Conscious Decisions Before Eating Out

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jamszy
jamszy Posts: 123 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I don't know about any of you, but eating out has taken a toll on me. During my first bout of weight loss as a bachelor, I vowed to not eat out and stuck to it and lost 100+ pounds. However, married and family life is a different ball game (gained 50 of that back). I've made incorrect choices eating out and continue to go over on calories. The problem is that I never consciously realize my mistake until after I've eaten. What changes can anyone recommend? I could probably create a notification around meal times, but eating out can be spontaneous.
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Replies

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    Are you overeating? Or just generally making bad choices? The database contains info for most restaurants. Or look up calorie counts on the restaurant's website when you're looking at the menu.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    I work my calories over 7 days.

    I save 200 or so calories from nights I'm not socialising to use when I am.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I just had to learn to order a dinner salad with no dressing, avoid the bread and croutons, and drink water on those occasions when my spouse wants to dine out. Sometimes, my calories situation allows me to have a regular entree', but often, it doesn't.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    What types of restaurants do you go to? Some have calorie information available (or do online).

    Otherwise, grilled or roasted or broiled meat/fish with vegetables is usually pretty safe. I assume large portions and more added fat than I would at home, but it still works out okay.

    Restaurant burgers will be high cal, usually pasta will be (depending on restaurant, preparation, size), fries obviously will be. Salad dressing at restaurants is high cal, you can ask for oil and vinegar instead normally. Appetizers and dessert will be high cal.

    These are all averages, depends on the place, of course.

    I went out 1-2x per week when losing, sometimes was more indulgent than others, but it didn't ever mess up my losses.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    I try to choose what I'm going to eat before I go to a restaurant. If it's a local place and doesn't have nutrition facts, I try to find a similar item to log that's from a chain. My favorite choice from a calorie standpoint is a grilled/roasted/steamed meat with vegetables. I love me a good steak, and at places like Outback, that's actually one of the best options in terms of calories.

    None of the estimates are going to be perfect, and so going less frequently is going to be the biggest benefit in the long run.
  • EHollander89
    EHollander89 Posts: 169 Member
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    I like to look online to see the menu before going out to eat. I can look over the choices and decide what might fit into my calorie goals. Some menus have nutritional information available printed on them or the website might have a tab for nutritional info. While the numbers may not be exact, it at least gives you an idea of calories in different food items.

    I'm also a fan of saving up a few extra calories for the weekend since I know I'm more likely to eat out or have a few drinks on the weekend. I enjoy eating out, so I try not to ruin the experience by overthinking on the calories. If you end up overeating, get back on track the next day. Looking at the weekly average view in the nutrition tab on the mobile app helps put things in perspective.
  • jamszy
    jamszy Posts: 123 Member
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    Many places we go are not national chains and don't have nutritional information on MFP. The issue is after I've eaten, I only THEN realize I haven't done myself any good!
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    If you know - in the morning - that you're going out for dinner later on, eat a bit less during the day.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    jamszy wrote: »
    Many places we go are not national chains and don't have nutritional information on MFP. The issue is after I've eaten, I only THEN realize I haven't done myself any good!

    Yeah, none of the places I go to have information either. You just have to remember to think about making good choices before you order.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
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    Eating out is my downfall as well. It's just a lot easier to grab something at a restaurant on my way home from work, than it is to prepare something at home.

    My word is "planning".
    - If I'm eating out, I'll try to plan on certain restaurants where I can get something 'healthier' and if I can, plan ahead what i'm going to order and stick to it.
    - I try to plan my weekend schedule better so that I'm at home at meal times instead of out and about at meal times.
    - I try to eat out only once or twice a week. Anything more than that just ruins me.
    - I try to plan ahead so that I have things as prepared as much as possible for cooking at home, especially if something needs to be thawed out, but also what's on the menu.

    Planning, for me, helps me guard against that mindless eating. Not that I'm all that good at it, but I'm getting better
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    Some of my strategies
    * KNOW that I'm going out, and plan the rest of my meals for that day around it;
    * I NEVER eat order a full meal with sides because American dining portions are ALWAYS way too much food.
    When we go out, my husband and I typically split one meal--maybe with one extra side salad added, and it's always plenty for two people. On the rare occasions that I eat out with someone other than my spouse, I will often get just an appetizer, or I will eat just half of the meal and ask for a box.
    * I'm the "everything on the side" queen. Sauce on the side, butter on the side, dressing on the side. And no, I don't care if it insults the kitchen. I don't want their damned butter and oil-laden dressing all over my damned food.
    * * I take pictures of of my plates so I can make a better attempt at logging rather than trying to remember what I ate (everybody just thinks I'm taking facebook foodie pix)
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    I save up some extra calories to bank, if I know I am going out to eat. I also will look up the restaurant's nutritional info on line if it's available. If it's not, I will still try to plan the meal and what I will order ahead of time.
  • jamszy
    jamszy Posts: 123 Member
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    Thank you all for your replies, I planned in advance for tonight and I'm trying to be very mindful before I order!
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
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    Decide where to go before you go out and see if they have websites or nutritional information available by calling. If you are unsure order safe things veggies and meat.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    jamszy wrote: »
    Many places we go are not national chains and don't have nutritional information on MFP. The issue is after I've eaten, I only THEN realize I haven't done myself any good!

    If that's the case, then there isn't a lot you can do other than work on being more mindful before you order. It sounds like most of your eating out is with family (as opposed to work/travel dinners)? Can you ask your wife to give a gentle reminder as you are looking at the menu?

    Regarding local restaurants... ask if they have calorie info available, or just use a similar entry from a national chain. My wife and I go to a lot of local italian restaurants that don't have MFP entries. For a couple of my go-to meals, I've manually logged the ingredients/portion sizes as best I could, added a little oil for extra fat calories just to be safe, then saved that as a meal... then I can just log that meal as needed. In other cases, I'll use something like Olive Garden or Maggiano's calorie info as a reasonable approximation.
  • JJS1979
    JJS1979 Posts: 177 Member
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    icimani wrote: »
    Eating out is my downfall as well. It's just a lot easier to grab something at a restaurant on my way home from work, than it is to prepare something at home.

    My word is "planning".
    - If I'm eating out, I'll try to plan on certain restaurants where I can get something 'healthier' and if I can, plan ahead what i'm going to order and stick to it.
    - I try to plan my weekend schedule better so that I'm at home at meal times instead of out and about at meal times.
    - I try to eat out only once or twice a week. Anything more than that just ruins me.
    - I try to plan ahead so that I have things as prepared as much as possible for cooking at home, especially if something needs to be thawed out, but also what's on the menu.

    Planning, for me, helps me guard against that mindless eating. Not that I'm all that good at it, but I'm getting better

    I agree 100%...I echo these suggestions. If you know you are going out Saturday night for dinner, try to eat a little less during the day and then look online at the menu beforehand and try to pick the healthiest selection you can make that still fits in your daily allotment for fats, proteins and carbs.

    Can't stress enough consistency is so important, if you adhere during the week then having one meal, even at a restaurant that is high in calories, will have no impact on you. Over the last 18 months i have lost nearly 40lbs and that includes every sunday having 1 or 2 higher fat and calorie meals and I still was able to lose weight due to my overall calories deficit and staying consistent during the week. Stay strong and goodluck!
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Steak! (and a to-go container). My go to for eating out. Known calories per size for a certain cut of meat (with size and cut typically listed on the menu), and generally will not have any added fat or sugar (because they are awesomely tasty on their own). Calorie content is pretty reasonable.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    ritzvin wrote: »
    Steak! (and a to-go container). My go to for eating out. Known calories per size for a certain cut of meat (with size and cut typically listed on the menu), and generally will not have any added fat or sugar (because they are awesomely tasty on their own). Calorie content is pretty reasonable.

    That's a good point. A steak, ordered without any butters, sauces or toppings, can be pretty easy to estimate calorie content.
  • joemac1988
    joemac1988 Posts: 1,021 Member
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    jamszy wrote: »
    I don't know about any of you, but eating out has taken a toll on me. During my first bout of weight loss as a bachelor, I vowed to not eat out and stuck to it and lost 100+ pounds. However, married and family life is a different ball game (gained 50 of that back). I've made incorrect choices eating out and continue to go over on calories. The problem is that I never consciously realize my mistake until after I've eaten. What changes can anyone recommend? I could probably create a notification around meal times, but eating out can be spontaneous.

    If I'm planning to go to a restaurant I look up their menu online, decide what I'm getting and log that into my food diary.

    If it's a big meal, when I order I'll ask for a box to be brought with the meal then I split it in half before I start. Otherwise, I'd eat 3/4 of the meal than say "screw it" and keep going.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I've emailed the restaurant ahead of time to ask about calories, etc. I think the advantage to this is that they have a chance to reply when the restaurant isn't busy with the lunch/supper rush. So, when I decided to go to my favorite Middle Eastern place and get a veg option other than sambusak, I inquired about two other dishes and got back the response:

    "Our shakshuka comes in a bread bun, but you can ask to have it without. (Note: their bread bun is a hollowed-out round loaf of bread, probably 10" diameter. So the dish comes in a bread bowl. No clue how I'd even start logging it, not knowing the weight of the remaining bread, etc.). Our grilled eggplant comes drizzled in tahini, but you can ask to have it on the side." (Tahini is a sesame paste/butter. As in, healthy and good for you... but a potential calorie bomb. And not mentioned anywhere in the menu description of the grilled eggplant.)

    I've never needed to, but it's possible that if you ask ahead, the chef will agree to prepare something lower-calorie on request.

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