What I'd Order at a Seafood Restaurant to Lose Weight

Grilled fish is lean protein on a plate. Fried fish is a different meal entirely.

John Schaefer, fat loss coach for 27 years · Updated October 2026

Type your goal weight and every order below shows how much of your calories and protein it covers. Same math I use with clients: goal weight x 12 for calories, goal weight x 0.7 for protein.

What do I order?

Tell me where you're eating and your goal weight. I'll tell you exactly what to get, with the calories and protein.

Want me to email you your numbers? Your calories, protein, carbs and fats for your goal weight, plus this page so you have it at the table.

Answers are estimates from published nutrition data, not medical advice.

What I order

Shrimp cocktail plus grilled fish

Lunch style

Two lean proteins, done

600calories65gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 33% of your calories and 62% of your protein for the day.

Whole grilled fish with rice

Carb meal

Your carb meal, eat the fish first

750calories55gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 42% of your calories and 52% of your protein for the day.

Grilled salmon

Lunch style

How I order it, the calories and the protein are in the Eating Out Playbook, along with 60 other chains and 25 kinds of restaurants.

See the Playbook ($7) →

The move: Ask for it grilled or blackened and the butter sauce on the side.

Skip these

Fried seafood platter1,300 cal
Lobster with drawn butter900 cal
Clam chowder, bowl500 cal

Drinks: White wine is about 120 calories a glass. The rum punch on the menu can be 350.

Estimates for a typical restaurant portion in the US. Treat them as a close guide.

How I fit any restaurant into the day

Protein firstEat the protein, then the vegetables and fats, then the carbs. You're satisfied before the bread matters.

One carb meal a dayBread, rice, pasta, potatoes, fries. Keep the big carb hit to one meal. On a night out, that's dinner.

Zoom out to the weekFat loss runs on your weekly average. One dinner out is easy to absorb when the rest of the week is steady.

The Eating Out Playbook

Every restaurant you go to, already figured out.

60 chains and 25 kinds of restaurants, including every seafood spot. Search the place you're going, pick an order, and see how it fits your goal weight before you sit down. Works on your phone, $7 one time.

Get the Playbook Free: my numbers

Quick answers

What is the healthiest thing to order at a Seafood Restaurant?

Shrimp cocktail plus grilled fish: Two lean proteins, done. Around 600 calories and 65g of protein.

What should I skip at a Seafood Restaurant when I'm losing weight?

Fried seafood platter (1,300 calories), Lobster with drawn butter (900 calories), Clam chowder, bowl (500 calories).

What about drinks?

White wine is about 120 calories a glass. The rum punch on the menu can be 350.