How do you count calories when you eat out?

JenniferSchaffer1

So the hubby and I went out for Chinese yesterday I fixed my plate and all I could set and think about is how many calories am I eating? I'm I going over board is this not enough? It's not like you can ask in a place where no one speaks good English. The hubby and I enjoy going to unique places too eat a lot of them don't list the calories so what do you do when you are in this type of situation? How do you log it?
I hope I am not the only one that has run into this issue. I hate not knowing how to long my food. I guess since joining mfp I am kinda addicted to logging my food and it helps because I have a eating disorder and this helps me a lot!
Thank you any help is welcome!

ryry_

I basically just estimate and use things I've made at home or eaten at another restraunt that provides nutrition data as a reference point.

tahxirez

I've noticed that with something like chinese, the new restaurant logging feature will estimate the calories of my local place based on the menu. It is definitely not perfect and portions are still a major concern but its a start for estimating. When in doubt I over estimate btw. I'd rather lose a little extra than gain.

MelaniaTrump

I stay away from the fried stuff and the stuff covered in sugar sauces and pray for the best.

Ninkyou

If it's a chain restaurant, you can look up the nutritional information on their website.

For things like chinese and local pizza parlors, I try to find a similar entry in the database and use that.

Cortneyrenee04

I used to log chinese food as 1000 calories and just move on. Depends on what you ate though. For me, I went for the rice and orange chicken. You could have done better than me, though!

murp4069

Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »

I used to log chinese food as 1000 calories and just move on. Depends on what you ate though. For me, I went for the rice and orange chicken. You could have done better than me, though!

I do the same thing with delivery Chinese! Usually a 1000 quick add.

Ready2Rock206

If I can I find the closest thing in the database and log it with my best guess of the amount. Some of the restaurants I go to though I'm not even sure what the heck we're having (Korean - what are all those things?! I have no idea) so a quick add or I just don't even bother logging.