How many Calories did I just eat?

jimn0504

Hi. I've been using MFP for about 9 months to track my clories and activity, but I'm finding that tracking my calorie intake is becoming quite cumbersome and time consuming. So, here's the scenario. I just had a "healthy salad' for lunch at a small, local mom & pop eatery. The restaurant isn't listed in MFP's database, and the salad contains lot of stuff like red kinoa, broccoli, red colored beans, sesame seeds, some kind of lettuce, shredded carrots, cucmbers, rice noodles, sliced olives, etc.. They don't publish nutritional information about their food such calories or portion size. With all of the ingredients and various amounts, is there an easy way to log this meal without spending 1/2 hour trying to remember each component and estimate amounts individually to log into the MFP database. It seems that all my meals are like this, whether at home or out, and I am a big fan of variety, so I don't often eat the ame meals all the time. Is there a better way for me to log these meals, or am I stuck having to research every little component of them in the database? I am spending more time trying to log my meals than I am actally eating them. Any suggestions for how to make logging a complicated meal seem less neurotic and complicated would be really appreciated. Thanks - Jim
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Train4Foodz

Hi there,
There is no particuarly 'easy' answer to this. The only way to get accurate nutritional information on any food or beverage is to log the individual components.
If you find that on a particular day, you don't have time to do this. Find a similar item in the database and log as the similar item, this is course will be approximate and has no guarantee of being accurate to the food or drink you just consumed.

Some places do actually carry nutritional information on items they sell, even if they don't publish them. Perhaps try asking them? Or at the very least ask them for the ingredients they use (some places have 'prep sheets' that contain a list of products they use and in what quantities).

Wishing you all the very best.

Adam

r5d5

Well, I would suggest just searching the database for a similar salad, or whatever food item. I'd probably go with restaurant entries, rather than "homemade" entries, since it's difficult to determine how an individual MFP user may have logged the calorie content, but a restaurant entry most likely came directly from the restaurant's own site.
I would suggest overestimating rather than rounding down.
I know it can be frustrating, and seem time consuming. Once you get the hang of it, it won't seem nearly as bad!

Best of luck with your weight goals.

ShifuYaku

I'll tell you right now - from that list you gave I can tell you that the olives, quinoa, beans, seeds, and noodles have calories that are more dense than the lettuces.

NaomiJFoster

I have found a lot of entries that have lists of items built in. I can enter "Salad spinach tomato cheddar cucumber avocado turkey Italian dressing" into the search bar. I'll get a list of many similar salads. I pick the one that seems the most similar and just go with it. It may not be the most precise method, but it simplifies things.

trekkie_bbs

Those are all great suggestions and I can't fault any of them and even suggest following the advice of asking the restaurant if they can tell you.

However if they can not I would guesstimate how much of each thing in the salad and total up the calories myself and just quick add calories so it doesn't take up room in my list. Sometimes things in the lists change so for me I rather avoid the lists for odd foods like that.

Not saying my suggestion is better than anyone else's because it is not. It's just the way I do it and I place under notes as much info as I can.

If it helps I think keeping track of calories is one of the most important things for people like me who struggle with their weight however in all reality I also know everything is a guesstimate and nothing will ever show you exact amounts. Even with that said I try my darndest to stay within my calorie goals. Sometimes I do, sometimes I fail (like today) and sometimes I log in and forget to log my foods.

Just keep doing what you are doing no matter who's suggestion you take. Don't give up your favorite foods or places to eat. Everything has a workaround but it's up to you to push through it. I think I speak for all of us when I say you can do this!

jimn0504

Thanks for all of the replies. Has anyone found it useful to take the time to create their own list of individual meal ingredients, as they are eaten, to draw from after future meals? If so, where should I do that? I've tried creating a new recipe or a meal with all of the items, but then I usually have to cull the list if I only ate a few items from a particular meal.
Thanks - Jim

NaomiJFoster

I do that with a few things. And yes, sometimes that does me making alterations on my own list. With meals with more than 5 or 6 items, I find it easier to make those small changes than to look up each item again and again and again.

I think I do that in "My Meals" or whatever it's called. Give it a name that you'll remember. Then just type that name into the search bar next time.