Estimating calories for restaurant foods

rlgreen2

I was wondering the approach people take when eating out and the restaurant doesn't offer a nutrition guide. My technique thus far has been to look at several sources via google and also see if there are comparable items on the MFP database, and then use my best estimate. I generally try to err on the higher side if it's difficult to get a consistent number across sources. But, I'm worried about the accuracy of this (i.e., calories logged end up not being accurate), and also, if I estimate too high, then maybe I will end up not eating as many calories/nutrients as I should throughout the day. Example, today I had shrimp salad for lunch. Using the technique described above I put 282 calories (and then added more for the veges). A friend I ate with, however, thinks this is too low. Advice? Thank you!

FGTisme

I try to think of similar restaurants that do have nutritional info and log that. Or, I break each component down in the meal based on approximate portion sizes and log that. If I order a protein of any kind, I usually add a couple teaspoons of butter in my logging, as restaurants usually slather melted butter on meat, chicken, seafood, vegetables etc.
Was the shrimp grilled, baked, fried, in a creamy sauce? That can make a huge difference in the calorie totals.

PinkPixiexox

rlgreen2 wrote: »

I was wondering the approach people take when eating out and the restaurant doesn't offer a nutrition guide. My technique thus far has been to look at several sources via google and also see if there are comparable items on the MFP database, and then use my best estimate. I generally try to err on the higher side if it's difficult to get a consistent number across sources. But, I'm worried about the accuracy of this (i.e., calories logged end up not being accurate), and also, if I estimate too high, then maybe I will end up not eating as many calories/nutrients as I should throughout the day. Example, today I had shrimp salad for lunch. Using the technique described above I put 282 calories (and then added more for the veges). A friend I ate with, however, thinks this is too low. Advice? Thank you!

I do the bolded and it's worked really well for me :]

It won't be 100% accurate - it really won't. But it's definitely better to log something than log nothing at all.

I'd say you're fine with the shrimp salad - you don't have to be spot on.