What do you do when you eat out

brittneyalley

Do you save calories that day? At maintenance, my calories per day will be about 1200-1300. Most meals in restaurants are about that or more.

Would it be okay if I just ate a meal out and that's all I ate for that day? What do you all do? Thanks

TonyB0588

brittneyalley wrote: »

Do you save calories that day? At maintenance, my calories per day will be about 1200-1300. Most meals in restaurants are about that or more.

Would it be okay if I just ate a meal out and that's all I ate for that day? What do you all do? Thanks

It depends on what you eat when you're out. You can choose where to go and what items to order from the menu.

It isn't realistic to eat only one meal in a whole day, so you have to find a way to moderate that eating out experience. Otherwise you will feel hungry at your other mealtimes.

malibu927

What are your stats? That's awfully low for maintenance.

You can do that, as long as not eating for that long doest cause you to overeat.

TavistockToad

brittneyalley wrote: »

Do you save calories that day? At maintenance, my calories per day will be about 1200-1300. Most meals in restaurants are about that or more.

Would it be okay if I just ate a meal out and that's all I ate for that day? What do you all do? Thanks

What make you think your maintenance will be so low?

brittneyalley

I'm 5' and currently 135, but my goal is ~105. I'm sedentary and rarely exercise (normally get 1000-2000 steps a day, unfortunately). I am going to try to exercise more though because I want to have a little flexibility in what I can eat.

RoxieDawn

brittneyalley wrote: »

Do you save calories that day? At maintenance, my calories per day will be about 1200-1300. Most meals in restaurants are about that or more.

Would it be okay if I just ate a meal out and that's all I ate for that day? What do you all do? Thanks

Is this the amount of calories you eat to lose weight?

brittneyalley

Right now I'm eating around 1200 a day to lose, but as I lose my maintenance calories also decrease. I got that number from online calculators.

RoxieDawn

brittneyalley wrote: »

Right now I'm eating around 1200 a day to lose, but as I lose my maintenance calories also decrease. I got that number from online calculators.

How much are you losing a week on 1200? How much have you lost and what period of time?

malibu927

brittneyalley wrote: »

I'm 5' and currently 135, but my goal is ~105. I'm sedentary and rarely exercise (normally get 1000-2000 steps a day, unfortunately). I am going to try to exercise more though because I want to have a little flexibility in what I can eat.

Without knowing your age, anyone in their 20s with that height and your goal weight has a BMR around 1300 calories. That's just what your body burns to live. Maintenance would be higher that that amount.

collectingblues

I ran your stats (presuming late 20s for an age) through Scooby's calculator, and you're probably right.

So, I guess it would depend on whether you want to keep eating that low and be sedentary, or rather you'd want to try some exercise in order to get more calories to play with.

brittneyalley

I lose about a pound a week now. I've lost 30 pound in around 100 days, but most loss came from the first two weeks.

brittneyalley

Oh sorry, I forgot to mention I'm 20. I guess I'll have to start exercising more as 1300 is not something I'd like to have to live off of if I can help it.

middlehaitch

Just a word from the wise- well someone else petite with a low maintenance and maintained for 7+yr.

If you are planning to eat out and that includes a drink or 2, don't go without food earlier in the day- you will slide under the table not too gracefully.

Accept that some days will be higher calorie than others, but keeping the majority within your calorie goal will keep you in maintenance.

If exercise isn't your thing, just moving more each day will up your calories. MFP gives me 1200 for maintenance cos I am basically bone idle. I actually eat closer to 1600. 200 of that is exercise, the other is moving more. (I don't count steps, but a lot of people have found step counting helps with daily activity)

Cheers, h.

collectingblues

middlehaitch wrote: »

Just a word from the wise- well someone else petite with a low maintenance and maintained for 7+yr.

If you are planning to eat out and that includes a drink or 2, don't go without food earlier in the day- you will slide under the table not too gracefully.

Truth. I continue to be shocked -- because apparently I'm a slow learner -- every time I try to bank calories for a couple of cocktails, and thus don't eat (or, skip on carbs), and end up totally buzzed after just two drinks.

brittneyalley

Thank you all for the advice! About how many steps should I aim for per day?

nickssweetheart

It's up to you, but I'd rather eat half my meal and have the other half wrapped up to go and be able to eat the rest of the day. You can even ask them to pre-box it if you're concerned about sticking to your plan when the food is in front of you.

I have more calories than you, but I don't feel so well when I go too long without eating. I find eating lightly>>>>skipping meals.

brittneyalley

nickssweetheart wrote: »

It's up to you, but I'd rather eat half my meal and have the other half wrapped up to go and be able to eat the rest of the day. You can even ask them to pre-box it if you're concerned about sticking to your plan when the food is in front of you.

I have more calories than you, but I don't feel so well when I go too long without eating. I find eating lightly>>>>skipping meals.

Telling them to pre-box it is a great idea! I didn't think of that.

Anon2018

Hi OP -

I'm also short, I'm closer to your starting weight (current 155, I started at 164). Right now i'm losing at an average of 1500-1700 per week (losing about a pound a week). I use the TDEE method, so I don't eat back my exercise calories, just aim for 1500-1700 each day depending on my hunger. My goal is closer to where you are now - I was around 130 for most of my adult life and felt very comfortable there. My goal is 125 but I'll assess when I get closer. I get about 6000-7000 steps on weekdays and 12000-15000 on weekends. I do a 30 minute circuit training video (think light weights, abs, burpees, etc.) 3 times a week.

I understand our maintenance is just lower, but you can open up a lot more food by just walking more. I increase my steps by doing things like parking at the edge of my work garage, taking the steps (I work on the 4th floor so it's possible, but even if you work way up high you can get off a few floors early and go for it), or taking a 20 minute walk outside if I need a pick-me-up during the work day.

You also might not be able to maintain 100 pounds, since the eating level is too low. If you want to be really really thin, you might have to get used to eating very little for the rest of your life. You can't have it all, you know? Maybe you could find happiness at a weight like 115 and work on strength training to boost your metabolism, and then you can enjoy 1600-1800 calories on maintenance. There's a reason very low weights are difficult to reach and maintain, and part of it is, well, you don't really get to eat a lot.

To answer your original question, when I go to restaurants I decide how I'm gonna handle it based on a few things:
Is it a special occassion or really great restaurant where I'm going to reallllly enjoy my meal or is it just a convenience thing (i.e. stopping somewhere close by on travel, or we haven't gone grocery shopping in a while and are grabbing a bite). If it's the former, I eat what I want in reason and try to estimate cals and allow myself to go up to maintenance that day but if it's the latter I employ a lot of the MFP tricks to cut the cals such as:
- Modifications to the food. I find eating the starch that comes with these meals usually adds a lot of calories, so even something like taking the bun off a chicken sandwich can easily shed 300 calories
- No cheese or sauce on the side
- No fries, steamed veggies or salad on the side only
- Only eat half, get a takeaway box right away and pack up half your meal

Eating a 1200-1300 meal and only doing one meal a day doesn't work for me, but fasting definitely does work for other people. It's really up to you, there's nothing wrong with it as long as it works for you.

rheddmobile

About thirty minutes of moderate activity or fifteen minutes of vigorous activity per day would give you a couple hundred extra calories which would make your life more comfortable, and meet health recommendations for activity. It doesn't have to be steps, you could do a couple of dance videos or whatever you enjoy.

My maintenance is higher than yours, but my carb limit as a diabetic doesn't change whether or not I'm in maintenance so I have to watch eating out anyway. I look up the restaurant ahead of time, pick what I plan to have, log it, and ask for a box when I get there. Then the extra food goes in the box before I even start to eat. I also tell them to take chips or bread which are there before your food arrives off the table.

I have a "special occasion" entry under exercise which I enter on special occasions. I either bank it in advance over a few days or I pay it back out of the rest of the week. Special occasions might be holidays, date nights, or being sick or injured and needing a rest with a few more calories.

RoxieDawn

OP if you are losing a pound a week now on 1200 cals that is a 500 calorie deficit, then your maintenance is higher than what the calculators are giving you. This is without purposeful exercise.

I predict the very fast weight loss you enured over the past 90-100 days is slowing.. and you will bottom out at the 1200 calories and you don't want to go lower than this to continue weight loss.

I would recommend a diet break at some point.. the thread link I provided is very helpful for explaining this. Also increasing your activity and adding in purposeful exercise will help you with being able to eat more calories as well.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

AnnPT77

I'd second lots of the above (boxing half, caloric sauces on the side, eating more if it's a special event, etc.).

I've also "banked" 50-100 calories a day for a few days ahead to "spend" on a meal out, when it was planned in advance. (I think eating less on subsequent days to compensate is a bad idea, with the potential to set up a restrict-then-binge cycle, while restricting modestly before the event substitutes the special meal for an unplanned binge, and evens things out - if that makes sense.)

Another thing that helps me is to look at the menu - online in advance when possible - and think about what I really want to eat. I think of substitutions I can ask about based on the menu, check out the list of sides (maybe think about ordering a plate of just sides, like cottage cheese, steamed veggies, etc), consider dressings, etc. Most places are surprisingly good about simple variations based on menu items.

When I was first working out a new way of eating, it was especially helpful to look at the menu in advance, so there wasn't time pressure. With practice, I've gotten cannier and quicker at this, so advance prep is less important . . . though it still helps me to have a pre-written script in my head rather than having hungry temptation overtake rationality in the moment.

Personally, I've learned that - since I'm not as big bread enthusiast - the sandwich section can be a trove of options: Sandwich without bun, no mayo, plus side veggie and side salad/vinaigrette is often an ample meal I really enjoy. Your specifics would differ, but that overall "review ahead/ask for minor changes" strategy can still work.

RaeBeeBaby

Whenever I plan to eat out I get an idea of what's on the menu in advance. (Thank you internet.) Then I make a preliminary choice and fit it into my calories for the day, or close. I never skip meals to save up for the meal out because my body doesn't like that and, as other posters mentioned, adding alcohol to the mix is a recipe for ending up with a serious buzz. For me that results in a headache the next day. Ugh.

Actually, most restaurants have healthy low-calorie options. Fish or chicken with veggies and a little rice - not so different than how I eat at home. You don't have to go for the high fat, high carb options unless you really want to.

Most often I plan to bring half of it home to have for lunch the next day, unless the husband is extra hungry and finished his meal and the other half of mine.

sofchak

I concur with a lot of what’s been said already. Today I went to UNOs Chicago Bar and Grill. I looked at the menu in advance and prelogged it. I stuck to my plan and ordered water and a personal veggie pizza (~1000 calories). I ate half the pizza with my friends and ended up boxing up the other half (so ~500 calories total eaten).

Before going to dinner, I had a light breakfast and light lunch to “bank” calories for dinner just in case I needed the calories in the event that the pizza was just that dang good - or maybe they order dessert and I want a bite or two.

Instead the meal was average, so I listened to my body and stopped when I was satisfied. No one ordered dessert, so I was spared making that decision. Now I have 500 calories to play with at home tonight since I didn’t need it for dinner.

Preplanning is key! For Thanksgiving this week, I am purposefully eating less than my regular calories Monday - Wednesday so I can eat more on Turkey Day!

FWIW - stat-wise I am 5’3” and 120 lbs, so I get about 1500 calories to play with every day. I run 3x and strength train 3x a week, so I totally get where you are coming from with trying to figure this out for the long term - running and strength training have helped me make it in Maintenance mode. One year at goal weight now.