Estimating calories when eating out at local (non-chain) restaurants

knittingbee928

My husband and I prefer to patronize local businesses rather than chains. We usually eat out twice a month. While we don't eat out a lot, when we do I'd like to keep track of calories. Tonight was a good example - we ate out at a French bistro and I ordered potatoes au gratin, a Croque Monsieur with Gruyere cheese on a toasted baguette, and a small salad with a mustard vinaigrette.

I know the ingredients, but only generally, so how on Earth do I determine the calories?

I looked up the potatoes in Allrecipes (1 serving size was 350 calories) and the Croque Monsieur in MFP (550 calories). I got frustrated and didn't bother with the salad, but at the restaurant I figured all in all it was about 1000 calories. MFP added up the potatoes and the sandwich to 900 calories without the salad.

I still feel like I'm guessing.

How do others handle eating at a local restaurant? Do they estimate calories by eyeballing their meal? Or do most people just eat at chain places? Or do they say "Forget it... I'm having a cheat day"?

The one thing I did do was plan ahead and ate a light breakfast of eggs, fruit, and avocado, and a cup of kefir with a handful of blueberries for lunch, totaling 500 calories.

likeadistantmemory

i usually just over-guesstimate and assume they use a ton of oil. also intuitive eating really comes in handy when it comes to eating out, just don't overeat and it shouldn't be a huge hindrance, especially if you only eat out twice a month

unphogettable

I do exactly as you do. Look up the dish, select the one that seems most calorically appropriate for the portion that I ate, and move on hoping for the best. Haha.

It hasn't affected my weight loss, I suspect because it's relatively infrequent occasion at this point. Just monitor it, and if your rate of weight loss is slowing down, know that under-estimation of restaurant meals may be the culprit. Until that happens, I would carry on estimating the best that you can without worry.

knittingbee928

I have to say, these responses are a relief... I'm perusing the forum learning more about this (I'm 35 and never dealt with weight loss until a recent surgery & subsequent weight gain) and it seems that many folks advocate weighing their food and caution that unless you weigh your food, you're logging inaccurately.

Bummer.

That's a really daunting prospect for me, and also perhaps unnecessary since I only want to lose 10-13 lbs or so? I hope? It's good to hear that not everyone weighs everything they eat.

There's nothing wrong with weighing food - several in my family do it - but it's just a relief to hear that it's not going to throw me off entirely to make an educated guesstimate a couple times a month.

Interestingly, I've been doing MFP for a little less than a week and although I'm pretty sure my logs aren't 100% accurate, I can tell a difference in how much less I'm snacking, choosing healthy foods when I do snack, and bypassing junk food altogether. And I'm hungrier. I guess maybe it doesn't have to be 100% accurate to be effective?

swift13b

Not many places post their nutritional info online here in Australia, even large chains, so I usually just guess. I prefer to find a similar meal that's already in the database and usually pick one that's higher in calories, just as an extra buffer. I find that easier than trying to guess every individual ingredient, since you don't really know the quantities. If it's something I use often, I'll have something saved in my diary to use every time (ie. there's one entry for chips/fries I always use unless it's somewhere I can get nutrition info like McDonald's).

unphogettable

knittingbee928 wrote: »

I have to say, these responses are a relief... I'm perusing the forum learning more about this (I'm 35 and never dealt with weight loss until a recent surgery & subsequent weight gain) and it seems that many folks advocate weighing their food and caution that unless you weigh your food, you're logging inaccurately.

We-ell, they are right in saying that. Weighing your food is by far the most accurate way to log what you're eating. I weigh out my food when I eat at home with some exceptions (like single serve "entree" meals, for example). It sounds scary at first, but it's really not daunting as soon as you get used to it. What I do is 1) plate/bowl goes on the scale, dump your stuff in, snap a photo to remember the amount 2) go back to MFP app once my tummy is full to log it. Takes about 20 extra seconds usually, so it's a worthy tradeoff for me for peace of mind I think that's why most do it as well. If you can prevent a plateau or gain, hey why not?

(That's not to say plateaus and weight gains still don't happen... but at least you can take solace in knowing that it's probably water retention/hormones/whatever and not actual fat gain. Because you'll have meticulously measured proof that you've been eating under your calories each day!)

I try not to stress myself out about estimations, though. I still do it occasionally, and it hasn't affected my progress negatively. But everyone's experience is different, if you're not seeing the results you want, then tighten up the logging

middlehaitch

You are doing fine with a best guess.
As you get use to weighing your food you will get a better idea of your portion sizes when you eat out.
I too like to eat local not chain so do exactly as you do, but I also put aside the amount of food that by eyeballing is more than my usual portion.

Cheers, h.

njaalla

Yeah, a good guess is the best you can do.

I usually eat everything they serve me, though. I was raised that way, that it's polite to eat everything that's on the plate. Of course when I'm really full, I don't continue eating, but portions at most restaurants aren't usually that big.

I don't weigh my food all the time, sometimes I just estimate. I for example eat lots of potatoes, so by now I know how much a potato weighs and just count how many I eat. Or when I eat something which comes in a package - let's say quark - then I just estimate how much I ate based on how much I took out of the package. I don't think it's possible to always be 100% accurate anyway.