Eating at restaurants used to be fun, now it's kind of stressful.
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It's a catch 22 of sorts. The new rules only apply to chains, which will encourage more of us to go to chains...
That said: it shouldn't be stressful. I know it can be, but it shouldn't be. Once you make a lifestyle change, it should get easier to make smart, good choices in restaurants.
I eat out A LOT. If I didn't I'd probably just say: it's just one meal. But because I do it often I have to consider what I eat when I go out.
Best of luck.0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »Maybe realize that one meal isn't going to completely break you or take away all the progress you've made?
I'm not saying that it would. It could, however, stall my progress and I have been busting my butt to lose these last few pounds.
You need to update your mentality …one meal - no matter how larger or small - is not going to stall your progress. Unless of course said meal puts you 3500 over your maintenance level for the day and you would gain one pound….0 -
Yes! All of this.healthygreek wrote: »One of my greatest pleasures is going to a good local restaurant.
I love sitting down to a great meal and a glass of wine or two!
I try to choose well and make estimates of my calorie intake.
I may gain a bit of water weight but it really doesn't make a huge impact in the long run.
I could never stick with my healthy lifestyle if I couldn't enjoy this at least once a week.
My favorite restaurants don't (and probably couldn't realistically) post calorie counts.
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allieallieoxenfree wrote: »I can sympathize with this! I went out to a celebratory lunch today and had what seemed to me to be a relatively light lunch of grilled eggplant with homemade mozzarella & tomato sauce, two pieces of fresh baked bread with a tiny bit of olive oil, a glass of wine, and a small latte. I came home and put it all into my diary, and it was a THOUSAND calories. I didn't even feel that full! Plus now I want to eat a normal dinner and snack, but I can't, unless I kind of just want to say screw the whole day.
Yup, those lattes can be calorie monsters, too. There are a million cute bistros downtown but I stick with Starbucks because I know their skinny latte is only 100 calories and won't mess up my whole day. Feeling so limited really sucks.
how many calories a day are you eating???0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »Maybe realize that one meal isn't going to completely break you or take away all the progress you've made?
I'm not saying that it would. It could, however, stall my progress and I have been busting my butt to lose these last few pounds.
You need to update your mentality …one meal - no matter how larger or small - is not going to stall your progress. Unless of course said meal puts you 3500 over your maintenance level for the day and you would gain one pound….
^Agreed. Saying that you think one meal is going to make you "stall" is along the same lines of thinking that I had said.
Unless you are eating out constantly, it's just one meal. If you are eating out constantly, then like Sabine has said, that's when you need to be a lot more rigid about what and where you choose to eat.
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LACnessMonster wrote: »It costs money a local business might not have to perform such assessments. It costs money to generate the information and put it together in a way that is usable to consumers, and honestly, it might not even be a priority for them to do so.
It really boils down to weighing ingredients. It could be time consuming but it's certainly not impossible, or even difficult. I agree it's not a priority to them, which is a shame. There is an establishment here that caters to all kinds of dieters that has low cal, low carb, gluten-free, paleo diets and all. It's pricey but I'd rather pay more and know what I am getting myself into.0 -
It really boils down to weighing ingredients. It could be time consuming but it's certainly not impossible, or even difficult. I agree it's not a priority to them, which is a shame. There is an establishment here that caters to all kinds of dieters that has low cal, low carb, gluten-free, paleo diets and all. It's pricey but I'd rather pay more and know what I am getting myself into.
Except even those establishments don't always provide calorie counts and as CWolfman stated - it's still not going to be "exact" and I doubt even those places are weighing out every single thing.
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I have my Thursday night out planned each week. I know it is a weekly thing, so I eat 100 or so cals less Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and count Thursday as my weekly splurge day.
If I eat out more in a week, I just enjoy it and log it no matter the calories. If I am eating at a deficit it just means my deficit will be less that week; if at maintenance, I may do an extra bit of exercise to help make up the difference- but tend not to, and just move on to the next day.
And after all that, I rarely eat everything as portions are so large, I just put it aside when I an satiated (not full), and take it home or not.
Cheers, h.0 -
Note that you said "stall," not "stop," and also note that you said "could," and not "would."PikaKnight wrote: »Maybe realize that one meal isn't going to completely break you or take away all the progress you've made?
I'm not saying that it would. It could, however, stall my progress and I have been busting my butt to lose these last few pounds.
So enjoying yourself and not stressing over a single meal could, or not, stall, not stop, your progress for a day... the goal is to get there, and as long as you do, that's what matters most, and since you don't know when that day will be, you can't hedge bets on that one meal being the reason you could have stalled for a temporary amount of time.
Just relax and enjoy the meal.
And trust me, I know all about that busting your butt for the last few lbs thing. I lost 8 lbs in four months, and then Thanksgiving came around and I gained it all back. Oops! But I don't regret a thing because I enjoyed myself. It'll come back off. My "goal weight date" was pushed back for sure, but since I cannot tell the future and don't know what could happen between now and that undetermined date, I simply can't stress over it. Stress requires too much energy.
You've gotta change your mentality, because there's no way you can maintain this lifestyle when every time you have a social engagement at a restaurant you become stressed out like this. One meal will, as a matter of cold hard fact, not derail your efforts. One meal didn't make you overweight to begin with, did it? It was many consecutive days, months, even years that caused this. Don't worry about it. Enjoy it.
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PikaKnight wrote: »
It really boils down to weighing ingredients. It could be time consuming but it's certainly not impossible, or even difficult. I agree it's not a priority to them, which is a shame. There is an establishment here that caters to all kinds of dieters that has low cal, low carb, gluten-free, paleo diets and all. It's pricey but I'd rather pay more and know what I am getting myself into.
Except even those establishments don't always provide calorie counts and as CWolfman stated - it's still not going to be "exact" and I doubt even those places are weighing out every single thing.
and the reasons the chains can like Applebee's and Chills can provide that information is because it is all pretty pre package and pre weighed out....
at least at a local place they get local foods from the local markets and actually, you know, cook the stuff ….
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allieallieoxenfree wrote: »I can sympathize with this! I went out to a celebratory lunch today and had what seemed to me to be a relatively light lunch of grilled eggplant with homemade mozzarella & tomato sauce, two pieces of fresh baked bread with a tiny bit of olive oil, a glass of wine, and a small latte. I came home and put it all into my diary, and it was a THOUSAND calories. I didn't even feel that full! Plus now I want to eat a normal dinner and snack, but I can't, unless I kind of just want to say screw the whole day.
Is there a way you could exercise to gain more calories for dinner & a snack?0 -
dunnodunno wrote: »allieallieoxenfree wrote: »I can sympathize with this! I went out to a celebratory lunch today and had what seemed to me to be a relatively light lunch of grilled eggplant with homemade mozzarella & tomato sauce, two pieces of fresh baked bread with a tiny bit of olive oil, a glass of wine, and a small latte. I came home and put it all into my diary, and it was a THOUSAND calories. I didn't even feel that full! Plus now I want to eat a normal dinner and snack, but I can't, unless I kind of just want to say screw the whole day.
Is there a way you could exercise to gain more calories for dinner & a snack?
A better way to look at it is to balance out the week, imo.
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dunnodunno wrote: »allieallieoxenfree wrote: »I can sympathize with this! I went out to a celebratory lunch today and had what seemed to me to be a relatively light lunch of grilled eggplant with homemade mozzarella & tomato sauce, two pieces of fresh baked bread with a tiny bit of olive oil, a glass of wine, and a small latte. I came home and put it all into my diary, and it was a THOUSAND calories. I didn't even feel that full! Plus now I want to eat a normal dinner and snack, but I can't, unless I kind of just want to say screw the whole day.
Is there a way you could exercise to gain more calories for dinner & a snack?
I'm taking a rest day before a long training run tomorrow (well, long for me... 10ish miles). It's really not a big deal--I still have a couple hundred calories to spare and some delicious low-cal skinnytaste chicken francese leftover from yesterday. I was just saying that I sympathize--trying to have a nice time eating out AND be mindful of my calorie goals is way less fun than just eating out in the old days, even if the old days did make me kinda fat, lol.0 -
I think you have to basically assume that anything that's not a grilled chicken or salmon salad is at least 1000 cals, of mostly fat and carbs, because those taste good and make money.
If you eat out a lot, it's down to your choices. Brothy soups, limit cheese, any kind of sauce or dressing on the side, grilled vs. fried. Sub the potatoes or rice for a salad, or ask for e.g. half potatoes half salad (some places will do this for free, some for a fee, for the annoyance, which I guess is fair enough). You just will have to become that guy.
If you eat out pretty rarely, or it's a celebration, just enjoy your 1000+ cals of deliciousness. If it makes you feel better, work out a bit longer the next few workouts.0 -
PikaKnight wrote: »Out of curiousity,what is your height, age and current weight that MFP gave you 1200 calories? And is this net? (meaning do you eat back exercise calories?)
64 inches, 38 years, and 137.4 and it's not just MFP that gave me 1200. No, I do not eat back exercise calories. If I was doing majorly intensive exercise, then I would eat back some but for the walks I do, not worth it.
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I think you have to basically assume that anything that's not a grilled chicken or salmon salad is at least 1000 cals, of mostly fat and carbs, because those taste good and make money.
If you eat out a lot, it's down to your choices. Brothy soups, limit cheese, any kind of sauce or dressing on the side, grilled vs. fried. Sub the potatoes or rice for a salad, or ask for e.g. half potatoes half salad (some places will do this for free, some for a fee, for the annoyance, which I guess is fair enough). You just will have to become that guy.
If you eat out pretty rarely, or it's a celebration, just enjoy your 1000+ cals of deliciousness. If it makes you feel better, work out a bit longer the next few workouts.
1000+ is basically my whole day.0 -
When friends pick a new place, I look them up online. I check if they offer nutritional info. If they do, I make a selection and plug it in. If they do not, I look for a menu and a description and try to find an online recipe that sounds close to what I want. But I go for something that looks more in line with what I'm supposed to eat. If I have no way of knowing because I cannot find any online information, I TRY to use some control to eat a bit less that day to 'save up' some calories and then try to pick something that sounds right. But occasionally, I really want to try something know and so I just decide to go for it and get back to plan the next day. I can't let it stress me out. I feel like I have to be so food obsessive already as a person with Diabetes that I just have to enjoy something one in a while.
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at lightly active your maintenance would be 1915 and a 500 calorie cut is 1415 …so maybe you can eat a little more..
How long have you been eating 1200 for? Have you ever done a diet break, where you eat up to maintenance for a week or so?0
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