Hello, I’m Beth your “PocketBook Dietitian”.
I am a registered and licensed dietitian with 13 years of experience in clinical dietetics, clinical research and community nutrition. I earned a specialized certification in adult weight management from the American Dietetic Association in 2005 and have created, instructed and reviewed many weight loss programs. Through my experiences I found there are many philosophies on weight loss, but the bottom line is: you need to burn more calories than you consume. I have helped hundreds of clients lose weight by helping them eat fewer calories and increase their activity using various methods. My goal for this website is to give people tools to help them achieve permanent weight loss without depriving them of foods and experiences they enjoy.
There is a common misconception that weight loss has to be hard; hours of grueling exercise combined with strict, depriving meal plans. It does not have to be that way. It’s about eating healthy most of the time, increasing your activity, and achieving balance. The idea to create this website came from my clients. Time and again I heard “So, I guess I have to stop eating out” or “What can I have at _X_ restaurant?” I made plenty of people smile when they learned they could still eat out, and have plenty of choices. It’s all about making the right choices, and I have a long list of choices right here for your eating pleasure.
Let’s face it, with our hectic schedules, people are eating out often. The average American eats 32 percent of their meals at restaurants (USDA food-intake survey 1994-96). 500CalorieRestaurantMeals helps you make the best choices, if you are trying to lose or maintain your weight, when eating away from home. There are many resources that display the nutritional value for menu items at restaurants; I take that information one step further by creating meals for you.
I have created an extensive list of 500 calorie meals for many of the most common restaurants across the United States. I chose “500 calories” because most people can eat up to 500 calories for lunch or dinner and still lose weight. This calorie level is not appropriate for everyone. If you would like to know about how many calories you should eat in a day for your specific situation, I recommend going to see a Registered Dietitian. They will be able to review your medical history and provide you with a personalized assessment.
I also wanted to note that I would not consider many of these meals “healthy”. I am a registered dietitian, at a healthy weight, yet I still crave fries once in a while. I believe that these items can be included in a healthy diet on occasion. The key is, don’t eat them too often and eat small portions.
“Everything in Moderation” learn it and LIVE it!
To help a little more, look for the “best choice” symbol (
) for meals. These meals have less than 30% of their calories from fat, less than 10% of calories from saturated fat and no more than 1 gram of Trans fat while containing 500 calories or less. If you eat out often I would recommend choosing the best choice meals frequently.
Restaurant meals are often lacking in fruits, vegetables and fiber. Thus, I would not recommend eating most restaurant meals (even those I’ve listed) on a daily basis. Use the 500 calorie meals list to make the best choices when eating out and balance that with more fruits and veggies when eating at home.
Now you might be thinking:
This is great! I’ve been looking for this information in an easy to use format forever…
But, I don’t have a computer with an internet connection in my pocket!
Well then I have just the thing for you:
The PocketBook Dietitian Guide to 500 Calorie Restaurant Meals
To make it even easier for you to use this information I created the PocketBook Dietitian Guide to 500 Calorie Restaurant Meals. This is a pocket sized book (4.25"X5.5") that lists the special, dietitian created meals. There are currently over 400 meal combinations spanning 24 fast food and casual dining restaurants. Sprinkled throughout the book are healthy dining tips to further enhance your enjoyment of your meal. You can carry one in your handbag, keep one in the glove compartment of your car and put one anywhere that’s in easy reach when you need it.
I also offer the Guide to 500 Calorie Restaurant Meals as a downloadable e-book, in case you'd like the information right now, not in 3 days.