Trouble with Bread in Restaurants?

Are you one of those people who just can’t keep their hands out of the restaurant bread basket? Maybe you’re really hungry, but likely you do it just because the bread is in front of you. You tell yourself you’ll just have one piece … which turns into three. Not to mention the butter you smear it with or just as bad, the frequent olive oil dips. There is nothing wrong with eating a piece of bread, but when one piece leads to several, this can be trouble if you are trying to watch your weight! Read on to learn tips on how to control your intake of bread .

The calories add up…
So how bad can one little piece of bread with butter be? Obviously it depends upon the size of the bread and the amount of butter or oil you use.
Here are the calories in common breads:
– small piece of Italian bread can have as few as 50 calories
– medium size piece of foccacia (2 oz) has 180 calories
– dinner roll (2 oz) has 160 calories

Now the spreads are where you can do some major damage! The calories from butter and oil add up really fast. While it is true that olive oil is a healthier choice than butter, your fat cells don’t know the difference between a good fat and a bad fat.
Here are the calories in spreads:
– 2 tsp butter has 70 calories
– 2 tsp olive oil has 80 calories
– 2 Tablespoons hummus has 50 calories

So basically, a roll with a few olive oil dips can be 240 calories. Get ready to jog 28 minutes or walk 67 minutes to burn this off!

Tips to limit bread intake in restaurants:
So you are sitting in a restaurant, cocktail in front of you, waiting for your food. The bread basket is calling your name. How do you handle this?

1. Tell the waiter to remove the bread basket. This is most obvious and effective way to control your intake.

2. Take one piece of bread – no butter or oil

3. Keep the basket out of your reach  (pic is of “Mr. Bread Man” in Hearth NYC restaurant. His job was to plop a piece of bread down in front of you as soon as you finished the piece he previously gave you…)

4. If you love bread, take 1 – 2 SMALL pieces and omit the starch (i.e. potato) with your meal. Omit the added fat to save 100 calories or more

5. Have a light snack before you go into the restaurant, so you will not be starving

6. Ask for your salad immediately, so you will be less tempted to eat the bread

7. Think about this bread situation ahead of time. Play the scenario in your head of you resisting the bread. Repeat the mantra (not out loud) “I will not eat the bread.”

8. Enlist the support of your dining partner not to let you have bread. Perhaps you shouldn’t do this on your first Match.com or Jdate though …