You will eat in restaurants. A plan that only works in your kitchen is a meal-prep hobby. Macrovelo treats eating out as a normal week, whether your program is keto, Mediterranean, a balanced deficit, or something else we support.
This is not a cuisine-by-cuisine encyclopedia. It is a small set of moves that survive most menus.
Decide your job before you sit down
Pick one job for the meal:
- Stay close to targets (work lunch, already over on snacks), or
- Be a good guest (wedding, client dinner) and get back on the plan at the next meal.
Trying to do both — perfect macros and every shared plate — is how people either skip events or blow the week and then quit. Social meals are allowed. They are just a different job.
The default order, by pattern
You do not need a new personality. You need a sentence you can say when you are tired.
- Keto: protein, extra veg, skip the starch, sauce on the side. Burger, no bun; fajitas, no tortilla. (Longer version: how to eat out on keto.)
- Mediterranean-style: fish or chicken, vegetables, olive oil, beans or a starch or bread — not automatically both plus dessert plus wine "because it's Mediterranean."
- Balanced deficit: the plate you would eat at home, slightly smaller. Share dessert or skip it. Keep the protein.
If you do not know the pattern, use the generic version: protein + plants + one starch or one alcohol, not both stacked with extras.
Three asks that actually work
- Sauce on the side. Dressings and glazes are where kitchens hide sugar and oil.
- Swap the fries. Salad, extra veg, or fruit if that is on-plan for you.
- Grill or roast, not fried. "Crispy" usually means batter.
Be polite and specific. Servers hear these all night.
Alcohol, bread baskets, and "just a taste"
The bread basket is a pace problem. If it will wreck the meal, ask them not to bring it, or put it out of arm's reach. Alcohol is optional and stacks with dessert. Choose one extra, not a flight of extras.
None of this requires a speech about your diet.
After the meal
- If you have the Macrovelo scanner, a photo is a directional check, not a courtroom exhibit.
- The next meal is the plan. Do not invent a punishment fast.
- Log something rough if logging helps you. Skip the post-mortem if it does not.
Eating out is a skill you practice, not a test you pass. Take the quiz to get a personal plan — meals, workouts, and logging — and a diet that still has a restaurant sentence you can live with.