Disturbing trend on MFP….
ndj1979
Posts: 29,136 Member
Yup you have all probably noticed it…People do not know how to order at restaurants any more! This is really disturbing stuff. There has been a definite uptick in the number of "help, I don't know what to order at this restaurant." The primary culprit seems to be Mexican restaurants, which make sense because after Tequila and Margaritas most of us can barely make it to the bathroom, much less order some food.
So here are my helpful tips for everyone that has "forgotten" how to order at restaurants…
1. Select restaurant and determine if you are going for a blow out "I don't give a damn about calories type night", or just a "I want to stay within my calorie target night."
2. order drink
3. review menu
4. While reviewing menu if you selected blow out option in step 1 then just get whatever you want to eat; however, if you went with stay within calorie option then you should probably go with the the lighter fair such as grilled chicken and vegetables or something similar.
5. make dinner selection
6. eat dinner and have some more drinks
7. enjoy the evening
8. pay
9. leave the restaurant
This nine step plan can be used at any eating establishment and is even transferable to cookouts.
Good luck, and remember it is just a restaurant not complex physics….
So here are my helpful tips for everyone that has "forgotten" how to order at restaurants…
1. Select restaurant and determine if you are going for a blow out "I don't give a damn about calories type night", or just a "I want to stay within my calorie target night."
2. order drink
3. review menu
4. While reviewing menu if you selected blow out option in step 1 then just get whatever you want to eat; however, if you went with stay within calorie option then you should probably go with the the lighter fair such as grilled chicken and vegetables or something similar.
5. make dinner selection
6. eat dinner and have some more drinks
7. enjoy the evening
8. pay
9. leave the restaurant
This nine step plan can be used at any eating establishment and is even transferable to cookouts.
Good luck, and remember it is just a restaurant not complex physics….
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Replies
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I approve of this plan and practice it at least once a week. I'm so glad it's not rocket science.0
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Funny! Last night I went for the stay within my calories option and ordered tortilla soup thinking it would be fairly well balanced and not too high in calories. After I tasted it I decided to go for the blowout option. It was the best tortilla soup I've ever had and was loaded with cheese and little tortilla strips, avocado and more cheese. It actually had little squares of jack cheese in it......OMG......so good!0
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arditarose wrote: »I approve of this plan and practice it at least once a week. I'm so glad it's not rocket science.
well you are definitely one of the ones in the minority ….0 -
#1 is pretty much it.
We've always gone out frequently (3-4x/wk) so it's not usually something I think of as a splurge meal. But for people who go less often it seems like it often is and in those cases just go and enjoy yourselves and be done with it. Don't stress.0 -
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I just find it strange..
are people really this helpless???0 -
So I agree about not letting eating at a restaurant cripple you with anxiety... However, I do think if someone knows where they are going ahead of time, looking at the menu, or even looking on the website for nutritional info can help plan the meal, the day, even the week.
Personally I love getting excited about my meal, especially at a great restaurant, so I may take a gander at whether the chicken saltimbocca or the seafood cannelloni is a better option for my day (and by better option I mean, which one might enable me to have wine AND tiramisu). That doesn't mean that when I get there and the server says the chef's special is lobster risotto that I wouldn't go with that choice...
The thing that kills me is when people don't even want to go to restaurants because they are so concerned it will ruin their progress...0 -
Sometimes I'll just repeat step 2 multiple times and then skip to step 7.
Am I going to die?0 -
So I agree about not letting eating at a restaurant cripple you with anxiety... However, I do think if someone knows where they are going ahead of time, looking at the menu, or even looking on the website for nutritional info can help plan the meal, the day, even the week.
Personally I love getting excited about my meal, especially at a great restaurant, so I may take a gander at whether the chicken saltimbocca or the seafood cannelloni is a better option for my day (and by better option I mean, which one might enable me to have wine AND tiramisu). That doesn't mean that when I get there and the server says the chef's special is lobster risotto that I wouldn't go with that choice...
The thing that kills me is when people don't even want to go to restaurants because they are so concerned it will ruin their progress...
pretty much that.
I eat out at least one to two times a week and it has not ruined my progress. I usually guestimate the portion and what it is and go from there..if the restaurant menu is online even better..but if go over by 200 calories I am not going to meltdown….
but if you think about it ..one should not have a hard time know if something is caloric dense or not….if you are getting chicken with a cream sauce more than likely you are having a 700 + calorie meal ..if you are getting a 6 oz filet and vegetables you are probably closer to 500 calories….0 -
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arditarose wrote: »
how about the both of you invite me?0 -
Like I wrote in the other thread, i'm sure op is referring to...I just make sure I burn 1000000000 calories xtra that week and Im covered.0
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karintalley wrote: »Like I wrote in the other thread, i'm sure op is referring to...I just make sure I burn 1000000000 calories xtra that week and Im covered.
how do you burn that many calories? Treadmill all day??????0 -
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karintalley wrote: »Like I wrote in the other thread, i'm sure op is referring to...I just make sure I burn 1000000000 calories xtra that week and Im covered.
how do you burn that many calories? Treadmill all day??????
That and I just walk non stop all week long. All so I can have a real fattening Mexican burrito..lol
Seriously...I do make sure I work out a little extra for the next few days. Just so my weekly calorie deficit stay the same.0 -
Yup you have all probably noticed it…People do not know how to order at restaurants any more! This is really disturbing stuff. There has been a definite uptick in the number of "help, I don't know what to order at this restaurant." The primary culprit seems to be Mexican restaurants, which make sense because after Tequila and Margaritas most of us can barely make it to the bathroom, much less order some food.
So here are my helpful tips for everyone that has "forgotten" how to order at restaurants…
1. Select restaurant and determine if you are going for a blow out "I don't give a damn about calories type night", or just a "I want to stay within my calorie target night."
2. order drink
3. review menu
4. While reviewing menu if you selected blow out option in step 1 then just get whatever you want to eat; however, if you went with stay within calorie option then you should probably go with the the lighter fair such as grilled chicken and vegetables or something similar.
5. make dinner selection
6. eat dinner and have some more drinks
7. enjoy the evening
8. pay
9. leave the restaurant
This nine step plan can be used at any eating establishment and is even transferable to cookouts.
Good luck, and remember it is just a restaurant not complex physics….
Just as @tincanonastring was saying, people flagging are getting out of control. What on earth about this post deserves a flag????0 -
So I agree about not letting eating at a restaurant cripple you with anxiety... However, I do think if someone knows where they are going ahead of time, looking at the menu, or even looking on the website for nutritional info can help plan the meal, the day, even the week.
Personally I love getting excited about my meal, especially at a great restaurant, so I may take a gander at whether the chicken saltimbocca or the seafood cannelloni is a better option for my day (and by better option I mean, which one might enable me to have wine AND tiramisu). That doesn't mean that when I get there and the server says the chef's special is lobster risotto that I wouldn't go with that choice...
The thing that kills me is when people don't even want to go to restaurants because they are so concerned it will ruin their progress...
pretty much that.
I eat out at least one to two times a week and it has not ruined my progress. I usually guestimate the portion and what it is and go from there..if the restaurant menu is online even better..but if go over by 200 calories I am not going to meltdown….
but if you think about it ..one should not have a hard time know if something is caloric dense or not….if you are getting chicken with a cream sauce more than likely you are having a 700 + calorie meal ..if you are getting a 6 oz filet and vegetables you are probably closer to 500 calories….
Oh agreed. There are a few surprises now and again when you go to log something, especially when first starting, but for the most part if you keep the same rules in mind that you use at home, and assume that every dish starts and ends with at least an extra tablespoon of butter, then it is possible to be reasonably accurate with logging restaurant meals.
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atypicalsmith wrote: »Yup you have all probably noticed it…People do not know how to order at restaurants any more! This is really disturbing stuff. There has been a definite uptick in the number of "help, I don't know what to order at this restaurant." The primary culprit seems to be Mexican restaurants, which make sense because after Tequila and Margaritas most of us can barely make it to the bathroom, much less order some food.
So here are my helpful tips for everyone that has "forgotten" how to order at restaurants…
1. Select restaurant and determine if you are going for a blow out "I don't give a damn about calories type night", or just a "I want to stay within my calorie target night."
2. order drink
3. review menu
4. While reviewing menu if you selected blow out option in step 1 then just get whatever you want to eat; however, if you went with stay within calorie option then you should probably go with the the lighter fair such as grilled chicken and vegetables or something similar.
5. make dinner selection
6. eat dinner and have some more drinks
7. enjoy the evening
8. pay
9. leave the restaurant
This nine step plan can be used at any eating establishment and is even transferable to cookouts.
Good luck, and remember it is just a restaurant not complex physics….
Just as @tincanonastring was saying, people flagging are getting out of control. What on earth about this post deserves a flag????
what the hell???????
@psulemon what is going on man??????
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The flags go off, you'd think NDJ was Jack Nicholson, "you can't handle the truth."0
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I, too, am confused about how the OP is "abuse."
This is good, solid advice on how to handle restaurant situations. It's even presented in a nice way! I also do what @Kruggeri does and look for the nutritional info if it exists before I go. Often it's presence determines what type of excursion it's going to be!0 -
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lol yeps i did good today it seems In my 8 months on here just a couple of flags and now 3 flags in just a few minutes.....
Seems like an upward trend isnt it?
The truth hurts indeed0 -
I'd rather take an extra week to meet my "goal weight" (not that I have one, I'm working to visual satisfaction) than have to restrict myself from going out, or having to order something that I'm not going to enjoy when I am out.
I don't see the point of going out to eat and ordering the grilled chicken, hold the sauce, with steamed veg, unless that's exactly what I feel like at the time. I'f I'm going to pay $20 for a meal, it sure isn't going to be something I could make at home for $4.
Today I have a pizza lunch with work, and a dumpling dinner with my houseguest. No idea how to track either, as I won't know what I'm having until I'm there. Yes, I skipped breakfast. Yes, I'll have more salad than pizza at lunch, and will order a dish of chinese broccoli and oyster sauce with dinner. But I'll enjoy it, walk some extra, and if the scale goes up a little in the next few days, I'll shave a few calories off.
It's only as hard as you make it.0 -
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TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »lol yeps i did good today it seems In my 8 months on here just a couple of flags and now 3 flags in just a few minutes.....
Seems like an upward trend isnt it?
The truth hurts indeed
well I have 610 total ….0 -
I, too, am confused about how the OP is "abuse."
This is good, solid advice on how to handle restaurant situations. It's even presented in a nice way! I also do what @Kruggeri does and look for the nutritional info if it exists before I go. Often it's presence determines what type of excursion it's going to be!
The OP post is fine. But then people start to call others stupid for even asking the question. Not nice.0
This discussion has been closed.
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