Every diet plan assumes you cook. Most men with a real job don't, at least not every meal. Work lunches, client dinners, the drive-thru on the way to the kid's practice. If your plan dies the first time you eat out, it was never a plan.

Here's how to eat out and stay on track.

The one rule

Protein first, then everything else. Look at any menu and find the biggest piece of meat, fish or eggs on it. Order that. Then decide what goes with it.

That single move fixes most restaurant meals. A steak and vegetables, a grilled chicken salad with the dressing on the side, a double burger with no bun, three eggs and bacon. All fine. All keep you full. All easy to fit.

The moves by place

Fast food: double burger, no bun or one bun, no fries, water or diet pop. Grilled chicken sandwich is fine too. Skip anything with "crispy" in the name. A double patty with no bun is 400 calories and 40 grams of protein. Add fries and a regular pop and it's 1,100.

Sit-down restaurant: steak, chicken or fish with vegetables. Ask for double vegetables instead of the fries or the rice. Skip the bread basket. If you want the fries, get them and skip dessert. One or the other.

Pub: wings are fine, dry rub not sauced. Burger no bun. Steak sandwich, eat the steak. The problem in a pub is never the food. It's the third beer and the nachos for the table.

Coffee shop: black coffee or one with milk. The 500-calorie flavoured drinks are dessert. A breakfast sandwich with egg is fine. A muffin is a cupcake.

Gas station: jerky, a protein bar with under 10 grams of sugar, nuts, a hard-boiled egg if they have it, a milk. Not the chips.

Pizza night: two slices and a big salad or a chicken wing side. Not six slices. The rule is the same as anywhere. Protein first, then decide.

Portions when you can't see the numbers

Restaurant portions are two to three servings. Eat half, take the rest home. Or eat the protein and half the sides and stop.

Sauces and dressings are where the hidden 300 calories live. On the side, and use a third of it.

Drink water before the food comes. You'll order less and eat slower.

The mental part

You don't need a perfect meal. You need a meal that's 80 percent right, five times a week. The guy who orders the burger with no bun and skips the fries is on plan. The guy who says "I'm eating out so it doesn't count" and gets the whole thing is starting over Monday.

Eating out isn't the problem. Ordering like it's your birthday every time is.

The free Your Bro Rob app lets you log a restaurant meal in seconds and swap meals in your plan when the day changes. Start there.