If you and your family love to eat at restaurants, you may think that this lifestyle is not good for a healthy diet. This is often true. It is, however, quite possible to stick to a healthy diet while occasionally enjoying a restaurant meal. It's all about making good food choices, which starts with learning about the nutrition you need to stay happy, physically healthy, mentally stable, and active.

When you pick up the menu, start by skipping over the drinks section. Although you may be tempted to enjoy a beer or mixed beverage with your dinner, these usually have many empty calories, which is not good for your body. The exception to this rule when it comes to alcohol is wine, especially red wine, which can be fine if you have a single glass and can actually help prevent heart disease for some patients.

Also skip over the appetizer menu, unless it's a side salad. The appetizers at restaurants are usually high-fat foods that are not meant to fill you up and can in fact make you crave even more high fat foods. Some examples are potato skins, nachos, mozzarella sticks and chicken wings. Rather just have a main course, or share a single serving with a couple of other people.

When choosing your main dish, it is of course important that you look at the ingredients of the dish. Anything with cream sauces or high-fat meats should be avoided, and pass up the potatoes or onion rings. Instead order side dishes like vegetables or ask for just the main course when possible.

Remember too that portion control is everything. Order off the lunch menu whenever you can, and ask for a doggie bag right away. To avoid being tempted to eat the whole main course, split it in two and bag one half.

After the meal, skip dessert. If you're really tempted, share a dessert with the whole table, or split the portion in half. Many fancy desserts in restaurants have more calories than your entire meal, so keep this in mind before you flag down the waitress to put in an order! Of course, on special occasions, it's alright to cheat a little, but overall healthy eating requires lots of resisting temptation around you.