Nutritionist J.J. Virgin has great news for you: If you follow these tips, it can actually be easier to eat out than at home! After all, you can't go back to the kitchen and get seconds, vegetables always seem to taste better, and your kitchen doesn't end up smelling like fish!

Here are some hints and guidelines to help you behave and make better choices.

1. Don't go to dinner with the enemy! When the waiter brings the bread basket, send it away. If you have a dining partner who insists on keeping the bread basket, have them keep it out of reach from you.

2. Whenever it is available, have the coldwater fish.

3. Try having two appetizers instead of a large entree, or have an appetizer, a vegetable side dish and a salad instead for your meal.

4. Start with a deep green leafy salad with an olive oil vinaigrette.

5. If you are having wine, stick with red and have it in the middle of dinner. Better yet, have it for dessert.

6. If the starchy carbs they are serving are refined (i.e., mashed potatoes, white rice, pasta), skip them and order double veggies instead.

7. Ask questions — ignorance isn't an excuse for making poor choices! Look at what the options are for vegetables and how they are prepared. Mix and match to get what you want.

8. Follow the "three bite rule." If a dessert is worth it, share it and have three polite bites of it ONLY.

9. Eat your veggies. This is a great opportunity to get your three cups of veggies and to sample vegetables you don't normally cook at home.

10. Enlist support. Ask your dining partner to help you stick to your program before you go.