Do you get freaked out about eating out?

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  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Not freaked out.
    I ate out 1 meal a week. I looked up nutritional info and planned in advance what I would order. I didn't have trouble finding something that was 500 calories or less most places. Regular burger, side salad with vinaigrette dressing, unsweetened iced tea for example. If the portions were large I would share with someone else or bring half home for the next day.
    I'm not eating out now to just to save money.

    One day, one meal doesn't doom you. Think about your choices and do your best.
  • TrishSeren
    TrishSeren Posts: 587 Member
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    Sometimes, but I like to enjoy eating out so I try not to worry about it as one meal wouldn't make a huge difference.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,191 Member
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    I have in the past. I am much more laid back about it now.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    I rarely freak out:).

    It's just food. Pick something on the menu that would be fairly easy to guesstimate the calories. I always add 1/4 more of a portion just in case.

  • Aureilie
    Aureilie Posts: 213 Member
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    I don't freak out, but I do try my best to pre-plan my meal before I get to the restaurant or place a delivery order. Sometimes it's more spur of the moment and I have to do some calculations while the server is bringing the drink order but luckily MFP is easily accessible on my phone.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    No. I don't freak out over food. It's just food.
  • daz2270
    daz2270 Posts: 73 Member
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    Used to at first. Now I just assume 1 meal won't make or break anything. That said if I'm planning on splurging I will have smaller breakfast and lunch and try to fit some exercise in beforehand to balance it out.
  • whiskey5jda2008
    whiskey5jda2008 Posts: 115 Member
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    Only if I can't find the dish I want in the Database
  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
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    We eat out or get take out pretty frequently. I try to log as accurately as possible, and there always seems to be something in the database that's somewhat close. My rule of thumb is if in doubt, don't eat it all. Leave myself just a bit hungry and take the rest home.

    No regrets so far :)
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,034 Member
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    No I do not.

    But then I am a fan of estimating and lazy logging - works for me and bonus is meals of unknown calorie count dont freak me out, I just do my best guestimate
  • iofred
    iofred Posts: 488 Member
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    ... probably depends on the type of restaurant you want to eat out ... what I noticed is that as part of this whole process I have become selective of where I eat, but on the other hand, as long as the "eat out" is not a daily occurrence, and the rest of the time I am a good boy I treat it as a treat :)
  • katarinakolo
    katarinakolo Posts: 78 Member
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    I'm embarrassed to admit, but I find going out to eat very distressing because it ruins my caloric intake for the day. It also makes me feel overly full to the point of nausea and discomfort. I'm normally not such a freak about things, but I avoid going out to eat because it's not worth my emotional rollercoaster.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
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    Nope. I just make sure to plan around it, if it's a wings Wednesday. I make sure to keep my calories down during the day and aim for a bit more in the gym or during the day. It's all about compromise and planning ahead
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
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    I don't get "freaked out" per se, but I do extra thinking around it if I have notice. I'll usually do an extra cardio session that morning, or just be mindful about what I'm eating. If the meal is too caloric to fit my goals that day, I'll just eat half and bring the other half home (example: Tuscan salad at East Side Marios was 580 calories yesterday! One Bellini was 300, and I had TWO!!! I drank the booze, and brought half the salad home..lol ).
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    No... but then I don't eat out very much.
  • foxandflora
    foxandflora Posts: 183 Member
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    I definitely can get freaked out; however, I also think if you want to be mindful of what you're eating... think about your portions. Don't feel embarrassed or concerned eating half and taking half home (especially if you checked out the nutritional information online and the meals are heavy, which in many restaurants they are). My beau and I order Chinese every Monday to watch this show we watch together. I used to eat the whole container and that was awesome. Now, I eat half and eat the rest the next day. Still enjoying it but 32oz of tofu in General Tso's sauce doesn't have to be a total meal!

    Last note, because I always do this, if you are starting to "fear" eating or anything, just make sure you are being mindful of actually eating. You do not need to weigh every single thing and know it exactly right every single time. That can be a tricky mindset (read: I have/had an Eating Disorder and "logging" and "measuring" and "being freaked out" about not having full control over what I was eating was the slippery slope, if you will.) Not saying you are developing an ED! Just a generic PSA!!!! >.<
  • MsAmandaNJ
    MsAmandaNJ Posts: 1,248 Member
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    mojo75 wrote: »
    looking at the menu you realize just how many calories you were taking in before you started to take notice.

    Totally this - it's disturbing, but once those numbers are in my mind, it's easy to only eat half the meal, taking it slow.

    I'm comfortable going out to eat, most often I look at the menu online before going, then check the nutritional info.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    JinjoJoey wrote: »
    I wouldn't care so much about eating out if the nutrition information they provided was actually accurate. The problem is, they're not weighing your fries, meats, breads and toppings... So you have no idea if what you're logging is even accurate, regardless of the info they provide. That guy at Taco Bell isn't measuring the meat, cheese and sauce he throws in your burrito, so that 400 calorie burrito could be 600 calories for all you know.

    It's a major annoyance for me and I usually just avoid eating out, unless I can get a salad from somewhere. It's hard to get into caloric trouble with a salad, so long as you don't have them dump dressing all over it.

    Actually, in terms of measuring the guy at Taco Bell *might* be more consistent than the independent taco stand. Big corporations try to keep portions consistent, in order to cut wastage and make sure all Taco Bell products are pretty much the same.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    I don't really freak out but I do stress over how to make it work. Initially I was only at 1200 calories. I'm up to 1400 calories now so it's a bit easier to fit something in, but in general, there's really not too many places I can go without blowing out my daily calorie count. I do pretty well with Panera and one or two other places, but that's it. This past Monday I went to Pei Wei (which is the counter service version of PF Chang's). Anyway, I tried to quickly find something not too offending. I got a "small plate" appetizer of traditional lettuce wraps and I also ordered one vegetable spring roll. The lettuce wraps themselves were 770 calories, spring roll at 120 calories. The worst part was that as calorically dense as that meal was, I was not satiated at all afterwards. It was a frustrating day. So, I do sort of stress out over what to order and sometimes I just decline going certain places as I know I can't do well there. Maybe I'll do better when I'm in maintenance.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I've been on MFP for almost 4 years and I still have a love/hate relationship with going out to eat. I used to LOVE it. Now... it's so stressful! My favorite restaurants are not chains so there's never any nutrition info, but you don't really need to see it to figure out how many calories are in most dishes... and it's typically a lot. You notice that pretty much everything comes in cream sauces or is fried or has 300 calories worth of mayo in it or whatnot...

    I only go out now when I crave something specific and make room for it... otherwise, it's just too frustrating trying to find something that won't break the calorie bank. I'm almost never satisfied on 'half a meal' like some people are - when you consider that 300 of your meal calories are from sauces or butter... it doesn't always leave much real food, and I usually need volume to be satisfied - and the places I tend to go to don't really have huge portions to begin with... and I really dislike having to waste a lot of calories on something I didn't really want in the first place. Also I'm almost never in the mood for salads (which are always way more calories than you'd think anyway) and see no point in spending $15 for grilled chicken and veggies that I could make at home (with half the oil and butter too).

    I also can't stand side salads and cardboard lettuce, and considering that it's the only low calorie side option in a lot of places... bleh.

    Honestly, I typically save eating out for when I'm hormonal and have all the cravings now... and I make it breakfast or lunch as much as possible (I'm a 'hungrier during the day' kind of person and going out for dinner typically means that unless I just have a bowl of soup and stay hungry, I'll be over).

    And yes it did make my last vacations a total nightmare.

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