Editorial source note
How to Eat Out at a Mexican Restaurant on OMAD
Joe's four rules for keeping one meal a day at a Mexican restaurant: cap the chips, order a la carte or a child's plate, and never drink calories where the food is already dense.
Related principles
An editorial summary of views Joe expresses in the linked video. The original recording remains the primary source for his full words and context.
Detailed notes
A closer look at the ideas, examples, and reasoning Joe presents in this recording.
Four rules for a restaurant meal
Standing in for a cancelled live stream, this three-minute video answers one of the questions Joe says he receives most: how to keep a one-meal-a-day routine at a restaurant, where calorie counts are unknown and the portions are not yours to set. His example is the Mexican restaurant, chips and salsa included.
The rules are brief. Limit yourself to one basket of chips and one serving of salsa — or, if your calorie budget is tight, a single handful moved to your plate and nothing more. Order a la carte rather than a combo or platter: one taco, one tamale, even a side of rice and beans. If you want a little of everything, order a child's plate. And avoid drinking your calories at a place where the food is already calorie-dense.
Beneath the tips sits a compensation principle. Because eating out means not knowing the numbers, Joe deliberately under-orders: during his weight-loss phase, a roughly 350-calorie tamale with some chips and a Dr Pepper could be his entire meal for the day, a portion others told him was crazy. The point, he says, is to invert the usual pattern — instead of splurging and feeling guilty afterward, go out, eat a meal you are in control of, and enjoy yourself.