With many diet plans, it’s difficult to eat anywhere other than your own home. Even going to a friend or family member’s house can be difficult when you’re trying to adhere to a program and nobody else is. You’re not in control of the food as much.

With restaurants – whether fast food or a sit down restaurant, you have some ability to request your foods to a tailored cooking method. But many people simply don’t know how to order for their diet plan when they’re out.

The process is simple, really – you just have to be careful when ordering. For example, watch for things like sauces and breading and even condiments that might bring you out of ketosis.

Sometimes, what you want to order won’t be on the menu per se. They might have a grilled chicken smothered in gravy with mashed potatoes on the side. So you have to tailor the order to your keto needs.

Ask the waitress for the grilled chicken, minus the gravy, and substitute steamed broccoli (or green beans or zucchini, for example) for the high carb potatoes. You can enjoy them with plenty of flavorful butter, too!

There are many ways you can find out the total carb count for any fast food or sit down restaurant’s menu. Go online and look for their nutritional facts sheet. Then think of ways you can lower the carb count.

For example, swapping vegetables, asking for things without certain high-carb sauces, or having the meat prepared differently. Some people will swap noodles with vegetables at Italian food places – just as you might make zoodles (zucchini noodles) at home when preparing a keto-friendly fish on your own.

If you’re at a fast food restaurant, there are ways you can order off their menu and keep things keto friendly, too. If you want a burger, for example, ask them to give it to you without a bun.

Some people don’t understand why, so they may ask you again, but just reassure them you want the meat and cheese and mayo – no bun. They’ll usually put it in a container that you can eat from instead of a wrapped paper method.

Or, if you’re going for a sub sandwich, just tell them you’d like the meat, cheese, mayo, cucumbers and tomatoes – but wrapped in lettuce leaves instead of on a big, carb-heavy sub loaf.