Eating out

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wxlaw
wxlaw Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I tend to make my own meals on weekdays so I have control and know exactly how much I am eating. However, I usually eat out with friends on weekends, and I feel that I'm always overeating at the restaurant because I do not know any nutritional info about the meal. Also, we're eating out for dinner and I thought of skipping lunch to compensate for the calories, but I always ended up eating something for lunch because of hunger. Anyone has any suggestions on how they deal with this?

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  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    edited October 2017
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    If you know where you are going look it up ahead of time and plan. Most times you can find out from their menu online or at least get close. If you don't know then eat the healthiest thing on the menu. Usually a salad with a protein, and make a good dressing choice. Or something grilled or steamed with a side of steamed veggies etc. You get the idea. If you're feeling cheated that way then order a small side of fries or something with your salad.
  • wxlaw
    wxlaw Posts: 25 Member
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    emmydoodles83 wrote: »
    If you know where you are going look it up ahead of time and plan. Most times you can find out from their menu online or at least get close. If you don't know then eat the healthiest thing on the menu. Usually a salad with a protein, and make a good dressing choice. Or something grilled or steamed with a side of steamed veggies etc. You get the idea. If you're feeling cheated that way then order a small side of fries or something with your salad.

    My friends and I tend to go to Asian restaurants, and it's hard to find salad or food with less calories. Most of the food are full of carbs.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    wxlaw wrote: »
    I tend to make my own meals on weekdays so I have control and know exactly how much I am eating. However, I usually eat out with friends on weekends, and I feel that I'm always overeating at the restaurant because I do not know any nutritional info about the meal. Also, we're eating out for dinner and I thought of skipping lunch to compensate for the calories, but I always ended up eating something for lunch because of hunger. Anyone has any suggestions on how they deal with this?

    make better choices... salad, sauce on the side, leave half your fries, don't have dessert, etc etc you may not know exact numbers, by you must have a rough idea of which meals are more calories than others?
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    edited October 2017
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    Hmm carbs are ok, no problem there, Your first priorities with your diet should be 1) staying within your calorie goal 2) getting a good amount of protein. Don't sweat the other stuff as much it won't hinder your diet. Go for steamed Veggies with a not fried or dripped in sauce protein source. If you want sauce get it on the side and dip it. The soups are not a bad idea as well. If sushi is an option.... that's always a pretty good choice. I reiterate don't worry so much about the carbs as long as you are doing the two things I mentioned above.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
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    I know this can be odd when with friends, but is there anyone who'd be ok with splitting a meal with you? Portions are so big these days, and even though you could ultimately get 1 meal and box, put half in the box before you even start eating, splitting one saves money and leftovers. My boyfriend and I have gotten in a habit to "split" one meal, then if we are hungry after, we get more food. We've never been hungry after and there's sometimes more food that we can eat. It's better for our budget and our waistlines.

    But I also second TavistockToad, make better choices. Skip apps. Drink water/unsweetened tea. No dessert. No bread.

    At Asian restuarants, Noodles and Rice aren't bad, you just have to figure out how to limit them. Watch what kind of sauce the main meal is cooked in.

    I'd find a restaurant that lists calorie counts and estimate from that. My boyfriend and I did a Ramen place last Saturday, and struggled a bit, but ultimately just logged what made sense and moved on.

    You could also get more exercise in on the weekends to make up for the splurges.
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
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    Instead of skipping lunch, maybe try having a smaller lunch and doing some exercise to burn/earn extra calories for dinner. If you have "leftover" calories during the week from exercise or just not being hungry, consider those as banked calories towards your weekend outings. Another idea would be to estimate the amount of food/calories based on entries already in the database. Or eat half your food and take the other half home for another day.
  • Jonesuna64
    Jonesuna64 Posts: 233 Member
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    [/quote]My friends and I tend to go to Asian restaurants, and it's hard to find salad or food with less calories. Most of the food are full of carbs.[/quote]

    I go to a lot of Asian restaurants and eat a lot of Korean food at home (wife is Korean). Yes there are a lot of carbs but there are also a whole lot of proteins as well chicken/beef, the rice is the killer because I tend to treat it as a refillable bowl when it should be one portion (after 30 years of being with my wife , THIS is a hard habit to break). The sauces also contain a large portion of the calories, so I dilute them or use a napkin to soak them up. Most chain Asian places (suck) have their calories online, if it is a Mom & Pop type Asian spot (much tastier) just try portion control and get equal portions of carbs and protein. I have found that a good portion is usually the size of a deck of cards. We will never be able to count our calories 100% but as long as you get it right the majority of the time, you should be good to go

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You should be able to do a bit of research to get approximate calories for various Asian dishes. Then study up on what portion sizes look like. Googling "serving size chart" and looking at the image results will give you dozens of guides for this. At that point, all that is left is putting that info to use. After a few weeks look at your results and raise or lower portion sizes accordingly.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    I've found the key to enjoyable restaurant eating (which I do once or twice most weeks) is portion control and limiting the extras. If I can find a small appetizer or split something with one one, I'll do that, but if I want an entire, I always take home half. In terms of extras, it's just what people have said above - I generally try to avoid eating more than one piece of bread, do my best not to over order, limit beverages, and either count desert as the main part of the meal or split with as many people who will let me. I tend to eat at smaller local places but use the calorie counts from big chains and make sure I'm generously rounding up. I don't limit my food earlier in the day, though, as eating infrequently does not work for me.
  • iamthemotherofdogs
    iamthemotherofdogs Posts: 562 Member
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    A lot of restaurants are becoming more aware of the health-conscious movement and can provide at least base nutritional info on what's on the menu if you ask. Might be worth a shot. An establishment that was willing to help their patrons stay on track with their lifestyle would be one I would frequent often.
  • beaglady
    beaglady Posts: 1,362 Member
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    We often go out to eat on weekends too. One trick I've found is to eat a single late meal around 11 am, instead of a separate breakfast or lunch. Since i sleep late on weekends, skipping an early breakfast is easy. This meal is usually either an omelette or leftover mats and vegetables from a previous meal. Either way, I plan for about 400 calories with lots of protein at that meal. It will help me feel full until dinner time.

    If I get up early on weekends, and want to eat twice before dinner, I try to have a yogurt or string cheese for one of those meals. Either way, I can save 1000 calories for dinner and maybe an adult beverage or 2.
  • Meghanebk
    Meghanebk Posts: 321 Member
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    If it were me, I wouldn't skip lunch, it will make me overeat dinner.

    And if you're drinking alcohol on the weekends with friends too, maybe drop that? I'd rather spend my calories on food.

    I second the obvious advice - protein that isn't fried, sauce on the side, steamed veggies and soups are great, sushi (if you can afford good ones!), watch the amount of rice/noodles. Steamed dumplings, chicken/beef with broccoli - stuff like that is on a lot of menus. I always get a glass of water with my tea at Asian places and drink half a glass before I eat, it makes me less hungry.
  • LoveForWine
    LoveForWine Posts: 20 Member
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    I would eat a light lunch and order steamed chicken and broccoli with the sauce on the side. Works for me.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    Look up menu before you go and plan your meal.
  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    wxlaw wrote: »
    emmydoodles83 wrote: »
    If you know where you are going look it up ahead of time and plan. Most times you can find out from their menu online or at least get close. If you don't know then eat the healthiest thing on the menu. Usually a salad with a protein, and make a good dressing choice. Or something grilled or steamed with a side of steamed veggies etc. You get the idea. If you're feeling cheated that way then order a small side of fries or something with your salad.

    My friends and I tend to go to Asian restaurants, and it's hard to find salad or food with less calories. Most of the food are full of carbs.

    Here are some of my go-tos when it comes to Asian food:
    * Pho without noodles (there's nothing wrong with carbs but I prefer filling up on the broth, meat, and veggies because I think those are the tastiest parts).
    * Won ton soup
    * Shrimp/ chicken/ tofu dishes that come with veggies (avoiding fried meats or dishes that are all meat & sauce)
    * Sashimi, miso soup, and a piece or two of gyoza
  • thatfitdad
    thatfitdad Posts: 13 Member
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    Only ear lean protien before going out for a bad meal, or fast the day before. Also drinking alcohol isnt good with fatty foot
  • wxlaw
    wxlaw Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks for all the suggestions! Good thing is that I don't drink because I love food way more than alcohol.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    simply_chase wrote: »
    Only ear lean protien before going out for a bad meal, or fast the day before. Also drinking alcohol isnt good with fatty foot

    I beg to differ - I just had two hard ciders with an amazing goat cheese lasagna, and it was definitely good. 31 pounds lost and counting!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    simply_chase wrote: »
    Only ear lean protien before going out for a bad meal, or fast the day before. Also drinking alcohol isnt good with fatty foot

    How sad...

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