Am 44 years old and having difficulty losing 10 pounds that crept on over the last year. I went back on South Beach about a month ago, but am not getting anywhere close to the results I was hoping for. (It worked amazingly well 6 years ago and is pretty easy to follow but I'm older now and maybe entering that "change" part of life?)

I'm looking at starting the Zone Diet to see if I can achieve the weight loss I need according to my closet and my doctor. However, I'm going to visit family on vacation next week and anticipate being dragged out to dinner not once, but twice. Once is to the local Chinese/Thai restaurant. The second is to the family's favorite pizza joint. Suggesting different restaurants is out of the question...the family has it's rituals and they're not to be messed with.

I didn't see anything about Chinese or Pizza in the "Dining Out" section of the website. I can order steamed veggies or a salad, but that usually garners several "Are you on another of those crazy diets again?" looks. I don't eat out very often, so I wouldn't mind actually indulging a little, but don't know enough about the Zone Diet yet to know what the right menu choices would be. (Maybe I should just drink the water at the restaurant and go back to the hotel and eat a couple of Zone bars?)

Can anyone suggest some good/safe menu ideas?

Many thanks!

Robin in Charleston, SC

For Chinese, order steamed veggies and meat (usually in a low cal or weight watchers part of the menu). As for the sauce on the side and use it sparingly (it will contain the fat). If there's no weight watchers portion of the menu order any veggie and protein selection that looks promising in terms of being Zone friendly and ask the sauce be served on the side instead of mixed into the dish. As for rice, don't eat it, or if you choose to eat some eat a tablespoonful at most.

Barry Sears trick for pizza is to take two slices. To eat it, remove the cheese and toppings from the second slice and place on top of the first slice. Discard the crust of the second slice. A meal sized chicken Caesar salad or a Greek salad is always a good option at a pizza restaurant.

Thanks very much Sue. I did eventually find something about Chinese restaurant menu choices under the "Eating" tab. The article used PF Chang's as the scenario and mentioned Beef with Broccoli and a couple of chicken dishes, all of which would be palatable...but it didn't mention having the sauces on the side, so I'll remember that tip. Neat trick on the pizza...my daughter is a skinny 11-year-old who loves bread. I bet she'd snap up the "topless" slice in a second!

You're welcome! Hopefully you can do someting else with the extra crust before she gets to it. Bread's not any better for skinny kids than it is for adults! :-)

I'm on vacation at my daughter's this week, and having lots of fun playing with my little grandson. Enjoy your trip!