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Going to Nando's whilst on a diet, what do you think of my choices? Will it effect me

I am going to Nando's for a big social gathering, and I thought that even though I am on a diet (and I am not a big fan of Nandos) I should still go :smile:

I am just worried it will affect my whole week of dieting so I won't lose weight or wont maintain it.

I have no idea what to have for starters as I don't like olives (the healthiest option) - what do you think?

Main: 1/4 chicken breast with ratatouille or Luso beans? I have never had either of these before but I like roasted veg so I think I will like ratatouille? Have any of you had any of these fino sides?

For pudding I was going to have frozen yoghurt :smile:

Help please!

P.S I don't like mashed potatoe

How much shoudl I sacrifice that day in order to have this?

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Reply 1
Nothing wrong with a bit of a treat every now and then.

What's the point of being alive if you're not living.
Reply 2
As long as you eat well, the rest of the time, indulging every once in a while won't matter.

And as the person above said, live a little. There was a massive thread about that female body builder a while back, and all she ate was chicken and potatoes or something. She may have been in great shape, but how boring would your life be if you lived like that?
Just fit it in to your calories for the day.
Reply 4
Original post by scaredofexams
I am going to Nando's for a big social gathering, and I thought that even though I am on a diet (and I am not a big fan of Nandos) I should still go :smile:

I am just worried it will affect my whole week of dieting so I won't lose weight or wont maintain it.

I have no idea what to have for starters as I don't like olives (the healthiest option) - what do you think?

Main: 1/4 chicken breast with ratatouille or Luso beans? I have never had either of these before but I like roasted veg so I think I will like ratatouille? Have any of you had any of these fino sides?

For pudding I was going to have frozen yoghurt :smile:

Help please!

P.S I don't like mashed potatoe

How much shoudl I sacrifice that day in order to have this?


Yup I agree, doesn't hurt once it a while.

I have treats like these in moderation when I'm keeping healthy and fit.

Give yourself a good job well done on your diet and always say to yourself, put others first for some occasions, e.g. big social gathering, birthday, weddings.

Being strict to one's diet is being strict to say to your friends, I don't want to socialize with you.

Your diet plan may be conflict of interest with theirs. While your on a diet, they may be enjoying life as who their are and not how people want them to be, e.g. (a girl on a magazine cover, a girl on a runway)


So yeah...
Reply 5
well for a start I've never been to nandos and had a three course meal I think doing that is adding unnessisery calories.

but if its genuinely a one off and your not the type of person whos dieting but constantly having "one off's" then it shouldn't make that much of a difference
Just go, eat the nandos, and carry on with your diet the next day. Good lord you can't live in fear all your life.
I'm on a diet and tonight had a mango and lime double wrap, two sides of Peri-Peri chips and a cheesecake. I'll just do double the time in the gym tomorrow.
Reply 8
It won't effect you, might affect you though.
Reply 9
Either way, your combination is quite low in calories anyway. As the frozen yoghurt is bottomless, just make sure you limit yourself to a bit. Luso beans are about 20 calories more than ratatouille but so worth it and packed with protein.
Cesar Salad? My friends and I ripped into my mate when he decided to order that, while we decided to slaughter the chickens...
Nando's do huge portion sizes imo. I find it difficult to stomach 1/4 chicken, 2 sides and a dessert when I've eaten nothing previously that day, let alone a starter too.

I did use a calorie counter online and checked various websites to find my normal order of 1/4 chicken, regular spicy rice and regular chips with a chocolate cheesecake for dessert amounted to 1500 calories.

Google search Nando's calorie counter or something similar if you're worried about calories. I'd suggest perhaps skipping a starter and having a main and dessert.

Ratatouille and beans sounds healthy, so I don't think it would make much of a difference which one you were to order.

Damn, this is making me hungry now. :tongue:

EDIT: If you do order salad, ask to have the dressing on the side because restaurant salads tend to be drenched in dressing, which can easily up the amount of calories in your food.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by scaredofexams
I am going to Nando's for a big social gathering, and I thought that even though I am on a diet (and I am not a big fan of Nandos) I should still go :smile:

I am just worried it will affect my whole week of dieting so I won't lose weight or wont maintain it.

I have no idea what to have for starters as I don't like olives (the healthiest option) - what do you think?

Main: 1/4 chicken breast with ratatouille or Luso beans? I have never had either of these before but I like roasted veg so I think I will like ratatouille? Have any of you had any of these fino sides?

For pudding I was going to have frozen yoghurt :smile:

Help please!

P.S I don't like mashed potatoe

How much shoudl I sacrifice that day in order to have this?


Just eat a completely normal meal whatever you want, and the next day go straight back to your diet.

Seriously it's people like you who do things like "sacrificice food in order to eat such and such" that help breed eating disorders in the world.

Unless you eat over 3500 calories your not going to gain any weight by going to Nandos.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 13
Seriously just go, eat and socialise. I'm coming up to the end of my third year now and I've realised how many times I missed out on social things because I didn't want to ruin my diet and I regret it. As long as it's not a regular thing and you can stay good the rest of the day, exercise and get back to it the next day, then you'l be fine. In the long term, once you're off this 'diet' you'l eventually have to learn to balance food in order to maintain your weight.
I had a nando's last night - half chicken, sides corn and pea mash.


can't go wrong :biggrin: was gorgeous
Reply 15
nothing wrong with it unless you have a full chicken or something. Just only eat a little bit
If it fits with your macros...
Reply 17
Original post by scaredofexams
I am going to Nando's for a big social gathering, and I thought that even though I am on a diet (and I am not a big fan of Nandos) I should still go :smile:

I am just worried it will affect my whole week of dieting so I won't lose weight or wont maintain it.

I have no idea what to have for starters as I don't like olives (the healthiest option) - what do you think?

Main: 1/4 chicken breast with ratatouille or Luso beans? I have never had either of these before but I like roasted veg so I think I will like ratatouille? Have any of you had any of these fino sides?

For pudding I was going to have frozen yoghurt :smile:

Help please!

P.S I don't like mashed potatoe

How much shoudl I sacrifice that day in order to have this?


The chicken pitta wrap is only something like 400 calories and it's still really tasty! I had a corn on the cob as well, but I don't see why you can't just go out and get what you want, everyone deserves a treat :smile: one meal didn't make you fat, so one meal isn't going to spoil your diet!
don't bother with that frozen yoghurt dessert though, it's no doubt full of sugar but more importantly it tastes like crap


only noobs have dessert at nandos
Just incase you were wondering I had:

2 wings of the chicken roulette (we were playing a game)
1/4 chicken, ratatouille and regular spicy rice.
Frozen yoghurt :smile:

It came to around 700 calories so it was all good :smile:

Thank you for all your input :smile:

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