What do people do for logging when you can't weigh the food you're eating?

mustloseweight2015

So I know that the most ideal way to log the amount of food eaten is by weight. However, there are instances when it is difficult to weigh, like in restaurants. Also, I am particularly talking about a lot of cooked foods/entrees (particularly ethnic foods or other somewhat uncommon foods) in the MFP database that don't have the weight options when you try to select the quantity. It will only give you the options of cup/tbsp/or even worse "serving." I just wanted to know what people do when they encounter this? Do you then manually try to enter the recipes for everything?

jacksonpt

I do the best I can to make reasonable estimates. That's all any of this is, anways... just estimating. Restaurant food will rarely be "accurate"... do the best you can and move on with your day.

Worst case scenario, I'll log/estimate high to give myself some room for error.

SingRunTing

I find something similar in the database (hopefully with a "cup" measurement because its easier to eyeball volume than weight). I estimate the volume of what I'm eating and usually add another 1/2 cup (or 1/4 cup if its a really small serving, like I think its only 1/2 a cup of rice or something) to that when I log it to give myself plenty of wiggle room for recipe differences and bad estimations.

AskTracyAnnK28

I find something similar in the MFP database and do a "Quick Add" to be in the safe side.

I've done this 3 times this week and still lost almost 2 pounds so I guess it's a safe way to go

_lyndseybrooke_

If the restaurant has nutritional information on their website, I use those numbers. If it doesn't, then I pick a similar entry in the database that's on the highish side just to be safe. I eat out at least twice every weekend, so I think I've gotten pretty good at guessing if I absolutely have to.

I'm planning a post-Christmas dinner at a local Italian restaurant because my boss gave me a gift card for my birthday, but they don't have nutritional information on their website. I ended up using looking at their menu online, finding those items in the database for restaurants like Olive Garden or Carrabba's, and it seemed to work out fine. A 1500 calorie meal including appetizer and dessert, but it'll be worth it.

deehovey

If there are several choices I pick the highest one, log it, and then usually only eat half of it. I feed the leftovers to my boyfriend. I figure if I overestimate 500 calories for that plate of pad thai it's not going to hurt me, vs under estimating. I try to only eat out on days I have put in lots of cardio (swimming and walking) and have been very careful with my calories for the day. If I don't have at least 1000 calories left I try to avoid it.

cwolfman13

Weighing out and measuring foods is a good thing to do...but you should also be looking at those portions and eventually you should be able to eyeball most things fairy accurately. I still use my food scale for many things...mostly out of habit...but by and large, I'm pretty accurate without it.

Learn to use every day objects and things like your palm and fist to establish baseline servings sizes for things. It's important to learn these things.

5stringjeff

I have never weighed my foods. I did measure things out when I first started, so I knew what a tablespoon of peanut butter or a cup of cereal looked like. Then I basically eyeballed it. With practice, you can learn to do this as well. Certainly, it's not as accurate as weighing, but you can still lose weight over the long run using that method.

emdeesea

Honestly, I usually just don't log if I'm out. I'll log everything that day and up until that point, and I pick a reasonable item on the menu unless I want something special, but I just won't log that meal. And I don't go out often anyway so it's not a big deal to me.

melimomTARDIS

I do my best to log it, but I dont eat out at places with no calorie info often. And I dont eat out much at all.

williams969

I'll try to find a similar item in the database (with a reasonably sounding calorie number) for restaurant items. Or, for ethnic foods, I can usually discern what the main ingredients are, so I'll log, for example, 2 ounces chicken, 1/2 cup whatever vegetable, 3 oz. starch (potato, or pasta, or whatever it is), and 3 tbsp oil or cream or butter (whatever I think it looks like). Or, over time, I've developed the best estimation skills I can, and quick add an appropriate calorie amount (300 or 500 or 1000, depending).

And, as BFDeal says, eating out less (or you can even just eat less than what is on the plate, if this is frequent) is good. That way, a once or twice a month splurge means pretty much nothing compared to the big picture.

AskTracyAnnK28

I know this isn't the popular MFP opinion (weigh/measure/log everything), but it's still possible to lose weight by just making healthy choices and using portion control when eating out at a restaurant or at a friends/family members house.

I went out to dinner last night at ordered fish tacos that were barely edible. I didn't know how to log half eaten fish tacos and wasn't even sure of the ingredients so I did a 'quick add' to keep up with my logging.

cwolfman13

BFDeal wrote: »

I think the answer most people aren't going to give you, even though it's probably the real answer, is just eat out less (or at least less at places that don't list calorie info). ............

I agree with eating out less in general...I don't eat out all that often...but if you avoid establishments that don't have calorie information, you're pretty much relegated to nasty *kitten*, institutionalized franchise *kitten*.

In my experience, most local establishments offer more freshly prepared foods and more nutritious options than most franchises. Also, I'm into supporting local...

KombuchaCat

cwolfman13 wrote: »

BFDeal wrote: »

I think the answer most people aren't going to give you, even though it's probably the real answer, is just eat out less (or at least less at places that don't list calorie info). ............

I agree with eating out less in general...I don't eat out all that often...but if you avoid establishments that don't have calorie information, you're pretty much relegated to nasty *kitten*, institutionalized franchise *kitten*.

In my experience, most local establishments offer more freshly prepared foods and more nutritious options than most franchises. Also, I'm into supporting local...

I totally agree with this. Eat out less often but when you do opt for fresh local healthy food and do the best you can to estimate the calories. I feel that if you rely on whole, nourishing food you will also be more satisfied with a smaller portion. Also, if the plate I've been given when eating out is really huge I do the old trick of asking for a take out box with my meal and box up at least 1/2 before I even start eating. Out of sight, out of mind.

AskTracyAnnK28

cwolfman13 wrote: »

BFDeal wrote: »

I think the answer most people aren't going to give you, even though it's probably the real answer, is just eat out less (or at least less at places that don't list calorie info). ............

I agree with eating out less in general...I don't eat out all that often...but if you avoid establishments that don't have calorie information, you're pretty much relegated to nasty *kitten*, institutionalized franchise *kitten*.

In my experience, most local establishments offer more freshly prepared foods and more nutritious options than most franchises. Also, I'm into supporting local...

Also - I find portions at local establishments are much more reasonable than chain restaurants and they are much more flexible when it comes to subsituting menu items.

Pootler74

Every Tuesday I have lunch with my dad at a pub. The places we go NEVER have nutrition information, and in the winter, it's really hard to get salad. In the UK, asking for a meal to be prepared differently isn't really an accepted norm - though I'll give it a go if I can. I still want to track these meals though, so I just guess and choose the nearest things I can from the database. Usually I'll overestimate too, just to be on the safe side. So if you look at my diary on Tuesdays, you can see how I work it out. I'm a bit OCD with tracking, but I accept that sometimes I'll just have to do my best - make decent choices but still treat myself, and be honest and diligent about recording it.

Smoofalz

I'v lost about 55 pounds and never actually weighed my food. When I'm at work, I usually have something prepackaged like those lean cuisine meals. But for other cases like restaurants, I try to find places that have nutrition info available. If not I log it as close as I can. If I can find a similar dish, I'll use that. If not, I'll try to deconstruct it and add the ingredients. As for serving sizes, I do my best to guess, and usually over estimate a little bit to be safe. If I'm worried its a lot more than I thought, I'll throw in some extra exercise in if I have time. Also a lot of restaurants give you way more than what one portion would be. Sometimes I end up splitting it with my husband or taking it home for lunch the next day. So I've gotten by fine without weighing food, and with eating out a lot. This site has helped me learn what better choices to make too

NoelFigart1

Since I prepare 90% of my meals at home, to be frank, I'm dandy with estimating the rest of the time.

Lasmartchika

I find similar foods on the list. If there are several with the same name, I'd choose the one with the most calories. It's better to over estimate the amount. That's all I do and I don't stress about it.

malavika413

I can't weigh anything at all because I eat from a college dining hall. I rely on the calorie info they post online, and I tend to overestimate calories if I serve myself at the buffet.