I am going out for a meal on Monday night and since I am determined to lose weight this time round, I'm looking for some advice! The meal is paid for, and we are getting 2 courses. We don't know if it's a starter and main, or main and dessert.

What kind of things should I remember when I'm out - anything to seriously avoid??

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

If eating out is a rare treat, then relax and enjoy it! One meal will do you no harm at all, and you can always eat a little more lightly next day to make up.

Having said that, if there is an alternative to chips you might want to choose that - a baked potato, say (ask for any sour cream or butter to be on the side, so you can take as much or as little as you want), but if you really fancy chips, then have them and enjoy them!

Do bear in mind that restaurant servings are often much larger than you'd have at home - one trick is to eat half of what is on your plate, and if you still want some more of it, have half of that, and so on. When you find you've had enough, leave the rest. Don't go and do what I did one night, some years ago now but I still remember it, going on putting pieces of pasta into my mouth long after I was full, simply because the sauce was so very delicious.....