Food logging and eating out ...How do you get around it???

NikaBlake

So it's been a week now and I've been doing pretty well with logging in my food diary. HOWEVER, I had one day out celebrating a special occasion, and was completely stumped when it came to logging my 3 course meal...needless to say the plates did not arrive with nutritional info stamped on the bottom lol. I did a little guess work for that day ( but I'm awful at guess-timating ) and tried to make up for any potential loss by eating a little extra. However it has been bugging me ever since and I just wondered if anyone else has had this and knows a good way to get around it.

JulesMT

Unless you think this is going to be a regular occurrence, I wouldn't worry about it. The important thing is consistency over time - one day won't make or break you.

pondee629

You know what you ordered and ate, right? Look up those items in the food data base, estimate as best you can the amounts of said items and log them. List what, and how much, you had and we could go through this together. Yes, it will be an estimate but almost everything will be.

NikaBlake

Not regular no, but I do have the odd bout of a couple days or a weekend of being busy out and about. Although when buying food to eat on the go you can can simply scan it in (more often than not) it's just the going for a meal thing. It's only been a week though I will see how I've coped in 3 weeks time

NikaBlake

pondee629 wrote: »

You know what you ordered and ate, right? Look up those items in the food data base, estimate as best you can the amounts of said items and log them. List what, and how much, you had and we could go through this together. Yes, it will be an estimate but almost everything will be.

That's what I tried to do but when you type certain foods in there are so many different listed items for 'roast beef' with similar quantities and totally different calorie counts...I just gave up again, I am terrible at guessing weight however I think I coupd get better o er time using this app.

NikaBlake

I'm also terrible at typing today too it seems haha

sardelsa

You just estimate best you can. If you are eating out every night and not seeing the results on the scale with time, then you may be overestimating and then you would account for that, otherwise I wouldn't worry about the occasional night out.
Just make sure you eat dessert after.. that always helps

ohmscheeks

I just do whatever has the closest name to what I had. If you're still losing weight, you're fine. If you're not, adjust.

sweetpea03b

I almost never eat out so this usually isn't a problem for me. However, when I do I just try to find a similar meal in the database. It'll probably be close... and I Err on the side of caution and try to leave a little extra for wiggle room in case it's not that accurate.

mysteps2beauty

If it's really important for you to count, and you know you are going out to dinner in advance I would eat what I could count at breakfast and lunch, then stick to "clean" food when ordering, meaning no sauces. So, steak, chicken or fish with no sauce, cooked in olive oil, if needed. A vegetable with no sauce, or a salad with the dressing on the side, rice if you want a carb and they have it instead of potatoes. Most restaurants have these components even when they specialize in mixed entres like enchiladas, chicken chow mein, etc.

Seems like some work but it is what I would do, if it were that important to me.

jennifer_417

Calorie counting is sometimes as much art as it is science. If you just don't have a clue, look up in the database the closest approximation to what you actually ate, and pick one of the higher-calorie entries, just to be safe.

nikhbee

As @JulesMT said consistency is key. You could estimate the meal information as much as you can and make sure you Keep Logging. I eat a lot of homemade indian meals for which nutrient info is hard to find but the process of logging has greatly helped in portion control in the long run.

NikaBlake

Sorry guys I didn't actually mention I am trying to gain weight...my daily goal is 2540+ calories. I think I'd probably find it easier if I were trying to cut down, instead I'm needing to fit more food (or at least higher calorie meals) in, not enough hours in my day lol.

sardelsa

mysteps2beauty wrote: »

If it's really important for you to count, and you know you are going out to dinner in advance I would eat what I could count at breakfast and lunch, then stick to "clean" food when ordering, meaning no sauces. So, steak, chicken or fish with no sauce, cooked in olive oil, if needed. A vegetable with no sauce, or a salad with the dressing on the side, rice if you want a carb and they have it instead of potatoes. Most restaurants have these components even when they specialize in mixed entres like enchiladas, chicken chow mein, etc.

Seems like some work but it is what I would do, if it were that important to me.

FYI she is trying to gain so... bring on all the sauces!

enterdanger

I'm trying to lose weight so I try not to eat out. If you are trying to gain and you are eating at restaurants you are probably on the right track! I gained all my weight by excessively eating out.

NikaBlake

Yes bring on all the sauces! unfortunately I don't have the time or bank balance to eat out at restaurants excessively but will do a couple times a month or where there's some kind of celebration. I also find cooking meals from scratch a bit more satisfying. Thanks though guys, it has been bugging me alot and I'm just trying to think of how to go about it for next time.