Disturbing trend on MFP….
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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!
Ok, but that's your experience. Some people are more comfortable with the process than others, and as you stated, you worked in a restaurant and had experience with dishes and portion sizes. Lots of people can't do that - there are even experienced users who have weighed food for a long time who still have trouble eyeballing portion sizes.
One person's easy is another person's hard.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.
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!
Ok, but that's your experience. Some people are more comfortable with the process than others, and as you stated, you worked in a restaurant and had experience with dishes and portion sizes. Lots of people can't do that - there are even experienced users who have weighed food for a long time who still have trouble eyeballing portion sizes.
One person's easy is another person's hard.
any opinion on the flagging of my OP…?
since you are, you know, an expert on the subject…
LOL
I see your point…but it just comes off as silly to me sometimes...0 -
Oh, and please knock off the flagging, none of posts here qualify as Spam or Abuse. The appropriate response is to use the Report option, otherwise you are violating the community guidelines.0
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I just find it strange..
are people really this helpless???
A quick perusal of page one will tell you this is affirmative. I mean how many times a week does someone start a thread asking how often they should weigh themselves - there are many more examples. People like this must really struggle with life's simple problems.0 -
ncboiler89 wrote: »I just find it strange..
are people really this helpless???
A quick perusal of page one will tell you this is affirmative. I mean how many times a week does someone start a thread asking how often they should weigh themselves - there are many more examples. People like this must really struggle with life's simple problems.
ohhhh thats not nice to say...i bet you get flagged to
roflllll
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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.
Good points. I've been here for 2 years, and I think I'm pretty easygoing and rational about this process, but even I sometimes cringe a little when plans change and I end up going out to eat when I hadn't planned on it so I know I'm going to be over that day or that week.
So I can see how people who are newer to the process can really be concerned about things, but I just wish everyone could understand that ALL of this is estimation. No one is going to know exactly how many calories are in a restaurant meal, there is so much variability. All you can do is be directionally correct and not beat yourself up too much for living and enjoying life.
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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….
I cosign all of this.
I do however agree with @kgeyser that people new to the forums who ask these questions could use a snark free response. Maybe we need a sticky restaurant pointers thread.
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But what will I worry and complain about before, during, and after my restaurant experience?0
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bookworm_847 wrote: »But what will I worry and complain about before, during, and after my restaurant experience?
that is what the drinking is for.0 -
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….
I cosign all of this.
I do however agree with @kgeyser that people new to the forums who ask these questions could use a snark free response. Maybe we need a sticky restaurant pointers thread.
I agree with KG too, to a certain point…
I think some of the "help, is this bad" or "is this OK" threads are a little ridiculous, but I should be used to that by now...0 -
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Flags cleaned up as well as associated post referencing the flags. Oh and other over the top post cleaned.0
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BTW, that All American Thickburger at Carls Jr....I'm totally gonna make that puppy fit my macros this weekend.0
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Also, keep in mind that at some point you and i were complete noobs and we were all probably pretty damn dumb. So asking others for strategies to get lower calorie meals or find ways to calories to increase tdee or another way to not affect progress is not a bad question. And honestly, if providing a response is so difficult then just dont answer.
But i do like the first post. Its after that you guys are slowly killing me, lol.0 -
Good luck, and remember it is just a restaurant not complex physics….
People need to remember that counting calories isn't an exact science (in this particular case at least). The end goal should be to become more aware of what and how much you are consuming. Wholly agree with you.0
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