't bring ourselves to cook. But when you're trying to diet, a restaurant can destroy all your best intentions. Here's how to survive:

* Plan ahead. I knew my girlfriends and I were going to Outback for lunch today, so I went online ahead of time to look at the menu. After I stopped crying over all the delicious stuff I used to get, I realized pretty quick that I was going to have the house salad and a side of fries.
* Eat before you go. If you have a little snack before you even go out, you won't be that hungry when it's time to order.
* Look for restaurant buzz words. Descriptions like poached, grilled, roasted, and steamed are good. Descriptions such as fried, battered, creamed, and scampi are generally not so good.
* Restaurants notoriously give you way too much than the recommended serving size. As soon as your plate arrives, put half in a take out box, or on another plate and remove it from the table.
* Don't feel guilty about leaving food on your plate. If you think your spouse or kids might want it, fine. Take it. But otherwise, leave it. You might think you're wasting food and money by throwing it away, but what good is doing you being stored in your butt?
* Limit the amount of times you go out. Before I joined WW, I was getting Starbucks in the morning before work, or sometimes McDonalds, and going out to grab a quick bite on my lunch hour, and then eating whatever I wanted when I got home. Those days are over, but I still go out with my besties every Friday. That way, I'm not completely depriving myself.
* Make it a dry party. No alcohol! Who wants to waste their calories drinking? Not me!

What works for you when you go out?