Tonight, my wife and I dined out at a local Philadelphia restaurant. Knowing that I’m employing the Atkins Nutritional Approach, what did I eat so I didn’t overload on carbs? Read on to find out.

The restaurant we went to, Marathon On The Square, is 17-minutes from our house on foot. So, we got in a solid 34 minutes of walking, which was a great way to work up an appetite and walk off dinner.

We started off with cheesesteak wontons. I had two, and she had three. My two clocked in at less than five net carbs . . . and they tasted great!

For my drink, I had an unsweetened iced tea. There are a multitude of health benefits associated with tea, iced or hot, and it provides a nice caffeine kick with zero sugar.

The entree I ordered was the crab cake special. However, instead of having the coleslaw and sweet potato fries it normally comes with, I swapped those out in favor of broccoli and spinach. I ate the entire crab cake, which was a little over two net carbs, and ate half of the spinach and broccoli, bringing the rest home.

Before heading to the restaurant, I had a handful of nuts because I was hungry and I didn’t want to overeat when we arrived at Marathon. All told, dinner was 16.50 net carbs — two net carbs less than my lunch!

Even with dessert (at home to avoid excessive carbs), my total net carbs for the day are under 60, which is excellent considering the average American has between 225 and 325 carbs daily.

The bottom line is this: if you’re doing Atkins and living a low-carb lifestyle, you can do so easily, even when eating out. It just requires smart decisions and self control. I left the restaurant full, satisfied, and feeling energetic, rather than being weighed down by hundreds of carbs. If you want to live a longer, healthier life, you can do the same.