Restaurant Food Swaps That Decrease Calories

It's harder than ever before to actually stick to a diet. The reasons why dieting is so hard are many, including larger "normal portions," a social stigma to admitting you're on a diet, as well as ingredients that have fat-producing additives.

The worst offenders, however, are restaurant dinners. Studies have shown that a typical restaurant platter will clock in at around 1,200 calories — without even including drinks or appetizers. Including those can easily tip restaurant meals to the full dietary recommended calories for a day.

Judging a restaurant's food quality by its menu can be hard, especially if calorie counts aren't printed there. If you want to enjoy restaurants but don't want to see a pudge in your gut, try these restaurant food swaps suggested by dieticians.

Burger King: A Burger Instead Of A Whopper

Burger King may have some pretty good burgers, but the problem with them is that there are a lot of burgers that are calorie bombs. That being said, there are few healthy food options out there in burger form at the King.

One of the best low-end restaurant food swaps we've seen is to order a plain ol' hamburger instead of a Whopper. A Whopper has 470 calories, making it pretty big in terms of calorie weight. The salt doesn't help make things better, either.

A regular hamburger, though, only has 230, and also is considered to be one of the 11 healthiest options at Burger King by dieticians. Who would have guessed?

Red Lobster: Steamed Snow Crab Instead Of The Ultimate Feast

Red Lobster has a lot of really healthy food options to choose from, particularly when it comes to steamed food. So, many items on the menu will get a go-ahead from dieticians. (Sorry, the Cheddar Bay Biscuits won't, though.)

Though there are good options on there, there are serious calorie-heavy items on the menu. Most of the worst offenders involve pasta — or worse, their "feasts."

The ultimate feast, which has fried shrimp, crab legs, and other goodies, clocks in at around 1120 calories. Switching for a pound of steamed crab legs at 160 calories will save you a total of 960 calories.

Both will still fill you up, though. Therefore, this is one of the most impressive restaurant food swaps you can make.

Buffalo Wild Wings: Traditional Snack Wings Instead Of Boneless Large Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings is where diets go to die. It's one of the worst restaurant chains ever made, at least, if you want to keep a slim figure. It's seriously not a place to go if you need healthy food options — and it's okay, as long as you don't make a regular visit.

There are some restaurant food swaps that can give you a satisfying meal without having you miss out on the fun, here, though. Here are some quick tips.

• Order snack sizes only. A "snack" size here will clock in around 340 calories, minimum and max out around 710 calories. That's a full meal, not including their ranch dressing or a beer. Large sizes, on the other hand, will clock in as much as 2,000 calories per serving.
• Order traditional wings only. Boneless wings cost more because there's more meat. Traditional wings max out at around 460 calories, while boneless wings will clock in as much as 710 calories. The cool thing about ordering traditional wings is that
• Order wings with dry rubs rather than sauces. That sauce can pack a wollop. It can make a single wing have 40 calories more than a dry rubbed wing.

These simple restaurant swaps will save you hundreds of calories, or even thousands. However, it's often best to just avoid this restaurant altogether if you want to diet.

Chipotle: Skipping the Fats

If you love Mexican food, then Chipotle is one of the better fast-casual chains to go to. (Of course, that's with food sanitation assumed to be okay. Apparently, we can't really assume that anymore.)

Most of their food is okay, with burrito bowls often clocking in around 700 calories per serving. That being said, there are some restaurant food swaps here you can enjoy.

Choosing a meat, a side of beans, veggies, and salsa in a bowl while skipping guac, cheese, and sour cream will make for a tight meal of around 350 calories.

Overall, this restaurant is one of the best fast chains with health food options for dieters. We can't deny it's a good choice for those of us on a diet.

Chick-Fil-A: Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich Instead of Cobb Salad with Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing

Say what you will about this chain's political platform, but they are one of the healthier fast food chains out there. A good warning we found on Eat This, Not That was to be wary of fast food salads.

They often pack a lot more calories than the burgers do, and this is definitely the case with the Cobb Salad with Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing.

This nasty salad clocks in at around 740 calories, no drink included. A better option is actually the good ol' fashioned Chicken Sandwich. Dieticians at Eat This, Not Thatcalled this the best of all restaurant food swaps on the menu.

T.G.I Friday's: Mediterranean Shrimp Naan Instead of the BBQ'n Burger

Most people go to Friday's because of burgers, wings, and fries. Their ribs all clock in over 800 calories, even when in half portion. The wings aren't really much better. So, the best restaurant food swaps at this venue will involve people choosing a smart sandwich instead.

That being said, some sandwiches are serious doozies. The BBQ'n Burger, for example, clocks in at 1160 calories, making it equal to half your daily calorie requirements. On the other hand, the Mediterranean Shrimp Naan wrap will come in at around 470 calories per serving.

In other words, this swap will save you around 700 calories — and keep the spice intact.

If you want a burger, a Green-Style Turkey Burger will only clock in at around 250 calories, making it the most diet-friendly menu option at Friday's.

Olive Garden: Lighter Fare Shrimp Scampi Instead of Lobster Ravioli

Olive Garden is not one of the better restaurants for your waistline, but thankfully, bigwigs at the biz realized that it's a problem. That's why they created a lighter fare menu that's focused on low calorie, high nutrition options.

If you are on a diet, then you need to stick to the lighter fare menu, as the main menu doesn't have many diet-friendly options in it. A single platter of the seemingly innocuous lobster ravioli will clock in at 1,110 calories before breadsticks, wine, and mandatory antacid tablets.

Meanwhile, the lighter fare shrimp scampi will clock in at 500 calories, which gives a little wiggle room for wine. Or a breadstick. Seriously, though, you will probably have to choose one or the other.

P.F Chang's: Buddha's Feast (Steamed) Instead of Coconut Curry Vegetables

P.F Chang's is great for dieters, as long as you avoid the lo mein, the ribs, the fried rice, and the fried food. But, that leaves sushi rolls, veggie dishes, soups, and other fresh choices that can definitely be mixed and matched for a healthy meal under 500 calories.

However, there is one secretly terrible diet choice on the menu you should be aware of: the coconut curry vegetables. These will cost a total of 1,270 calories — or half your daily food requirement. A better option would be the steamed version of Buddha's Feast, which is about one-fifth of the caloric count at 250 calories per serving.

That being said, this menu leaves many restaurant food swaps available for savvy foodies to try.