Going out to eat can really put the brakes on your weight loss program unless you have exceptional control over what you eat. Although many restaurants now offer choices for many types of diets, it's whats on the rest of the menu that might tempt you to stray. Often high in salt, sugar and oil most restaurant food tends to be higher in calories that what you might prepare for yourself.

And Americans are eating out more and more. According to Dr. Caroline Cederquist, a physician who specializes in weight management, less than 20 percent of the calories Americans consumed were eaten outside the home in 1978 but in 2003, that number had climbed to 50 percent. Combine that with the fact that obesity in Americans is growing each year with as many as two thirds of Americans being overweight and you might come to the conclusion that eating out can be hazardous to your waistline.

One problem is that restaurants often serve huge portions. That combined with the fact that we have been conditioned to clean our plates can result in a huge weight problem. You may feel morally obligated to eat everything on your plate