Are you always invited out after a hard week’s work, but feel like you have to decline, or feel guilty afterwards because it undid all your hard work in the gym that week?

I asked five top fitness experts to give me their best quick tip to having a great night out without having to deal with the aftermath around your belly, hips, and thighs!

#1 – Be Prepared

“If eating out beforehand then check the restaurant’s website for meal options and make the best decision before you leave to fit it into your plan for the day. If drinking is involved… have one drink and make it last! Alcohol wise a spirit and diet soda type combination is probably lowest in calories.”

– Sam Bird, owner of Zeus Fitness, Physique Transformation Specialist and Men’s Physique competitor

#2 – Get Your Friends on Side

“Thing is everyone is human. If people slip up they slip up. if that happens, don’t turn that into a bad day the next day then to fall off track completely.

Maybe explain to friends and family your trying to be good and to be respectful to your dedication.

I think we all have good intentions on being healthier. Everyday make better choices and keep putting it into action. One small slip up doesn’t mean you have to start over. Keep going and in NO TIME you’ll be looking back at the OLD you and think; I cant believe that was actually me! Have passion. Love life!”

– Kerry Derham, owner and head trainer at Simply Fit UK, and straight-up Pole Diva!

#3 – Pick the Best Drink Options

“Depending how much fun you want to have, a couple of vodka soda waters is usually alright as they’re pretty light on calories (depending how much fun the person wants to have I guess), the problem is the decision making that comes with drinking like picking the shitty foods, etc.!”

– Matty Cini, head trainer and owner at Fitness Frenzy, Australia

#4 – Do Your Research

“First of all, pick your venue wisely – you’re more likely to get decent quality vegetable side dishes at a nicer restaurant. From there, I’d suggest a 3-pronged tip…

Prong 1: Skip a starter.
Prong 2: Fill up on healthy sides and opt for rice or baked potato over chips.
Prong 3: Have a sweet coffee rather than a dessert – you satisfy a sweet tooth without the extra calories!”

– Steve Hoyles, head trainer and owner at Hoyles Fitness

#5 – Balance It out

“If you have a night out on the cards then I recommend you take your daily calorie target and just make sure you hit that. Simple.

Forget about specific carbohydrates, protein and fat targets.

So if your daily target is 1,500 calories and you are going out for dinner then you may skip breakfast and have a light salad for lunch (drink plenty of water so you feel full) so you have about 1,000 calories saved up for when you go out that evening.

Then, if you are sensible you should be able to have a really nice evening without blowing the diet out the water.

For this to work you need to log your food using something like myfitnesspal”

– Alex West, head coach at 90 Day Total Body Reboot

And if you want to learn more tricks and secrets to eating out in any restaurant without compromising your results, this Sunday morning I’m running a Busy Person’s Guide to Eating on the Run workshop

Here’s some of the cool things you’ll learn:

– 5 Simple Rules to Eating Out: Never leave a restaurant feeling bloated, angry or guilty at what you’ve just eaten again!

– Instantly Cut 500 Fat Calories: Wherever you go to eat, this simple trick will cut your overall food calories by up to 500 from fat!

– Simple Portion Control Tricks: Learn two simple tricks to controlling your portions to guarantee that you’ll never overeat again!

Click on the image for full details and to register your place.

What are your best tips for eating out without ballooning? Comment below!