Eating out panic
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Soul * ( auto correct error above )0
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thorsmom01 wrote: »Soul * ( auto correct error above )
Like slippers? LOL or apparitions?0 -
the only thing I know to do in these situations is get a grilled chicken salad, dressing on the side, hold the cheese and croutons. Well, I've saved a ton of money by not eating out hardly ever, at least.... I wish there were a more reasonable sounding way but if you are on say 1200 cal it's a mine field.0
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the only thing I know to do in these situations is get a grilled chicken salad, dressing on the side, hold the cheese and croutons. Well, I've saved a ton of money by not eating out hardly ever, at least.... I wish there were a more reasonable sounding way but if you are on say 1200 cal it's a mine field.
A dry grilled chicken salad has to be the saddest thing I've ever heard of. Why bother getting out of bed in the morning if that is what you have to look forward to?
Someone needs to introduce you to steak. A nice fillet and some steamed vegetables are easily worked into a 1200 cal day.0 -
When I know I'm eating out, I look at their menu online (most places have that available). If its a chain restaurant, they normally include calories. If not, you can do a little searching and see what is normally the amount of calories for that dish and log it. Also I tend to eat a little less in the day before eating out just because there may be more calories in the meal than what is advertised or estimated.
It's not easy but don't beat yourself up for it. As long as you sub fries for fresh veggies and things like eating only half the meal and saving the rest for later can really keep you within your daily goal.0 -
pollypocket1021 wrote: »the only thing I know to do in these situations is get a grilled chicken salad, dressing on the side, hold the cheese and croutons. Well, I've saved a ton of money by not eating out hardly ever, at least.... I wish there were a more reasonable sounding way but if you are on say 1200 cal it's a mine field.
A dry grilled chicken salad has to be the saddest thing I've ever heard of. Why bother getting out of bed in the morning if that is what you have to look forward to?
Someone needs to introduce you to steak. A nice fillet and some steamed vegetables are easily worked into a 1200 cal day.
This has become my new go to in restaurants. So satisfying, and keeps me full!0 -
prettysoul1908 wrote: »In addition to looking up the menu online, google "serving sizes" for a bunch of image results that give you ways to make visual estimates. Study the charts a bit, maybe print one out and stick it in your purse if necessary. After you estimate things for awhile you'll have a good idea of how to do it and won't panic.
That's a great piece of advice. Thanks.
Also If I'm getting higher calorie fare I eat only half of the serving and save the rest for the next day. That makes a 1400 calorie meal not as impactful for me.
Ya, 99% of the time half an entree is plenty for me. I bring the other half home and weigh it when I eat it later.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »CamillaEdwards wrote: »How is best to deal with eating out? I always panic as I do not know exactly how many calories I am eating. This can sometimes cause me to go off the rails for the rest of the day. Thanks for any help/ suggestions!!
Make your best estimate, based on what you've learned along the way about different foods, portion sizes, etc. And then add 100 calories to that.
That's what I did anyway...
And then make the next right choice for the rest of the day. Don't let it throw off the rest of the day.0 -
sunparakeet wrote: »Why does having one bad meal make you sabotage the rest of your day? The meal out isn't your problem - it's your reaction that is the problem. I mean, if you get a flat tire you fix it and move on, right? Or do you say "Everything is RUINED FOREVER!" and slash the other three?
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Look up the menu beforehand online if you can and pre-plan what you are going to eat. Most places have nutritional information available but if they don't, there is usually a similar choice on the MFP database. This isn't going to be 100% accurate but logging something is much better than not logging at all. Eating out is something I denied myself at the start and quickly became miserable. Once I learnt *HOW* to eat out and remain in control, I loved it
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CamillaEdwards wrote: »How is best to deal with eating out? I always panic as I do not know exactly how many calories I am eating. This can sometimes cause me to go off the rails for the rest of the day. Thanks for any help/ suggestions!!
Look up nutrition info for the restaurant in advance. Decide what fits your goals.
If there is no info available for that place then you could choose something similar from a different restaurant to log and just move on.
Some restarants have a lower calorie menu section you can choose from.
Are you paying attention to the food you log normally? Perhaps you've noticed by now certain foods add more calories than others and some foods satisfy you more than others. Just choose what will probably be lower calorie based on what you normally eat. Watch your portion size. Grilled chicken or vegetables/salad options are available most places. You can skip bread, pasta, rice if you don't want the calories from it. Don't drown your food in an excess of dressings, condiments or sauces. You don't have to choose a triple bacon cheeseburger, fries and a shake if it is going to make you panic.
One meal isn't going to damage your progress even if you go over your calories for the day.
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nutmegoreo wrote: »pollypocket1021 wrote: »the only thing I know to do in these situations is get a grilled chicken salad, dressing on the side, hold the cheese and croutons. Well, I've saved a ton of money by not eating out hardly ever, at least.... I wish there were a more reasonable sounding way but if you are on say 1200 cal it's a mine field.
A dry grilled chicken salad has to be the saddest thing I've ever heard of. Why bother getting out of bed in the morning if that is what you have to look forward to?
Someone needs to introduce you to steak. A nice fillet and some steamed vegetables are easily worked into a 1200 cal day.
This has become my new go to in restaurants. So satisfying, and keeps me full!
Agreed.
I like chicken on my salad. Eat what you want and MYOB as far as what other people eat unless they ask for your opinion/help on it.0 -
Whatever sounds the most boring and unappealing, order that. I kid. Sorta. If you're choosing between grilled salmon with seasonal veggies and the deep fried bacon wrapped pork chop smothered in a butter cheese honey sauce...0
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When I eat out, I look for plain protein and the most veggies I can get. Hummus no pita and salad, veggie burger no bread and roasted veggies. Grilled fish and steamed asparagus. I'm always surprised how it fills me up and how good I feel afterwards. It drives a waiter crazy, and tablemates roll eyes, but I have to look out for me.0
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I'm getting pretty good at being the weirdo at the table. I ask for a to go container at the beginning of the meal, usually half of my meal goes straight in. I deconstruct everything removing things I feel are unhealthy. But then again sometimes I go for it and pay for it all on my recumbent bike at night.0
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OP (and others) there are some great tips in this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10213155/a-guide-to-going-out-to-eat/p1
My approach - one or more of the following tactics.
1. Look at menu ahead of time (I have always enjoyed doing this - gets me excited about the meal)
2. Look for some of the menu options that sound good in the database to get an idea of how much of a calorie budget I might need for that meal. If the restaurant itself isn't listed, I look for similar restaurants with calorie counts.
3. Save up calories in the days leading up to the event (assuming the meal is planned ahead of time). 100 calories under/day gives you an extra 500 cals to work with on that Saturday - I'm maintaining so I can easily bank 200 cals/day to allow for 1000 extra.
4. Work out the day of ( this is normal for me anyway)
5. Eat lighter meals the day of
6. Choose a restaurant in a neighborhood where you can walk around while waiting for your table or after the meal.
7. Choose what sounds really good, and prioritize the courses. If I really want dessert because the restaurant has a pastry chef, then I may forgo an appetizer, the bread course, etc. Or I may just order an appetizer and salad, to allow for wine AND dessert.
8. Whatever happens - I try not to sweat it. In order to gain 1 lb, you would have to be over your maintenance level by 3,500 calories. Even with some of the huge portion sizes and calorie bombs you can find at chain restaurants, that's pretty hard to do.
9. Understand that I may see a temporary increase on the scale from the sodium intake/water retention. Expecting that makes it not hurt so much when you see it the day after the meal.
10. Enjoy it. I love dining out - and I have learned that I can still continue to do that and meet my goals.0 -
CamillaEdwards wrote: »How is best to deal with eating out? I always panic as I do not know exactly how many calories I am eating. This can sometimes cause me to go off the rails for the rest of the day. Thanks for any help/ suggestions!!
If your profile pic is indicative of what you really look like, with very tiny arms, very thin neck, angular face with prominent jawline and clearly defined cheekbones - I'd say you should maybe order a meatball sub at the restaurant with onion rings and fries and a mile high ice cream pie for dessert with hot fudge, cookie crumbles and extra whipped cream.
But instead you say the idea of eating at a restaurant panics you...
Wow. How rude. First off, OP looks normal to me. Second, OP is able to maintain her weight by watching her food consumption. It's the very people who decide that it's okay to eat uncontrolled again after weight loss that gain the weight back.0 -
CamillaEdwards wrote: »How is best to deal with eating out? I always panic as I do not know exactly how many calories I am eating. This can sometimes cause me to go off the rails for the rest of the day. Thanks for any help/ suggestions!!
If your profile pic is indicative of what you really look like, with very tiny arms, very thin neck, angular face with prominent jawline and clearly defined cheekbones - I'd say you should maybe order a meatball sub at the restaurant with onion rings and fries and a mile high ice cream pie for dessert with hot fudge, cookie crumbles and extra whipped cream.
But instead you say the idea of eating at a restaurant panics you...
Wow. How rude. First off, OP looks normal to me. Second, OP is able to maintain her weight by watching her food consumption. It's the very people who decide that it's okay to eat uncontrolled again after weight loss that gain the weight back.
There's a big difference between "eating uncontrolled" and being so obsessive about controlling your food intake that the thought of eating at a restaurant has you panicking. Of the two behaviors, I'm not sure I'd care to bet on which one is less healthy.0 -
If the restaurant does not post their nutrition info online, then stick with salads, grilled meats (or at least nothing fried) and order dressings and sauces on the side. And then just use your best estimate for logging. Or use it as a "cheat meal" and move on. But I get the anxiety...0
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MommyL2015 wrote: »If you are panicking over one meal out, maybe you should re-evaluate your goals? One meal does not make you fat and eating nothing for one meal does not make you skinny. It's a balance over time. Calm down, eat a nice meal and have fun.
One meal can undo a good chunk of your weekly deficit though, so I don't think it's fair to dismiss it... I totally get it. I'd try to stick to chains that give calorie information for that reason, but unfortunately my favorite restaurants are not chains, so there's a lot of guesswork, especially when it's places that don't offer grilled meat and veggies. I don't know why everyone seems to take this for granted. It's really not always the case. When I was traveling, some places didn't even HAVE veggies, and side salads are usually so tasteless that I just want to eat at home instead.
I've been stuck a lot of times because I had no idea what the best option was, and it's pretty frustrating, but I guess that being a foodie, having to order a bunless burger or asking them to grill some chicken for me is sad, when they have a delicious looking menu (especially when I actually have 800 calories to work with, but everything seems to be either 300 calories or 1000).
Anyway, I totally get it...0
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