Disturbing trend on MFP….
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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 -
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 -
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 ….
Dang lol
I have lots to learn i see
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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.
i always assume my guestimate is probably off by 200 calories on the high side….but again, that does not bother me…I can either bank calories for the weekend or make up for them on sunday by coming in lower..if I want to.0 -
I just find it strange..
are people really this helpless???
No, they're not helpless, they're learning. We all know that people come here with varying beliefs about nutrition, food, and weight loss.
So new users join the site, they learn about calorie deficits and weighing food, and start losing weight. Everything is going great, they're seeing losses on the scales, and they're happy. They've probably got some niche meals that they eat regularly because they know the calories and macros for those meals, and have gotten comfortable with their routine.
Then the inevitable night out/party/event arrives, and they're not sure what to do. They don't want to slow their progress, but they want to have fun. So they come here asking the usual questions - what do I order? How do I figure out portion sizes by eyeballing? Should I exercise more that day? What about other foods, should I not eat other meals just in case? We've all seen questions like that, and some of us may have even asked them ourselves.
Then the night comes, they have a good time, get on the scale, and find out that everything's ok. That one night didn't derail their progress, and it's what they do the majority of the time that matters.
Everyone on this site has had to figure something out during this process; some people are still figuring things out as they go. That's not a character flaw, it's part of being human, and the entire point of these forums is for people to interact, support, and learn from one another. There's no shame in asking questions of others to help you reach your goals, and if someone finds another user's question to be a bother…they don't have to respond.0 -
For Mexican food, can't you just drink the water and then end up with no calories?0
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I just find it strange..
are people really this helpless???
No, they're not helpless, they're learning. We all know that people come here with varying beliefs about nutrition, food, and weight loss.
So new users join the site, they learn about calorie deficits and weighing food, and start losing weight. Everything is going great, they're seeing losses on the scales, and they're happy. They've probably got some niche meals that they eat regularly because they know the calories and macros for those meals, and have gotten comfortable with their routine.
Then the inevitable night out/party/event arrives, and they're not sure what to do. They don't want to slow their progress, but they want to have fun. So they come here asking the usual questions - what do I order? How do I figure out portion sizes by eyeballing? Should I exercise more that day? What about other foods, should I not eat other meals just in case? We've all seen questions like that, and some of us may have even asked them ourselves.
Then the night comes, they have a good time, get on the scale, and find out that everything's ok. That one night didn't derail their progress, and it's what they do the majority of the time that matters.
Everyone on this site has had to figure something out during this process; some people are still figuring things out as they go. That's not a character flaw, it's part of being human, and the entire point of these forums is for people to interact, support, and learn from one another. There's no shame in asking questions of others to help you reach your goals, and if someone finds another user's question to be a bother…they don't have to respond.
Thank you
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I just find it strange..
are people really this helpless???
No, they're not helpless, they're learning. We all know that people come here with varying beliefs about nutrition, food, and weight loss.
So new users join the site, they learn about calorie deficits and weighing food, and start losing weight. Everything is going great, they're seeing losses on the scales, and they're happy. They've probably got some niche meals that they eat regularly because they know the calories and macros for those meals, and have gotten comfortable with their routine.
Then the inevitable night out/party/event arrives, and they're not sure what to do. They don't want to slow their progress, but they want to have fun. So they come here asking the usual questions - what do I order? How do I figure out portion sizes by eyeballing? Should I exercise more that day? What about other foods, should I not eat other meals just in case? We've all seen questions like that, and some of us may have even asked them ourselves.
Then the night comes, they have a good time, get on the scale, and find out that everything's ok. That one night didn't derail their progress, and it's what they do the majority of the time that matters.
Everyone on this site has had to figure something out during this process; some people are still figuring things out as they go. That's not a character flaw, it's part of being human, and the entire point of these forums is for people to interact, support, and learn from one another. There's no shame in asking questions of others to help you reach your goals, and if someone finds another user's question to be a bother…they don't have to respond.
interesting ….even when I first started losng I never feared going out, I figured I had done well during the week and if I had a "cheat meal" (yes, I believed in those back then) that it would be ok as long as I got back on track the next day …
I guess having a restaurant background I pretty much always knew the calorie dense dishes from the not so calorie dense dishes…
the plethora of "can I eat this on my birthday" or "help, going out tonight" just seem to be increasing in volume…
but hopefully my nine point plan helps!0 -
I actually dissected a kebab today to figure out the calorie content. lol0
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I just find it strange..
are people really this helpless???
No, they're not helpless, they're learning. We all know that people come here with varying beliefs about nutrition, food, and weight loss.
So new users join the site, they learn about calorie deficits and weighing food, and start losing weight. Everything is going great, they're seeing losses on the scales, and they're happy. They've probably got some niche meals that they eat regularly because they know the calories and macros for those meals, and have gotten comfortable with their routine.
Then the inevitable night out/party/event arrives, and they're not sure what to do. They don't want to slow their progress, but they want to have fun. So they come here asking the usual questions - what do I order? How do I figure out portion sizes by eyeballing? Should I exercise more that day? What about other foods, should I not eat other meals just in case? We've all seen questions like that, and some of us may have even asked them ourselves.
Then the night comes, they have a good time, get on the scale, and find out that everything's ok. That one night didn't derail their progress, and it's what they do the majority of the time that matters.
Everyone on this site has had to figure something out during this process; some people are still figuring things out as they go. That's not a character flaw, it's part of being human, and the entire point of these forums is for people to interact, support, and learn from one another. There's no shame in asking questions of others to help you reach your goals, and if someone finds another user's question to be a bother…they don't have to respond.
Well my thoughts and feelings are a bit different about the whole issue of "what must i eat, and help i am going out"
Its like people lose there total self thinking and figuring something out.
What did they do before MFP... go to a support group? Phone 911 to inform what they must eat?
And sure you can ask questions and learn...but the last postings were even from people who lost 40 pound of weight. so pretty much know how it works.
So yeah to me it is really silly to come up with these kinda questions.
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I think the issue for me is that when someone asks a question about a restaurant people jump to the assumption they are stressing, giving themselves an ulcer or freaking out to the point of a panic attack.
But say your are going to dinner somewhere, and there is no details on calories etc available.
Is it really inconceivable that you might asks for help or suggestions on mfp with out having to freak out over the food choices.
Maybe others have been to the same restaurant or a similiar one and can suggest a good healthy option.
Maybe everyone goes on about recording accurately so seems reasonable to me to want to record your meal out accurately too.
All of these questions and more can be asked with out anyone freaking out or stressing can't they?
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