Tracking food using MFP: What do you guys put down if you go out for dinner/lunch?

Bhyde21

Some times (not often) I would like to go out with my mates for a meal (Healthy obviously) but i feel now that i'm using MFP i don't want to because i want to always keep track and if i go out for dinner i have no idea if i'm over my limit etc. And i have nothing to put into the dinner section.

How do you guys deal with this?

marsinah1

I dislike eating out for that same reason. Even though I know it's not going to be an accurate count, if the restaurant isn't able to provide nutritional information I pay attention to the components of the meal and log guesstimates of their quantities. Then I usually add in a few grams of butter or oil because I expect any restaurant food to have extra fat in it. I still won't know if I'm at or over my limit, but having some attempt to fill in the sections makes me feel better.

simply_bubbz

I agree with marsinah!!! What i do is if the restaurant provides nutritional info on their website I log it and then calculate about 10% and add that as well to cover the butter and other hidden ingredients that the restaurant probably didn't calculate...So for example if my meal was 100 calories I would log 110 just to cover myself. if it's a smaller chain restaurant that don't provide nutritional info I just find something similar and log that

ki4eld

After a few months of weighing everything, you'll get a good feeling for how much is on your plate when you go out. Check the database though... there have been some foods in there that I figured wouldn't be.

Ok, I carry a purse and a small scale, but I'm weird.

LaurensE1

This is always a difficult situation. I try to estimate a bit and if you go to a big chain, usually the meals can be found using the search function. So I add those or estimate them if they cannot be found.

TavistockToad

Bhyde21 wrote: »

Some times (not often) I would like to go out with my mates for a meal (Healthy obviously) but i feel now that i'm using MFP i don't want to because i want to always keep track and if i go out for dinner i have no idea if i'm over my limit etc. And i have nothing to put into the dinner section.

How do you guys deal with this?

look up the menu online to get the calories or guestimate from the database if the restaurant doesn't have calories listed.

Machka9

Bhyde21 wrote: »

Some times (not often) I would like to go out with my mates for a meal (Healthy obviously) but i feel now that i'm using MFP i don't want to because i want to always keep track and if i go out for dinner i have no idea if i'm over my limit etc. And i have nothing to put into the dinner section.

How do you guys deal with this?

I look up the restaurant in advance and see if they've got a menu, and better yet, see if they list calories.

If they do, great. I make my choice based on calories.

If they don't, I'll check the MFP database to see if someone else has made a similar selection and has figured out what the calories might be. If that doesn't work, or if that seems off, then I look up recipes for that selection, and I estimate high.

If the restaurant does not have a menu, then I make what seems like the best selection on the menu when I get there, and then look it up on MFP or recipes, etc. after.

And I exercise ... if I know I'm going out, I try to rack up 300 or 400 or more exercise calories. Cycling for an hour or more usually does it.

Carnhot

Eating out with friends "sometimes (not often)" won't derail your progress even if you can't log accurately. The resentment which might grow as a result of NOT going out and missing that social time might.

emmooney235

I check the website first, then I'll Google it (sometimes works), then I look for something similar in the database. For example, Mondays are $5 for 3 tacos at Whole Foods. Since you build it to order there isn't nutritional info available, so I went straight to the database and I think I found something similar. I also pick the entry with the highest calorie count (depending on how I built it).

Bonny132

Google is my friend, first I google the restaurant, then the meal if the restaurant website does not have the nutritional information I need. To be on the safe side, I ensure there is plenty of uneaten exercise calories that I "write off" i.e. ensure stays uneaten so I can eat my meal and enjoy it. Then again I am making this into a lifestyle and not looking at it as a diet. Diets do not work for me.

I do however before we go out for a meal, do my homework, look at the choices and make a shortlist over which choices are less calorific, and ensure I add on extra calories to my planned meal to account for a glass or two of wine with my OH or friends. This way I do not feel deprived but always in control, and I still track everything.

A friend suggested getting a copy of the WeightWatchers eating out guide as it lists points wise all the major chains and meals, so you know if you go with low points options you can eat out whilst making semi healthy choices.

dutchandkiwi

Due to work and because we like it we eat out on a regular basis and I have a number of strategies.
I only drink water saves me bunch of calories right there and then.

Then: If a restaurant has an on line menu I will research what I can eat within limits and prelog it with approx 10% over. I will stick to what I logged.
Another trick is to only eat a main, or order a second starter as a main - more than enough food usually.
I scrape off sauces as much as I can.
When I oder a salad I always ask for the dressing on the side to allow for a minimal qty IF I feel like having any (sort of unlearned the use of dressings now)
If I know well in advance that I will be eating out an possibly going over - I ensure a deeper deficit over the week, so that it balances out (I work with a 5 day moving average)

So far, 580 days on the go, I have had no issues with eating out.

ultrahoon

As others have said, if they don't list the info on a website, I find a close match, and err on the side of caution when it comes to the serving size. It's almost never the minimum amount.