Eating out...Do you just stay in?

thelatecomer

Hi all. Do you turn down invitations to eat out with friends in order to stay on track? At the moment I have a meal out about once a fortnight and as weight loss has stalled, I'm
tempted just to just say no to friends. Even if I make an apparently healthy choice it's impossible to work out calories - and even though I estimate I must be way off as weight loss has stopped. I guess I just need to stay in for a while. Does anyone else feel like they have lost a significant part of their social life through dieting?

cruisin99

I find eating out ends weight loss unless you stick to a salad and even then they are normally high in calories. A regular meal stops me for at least three days.

CafeRacer808

Personally, I still eat out with friends but the logging does gets tricky at times. If the restaurant we go to isn't already in the database (and it usually isn't), I just do a database search for comparable foods and choose the entry with the highest calorie hit. Seems to be working for me so far.

leanjogreen18

No way!!! I must eat out:). Part of my social life.

I Pack half for home right away as soon as your order comes, then I estimated another 1\2 portion in mfp just to be safe on what I did eat. I always see an uptick on the scales because restaurant food is usually high in sodium.

Eta- no stopping of weight loss so far 6 months in and I eat out once or twice a week.

JaydedMiss

I save up extra calories for meals like that and then i eat as little as possible besides the meal/drinks to make up for it that day. Definatly not a long term solution but neither is refusing to eat out ever with people. Rather walk a few more hours that week and cut out the chocolate i tend to eat late night to make room for a girls night out or a date. Its all in your priorities and my priorities are largely still social life

TR0berts

No. I just try to save some Calories, monitor weight for the next few days, and adjust if necessary.

chocolate_owl

I eat out. I just choose to be very patient about weight loss. Time with my friends and date nights with my husband are very important to me. I find portion control to be key - if we go somewhere super fancy portions are usually pretty reasonable, but if the restaurant has big portions I'll put half in a box and take it home.

Other things you can do:
-Cut 100 calories more per day. If you eat out once a week, you have 600 extra calories to spend on dinner.
-Do a longer workout on days you're going out to dinner.
-Skip lunch or fast on days you're going out to dinner (but only do this if you know it won't affect you negatively).
-Split meals with friends. My BFF and I used to do this all the time when we were both losing weight.
-Look at the menu online ahead of time. Find an approximate calorie count in the database, then add 20%.
-Skip the alcohol.
-Sub out the sides for lower-cal options. Ask for steamed veggies instead of mashed potatoes, for example.

As to this:

cruisin99 wrote: »

I find eating out ends weight loss unless you stick to a salad and even then they are normally high in calories. A regular meal stops me for at least three days.

Not seeing a loss for three days is really not a big deal. A meal out probably has more sodium in it than one you'd make at home, so you'll retain water. That has nothing to do with your fat loss. Admittedly I'm only losing 5 lbs right now and I'm aiming for 1/2 lb a week, but I usually don't see a loss for 2-3 weeks and then will see a big drop all at once. You'll make yourself crazy in the long run if you expect the scale to go down every single day, because eventually you'll hit a point where that doesn't happen.

Ninkyou

Absolutely not. Prepare ahead of time. Save some calories, maybe get some extra exercise and then enjoy your night out.

thelatecomer

Thank you all for your replies, very helpful. For a start I need to tighten up my logging-now I'm nearing goal, I don't have much deficit to play with. Once I can be sure I am logging accurately I can save some calories for restaurant meals. Luckily I don't drink alcohol or I'd be gaining weight, not just static! What are your experiences with losing water weight? I had a meal out today which was most definitely high in sodium, how long until the water weight will subside (I will be going back on "normal" diet tomorrow!)

Lounmoun

No change in social life.
I ate out once a week at restaurants with no problems.
I don't eat at other people's homes very often. It was never a thing before I started losing weight though. If I was invited somewhere I would feel comfortable going.

You could do thinks like eat lighter for your other meals that day or lighter the day before or after. You could add more exercise those weeks.

CafeRacer808

thelatecomer wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies, very helpful. For a start I need to tighten up my logging-now I'm nearing goal, I don't have much deficit to play with. Once I can be sure I am logging accurately I can save some calories for restaurant meals. Luckily I don't drink alcohol or I'd be gaining weight, not just static! What are your experiences with losing water weight? I had a meal out today which was most definitely high in sodium, how long until the water weight will subside (I will be going back on "normal" diet tomorrow!)

Regarding water weight, it varies from person to person. It usually takes me about 2 days to lose any water weight I've gained from a high sodium day. Drinking plenty of water helps.

amusedmonkey

Of course I eat out. Assuming a deficit of 500 calories a day, it's very doubtful the guesstimations of your nights out are off by 7000 calories each night out. It's more likely something in your daily life needs to be fine tuned.

jemhh

No. I lost 50 lbs eating out 3-4x/wk. You don't have to do it that often but I think that eating out is good practice for life after weight loss. You need to develop estimating skills and methods and want to socialize.

dwulet130

thelatecomer wrote: »

! What are your experiences with losing water weight? I had a meal out today which was most definitely high in sodium, how long until the water weight will subside (I will be going back on "normal" diet tomorrow!)

I know it sounds backwards, but drink water to lose water weight. When your body realizes that you're not super dehydrated with sodium, it will release what it's holding on it. Good luck!

Tacklewasher

@thelatecomer The most important question I've been wanting to ask since you joined the forum, is that a Westie in your picture?

JaydedMiss

jemhh wrote: »

No. I lost 50 lbs eating out 3-4x/wk. You don't have to do it that often but I think that eating out is good practice for life after weight loss. You need to develop estimating skills and methods and want to socialize.

This. I eat out every sunday and atleast once or twice through the week. Im down nearing 8- pounds in 9 months (231-155) Just move more or eat less later, Find lower calorie options (Simple as a value burger from wendys and a black coffee for me vs. a big meal with a full calorie soft drink)

Still get out, Averages to one of my meals calories anyway Sit in restaurants definatly are harder but im making the point no need to cut out EVERYTHING. Theres a way around everything

crzycatlady1

I ate out several times a week during my weight loss phase and I still eat out several times a week now in maintenance. Hasn't been an issue fitting it in.

thelatecomer

@Tacklewasher - yes it is. She is a 9yo Westie born and bred in Scotland. She is awesome!

Asher_Ethan

I will bank calories from the week so I can indulge a little eating it with friends.
Tomorrow night I'm going out with friends and I have about 1000 calories extra saved up for that meal. It will probably go to all the drink though.

thelatecomer

Hmm, you all seem to manage eating out, I'm obviously doing it wrong! Plan is to tighten up
the logging and as suggested, move more! Thanks all.

sammyliftsandeats

If the place you are going to has online nutrition information available, I find that to be a big part of my success. For example, I am going out for dinner tonight at a steak restaurant. They had the menu and nutritional information online so I preplanned my meal and prelogged it to make it fit my calories. Then I planned the rest of my day around those calories.