How to log a meal at a restaurant

Tania_181

Hi everyone, I'm going to a Chinese restaurant today and I'd appreciate any advice on how to long the meal on MFP. It's a local restaurant so not already on here and obviously I won't be able to weight out the ingredients. Also, any tips on what sort of meal I should go for? Rice/noodles, ramen?

lilithsrose

Personally, I just estimate the best I can. There are a lot of basic Chinese dishes already in MFP.

Try to avoid deep fried/battered chicken dishes (like general tso, sweet & sour, etc.) to cut back on calories. I usually go for chicken or shrimp with mixed vegetables, with a side of rice or noodles. Steamed White Rice is your best option as far as sides go, but honestly, get what you like. You can always eat half of your rice or noodles and save the rest for later. In my experience, you usually get 2 or 3 cups of rice with your meal. 1 cup of rice is roughly the size of a baseball.

Soups are also a good way to go. They're generally pretty low cal and you can eat a bowl of soup and half your regular meal, then save the rest of your meal for another time.

WinoGelato

Tania_181 wrote: »

Hi everyone, I'm going to a Chinese restaurant today and I'd appreciate any advice on how to long the meal on MFP. It's a local restaurant so not already on here and obviously I won't be able to weight out the ingredients. Also, any tips on what sort of meal I should go for? Rice/noodles, ramen?

What do you normally order at a chinese restaurant? I would think of a couple of things that sound good to you and then look in the database for similar entries - you could even select one from a chain like PF Changs or Panda Express that would have published nutrition info if you find something similar.

Regardless of what you order, there will likely be a big hit of sodium, so expect to see a temporary spike in scale weight from water retention, even if you don't exceed your calories.

serindipte

I love the Chinese buffet! I eliminated the rice/noodles because I was only eating them because they were there. They weren't a favorite. I generally avoid the fried options, but not always. It depends on how many calories I saved up or how much I want it. I log as closely as possible, guesstimating it, then go on with life. I don't do it often so it isn't going to derail me even if I do load up on rice and fried foods. Oh, and I switched to water from sweet tea. They only have Diet Pepsi and I don't care for that, so didn't want to waste calories in a drink.

kgirlhart

I just estimate the best I can. I rarely eat at a Chinese buffet (my husband doesn't like it and we don't do buffets often) so when I do I still get a little fried rice and what ever foods I want. I know I'll probably go over some, but it is literally once or twice a year. We only have one Chinese restaurant here and it is not a chain, so I just use entries from the database that I think are close.

Tania_181

Thank you for all the advice, very helpful!