How to handle logging a friend's homecooked meal?

c_tap77

I'm new to this whole process and I've been doing really well since I've been able to measure and log everything I'm making and eating at home.

Tonight for the first time since I've started, we're going to have dinner at my brother-in-law & sister-in-law's house and even though she tried to help me out by letting me know what is in the casserole she's making, it's an old family recipe so even she doesn't have exact measurements and is just guessing to try to help me.

How should I go about logging this?

I have my diary set to 1200 calories because I know I'm not always very good at measuring and I taste things as I'm cooking so I like to set my numbers low assuming I'm probably eating 100-200 calories more than my diary says I am. But when the numbers are foggy, I'm worried I'll either be way under or way over what I should be eating and that concerns me.

I would love some advice!!!!

thisismeraw

Sometimes you can't get the exact information ... and really all counts are an estimate and can be off I believe 20% up or down.

I would either search the database and see what's there that is similar to what you are eating. If you know most of the ingredients.. and hopefully as many measurements as possible... make a recipe. If you choose something that is already in the database I would pick the one that has the middle amount of calories.

Enjoy your dinner. Don't stress about it too much since at 1200 calories you are probably far under your TDEE.

ayalowich

I'm new to this whole process and I've been doing really well since I've been able to measure and log everything I'm making and eating at home.

Tonight for the first time since I've started, we're going to have dinner at my brother-in-law & sister-in-law's house and even though she tried to help me out by letting me know what is in the casserole she's making, it's an old family recipe so even she doesn't have exact measurements and is just guessing to try to help me.

How should I go about logging this?

I have my diary set to 1200 calories because I know I'm not always very good at measuring and I taste things as I'm cooking so I like to set my numbers low assuming I'm probably eating 100-200 calories more than my diary says I am. But when the numbers are foggy, I'm worried I'll either be way under or way over what I should be eating and that concerns me.

I would love some advice!!!!

I have only been doing this myself for about 7 weeks, but I can already tell I'm annoying some by looking and asking for calorie and nutrition information (sometimes it's in the garbage). My wife is cool with it, but as I head up north to stay with family I have already reconciled myself that in some cases I just need to ball park it as best I can and move on. If there are multiple ingredients and I can get away with it, I snap a picture and study it later to make sure I covered everything. Estimate the weight in ounces, try not to overdue portions and hope they don't drown things w/ butter and salt.

Even if you end up being high or low by 500 calories, in the scheme of things that is about .14 of a pound and ultimately immaterial.

I don't want to get so obsessed with things that I don't get invited to meals or get togethers with friends, family and coworkers. I'm already the odd ball person that works out 5-6 times a week and for the most part they think I can eat whatever I want anyway.

Good luck, but I wouldn't sweat it. If you go over one day, make it up the next.

CookNLift

Log it to the best of your knowledge. If not, just enjoy it and catch back up tomorrow. No sense in going crazy and getting stressed out over what would be a fun night

chezjuan

If I can ask what is in the recipe (generally when a family member or close friend is cooking) I set it up as best as I can - understanding that in some cases the amounts are estimates. If I can't (or don't feel comfortable), I just find similar items in the MFP database and pick something on the higher side of the average.