what do you do when.....

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megandhight
megandhight Posts: 89 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What do you do when your whole family wants to go out to dinner to some place with your favorite food (like Mexican) and you don't know the calorie content of the food. I visit my family every two weeks and I brought along dinner to eat here but the decided to go out to eat not cook dinner. I of course want to go with them but I also don't want to screw up my diet.

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  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    Ask how food is prepared. We know veggies with some protein is a good choice to get.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    I either eat something that looks the lowest calories, or more commonly just ditch the diet for one meal. You're not gonna screw up your diet with one dinner :)
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    In itself, one meal that puts you over your goal isn't going to have a significant impact on a weekly calorie deficit ...unless your deficit is razor thin and/or you're over eating a fair bit.

    Regardless, in that situation, I'd go out, but try to pick items that don't appear that dense for calories. You could also save room earlier that day for the calories, or break up excess calories by having a slightly larger deficit over the next few days, etc.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    SWAG method (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guessing). :smiley: Learned that term from an old boss, he used it when we had to write a big order for something and weren't sure how much we needed.

    We I dine out at local restaurants that don't have nutritional info, I just do my best to find a reasonable match in the database. I try to pay attention to how many chips I eat, eyeball the portions of beans and rice on my plate, and find a decent match for chicken enchiladas.

    And then don't go overboard with what you DO eat - don't eat the whole basket of chips and then ask for more, maybe only eat half your meal, take the rest home. Order water. Okay, hard to skip a margarita with Mexican food, so if you do, just have one, and drink plenty of water along with it. Eat slowly, pay attention to when you're full, don't eat until you're stuffed.

    And overall - it's one night every couple of weeks. It won't wreck your progress, especially if you stay in control. You could always get an extra long workout in that day and burn some extra cals if you want.
  • AlciaMode
    AlciaMode Posts: 421 Member
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    I usually search for the item that I ordered and log whichever one shows that is like it and has the higher calorie count. That way I figure I am covered
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    edited February 2015
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    DemoraFairy wrote: »
    I either eat something that looks the lowest calories, or more commonly just ditch the diet for one meal. You're not gonna screw up your diet with one dinner :)
    This ^^ . It's food, not fear; this is a meal with family. Make some good choices based on what you know and answers to your questions, and log as accurately as you can (add some notes if you still have issues, so you can remind yourself later).

    Just like no single raindrop can be blamed for a flood in a flowing river, no single meal will make you fat when you're otherwise being reasonable.

    At worst, you'll have a little 'bump' every two weeks when you eat with your family; they've supported you before, so they'll prolly get it this time too. Maybe next time you can influence the restaurant selection?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    This is about living life. Go, be conscientious and use moderation. Log as closely as you can (find like items in database and guesstimate up).
  • megandhight
    megandhight Posts: 89 Member
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    I have never over eaten in fact I'm normally under my calorie limit. I'm glad they told me now so I can cut back on some more of my calories throughout the day. And I guess I could continue to cut back maybe the next few days. Thanks for the advice!
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    DemoraFairy wrote: »
    I either eat something that looks the lowest calories, or more commonly just ditch the diet for one meal. You're not gonna screw up your diet with one dinner :)

    This. And usually me decision is based off how long it has been since I had an unlogged meal or went over my calories. I try to limit it to once a week.
  • megandhight
    megandhight Posts: 89 Member
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    How would I log a meal like that? I definitely want to log whatever I eat because it keeps me honest with myself in how well I'm doing.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    megandhight wrote: »
    How would I log a meal like that? I definitely want to log whatever I eat because it keeps me honest with myself in how well I'm doing.

    As others have said, find something similar in the database and log that.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    megandhight wrote: »
    How would I log a meal like that? I definitely want to log whatever I eat because it keeps me honest with myself in how well I'm doing.

    If you can't find the specific restaurant in the database, choose something that sounds close. Sometimes you just have to go with a best guess.
  • Leana088
    Leana088 Posts: 581 Member
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    I eat only half the meal and bring the rest home for another meal.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    I would look for something similar in the database, and make the portion size a little bigger than it actually looked to make up for possible differences. I generally go with a chain style restaurant, because they're often higher calorie. I'd want to log too many instead of too little.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    What I do? I guess based on what I do know. Diet/nutrition/weight loss is 365 days a year, one meal won't make or break you.
  • Canwehugnow
    Canwehugnow Posts: 218 Member
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    Make the best educated guesses, and ask the food to not be cooked in extra fat.
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
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    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    I would look for something similar in the database, and make the portion size a little bigger than it actually looked to make up for possible differences. I generally go with a chain style restaurant, because they're often higher calorie. I'd want to log too many instead of too little.

    This totally. I will also plan the rest of my day accordingly with breakfast and lunch as to not over way overboard. Like others have said though one meal will not break you. Enjoy your night out.
  • saraphim41
    saraphim41 Posts: 205 Member
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    Ask your waiter's advice. In a good restaurant, they will go ask the cook. Have gotten excellent tips that way.
  • coconutbuNZ
    coconutbuNZ Posts: 578 Member
    edited February 2015
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    For breakfast and lunch just have homemade soup with veg and fruit so you dont have to worry too much about dinner when you go out, then the next day do extra exercise eg an hour instead of 1/2 an hour or increase intensity of exercise (burst or HIIT)
  • megandhight
    megandhight Posts: 89 Member
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    saraphim41 wrote: »
    Ask your waiter's advice. In a good restaurant, they will go ask the cook. Have gotten excellent tips that way.

    That's a good tip. Thanks I probably wouldn't have thought of that.

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