Dining out

rjedwards96

Does anyone have any idea how to track food from a restaurant? I ate out twice yesterday -- lunch with a co-worker and dinner out with friends. Although I looked at the description in the menu, I honestly don't know much about how these foods were prepared, what they were cooked in and can't really guess as to the portions. They were not chain restaurants, so I can't find nutritional info on their websites. And when I search for an item of the same name I get a wide range of items with very different calorie counts. I just threw up my hands and gave up on that day.

Samantharavenclaw84

I just try to come as close to possible. Also, for a lot of non-chain resturants they can probably tell you. My husband worked as a chef for 15 years and I was a server. Every restaurant we worked at had some idea of calorie count, even if not posted on the menu. I just gauge for portion size, if I'm with my husband he's pretty accurate at that. I know those days I eat out will not be 100% but I try my best.

katiesmom_99

Unless you're doing the prep/cooking, there really is no way of knowing for sure. Enjoy your meal and get back on track asap.

OH and I went out to a local Mexican place. No nutritional info at all on the menu. I pretty much accepted that I was going to go over my goals -and limits - and made the best choices I could. i.e. counting out 6 tortilla chips instead of having the basket in front of me. House made salsa and guac instead of cheese dip and sour cream. Grilled meat and veggies instead of something deep fried and drowned in sauce. Skip the rice and beans. Small skinny margarita instead of a fishbowl of sugary mix.

Five0Six

One thing people do is to pick a similar, chain-restaurant meal, but to pick the highest calorie entry for that meal. You're more likely to cover your base better by over-estimating than underestimating.