How to deal with dining out?

jen_bush

I always log everything gram for gram - if it's in my mouth, it's in the diary, however, I don't know how to deal eating at restaurants that don't offer nutritional values/kcal for their food. How do you deal with this?

I try and find similar foods and choose the higher calorie ones from the food lists just to be sure, but it really is stressing me out not knowing exactly how much I've eaten.

5stringjeff

That's typically what I do. I also try to eat foods that are a little lower in calories (salads, smaller plates, etc.) when I eat out.

Hollisg429

It is one of the hardest parts for me. I have came to the conclusion to do exactly what you do, log as best you can. Eating out unfortunately is a part of our life, birthdays, anniversary parties etc. We are all in this battle for life. I exercise a bit more on days I'm going out and eat low cal most of day. Don't be so hard on yourself. This is for life, so don't miss out on any of it

Francl27

I estimate too, although after 3 years I don't think I'm completely far off, honestly (I can compare to things I've made or eaten at places that give nutrition information).

But yeah, I can't say that I enjoy eating out as much as I used to anymore.

mbaker566

many chains have info online.

otherwise, i try to go with a plain chicken breast-something, like salad or sandwich and have veggies for sides.

jen_bush

moyer566 wrote: »

many chains have info online.

otherwise, i try to go with a plain chicken breast-something, like salad or sandwich and have veggies for sides.

I always check and it's not a chain I'm going to, so I know 100% there is no info available for the specific place.

elaineamj

I just choose an entry that seems reasonably accurate. It's a huge guesstimate and I have to do it all the time. It hasn't affected me a whole lot though since I usually overestimate a small bit. I try and take entries from places like Chillis or Sodexo where I expect food to have higher calories.

After that, I try my best not to stress the math. I either go out to eat/get free food at work/eat at a friend's place about once a week and deal with this regularly. I have been dropping almost exactly 1 lb a week for the last few weeks - always surprises me because I know I estimate and eyeball stuff when I go out. On the positive side, other than 1x or 2x a week, I cook at home and that all gets weighed and measured.

sijomial

I pick what I will enjoy and estimate. One meal in context of your diet isn't worth stressing about.

laur357

See if you can find a similar entree from a chain restaurant and log the chain's nutritional information. Local pizza shop - track Pizza Hut or Papa John's, etc. I do that pretty frequently because I very rarely go to chains. You can check out a picture of the chain restaurant's meal and see if the portion size and ingredients are roughly the same. It's not super accurate, but it's something!

jemhh

sijomial wrote: »

I pick what I will enjoy and estimate. One meal in context of your diet isn't worth stressing about.

Also, view this as practicing for long term good eating habits. Are you going to log every single meal for the next 60 or 70 years of your life? Chances are that you aren't, even if you do keep up logging on a regular basis. At some point you need to learn how to look at a plate of food and make an estimate either of its calories or whether it is too much, just right, or not enough. That takes practice and there's no time like the present to get in that practice.

cbelc2

I make it a game. 1 Lean protein, 2 veggie or fruit servings, a whole grain if available. No bread or butter or 'baste' or sugar. I drink water or unsweetened tea or black coffee. I'm always surprised how yummy it is and how satisfied I am afterwards. And I log it.