I wish

ReenieHJ

I wish that every thing you ordered while eating out, listed the calories. Without knowing what the exact ingredients are, sometimes it's even hard to make a decent estimation.

cmriverside

That is one of the benefits of long-term logging. First, I can estimate well enough on portion sizes. Second I can really tell if there is a lot of oil or butter. Third, I know that close enough is good enough. I don't eat out that often and when I do I take a guess and move on.

tbright1965

ReenieHJ wrote: »

I wish that every thing you ordered while eating out, listed the calories. Without knowing what the exact ingredients are, sometimes it's even hard to make a decent estimation.

There are some decent approximation strategies. Using your hand as a guide, if you are having a protein such as a steak or pork chop, have no more than the palm of your hand. Take away the rest for another meal.

If you have a chance, compare measured portions of things like steak, fries, and other calorie dense foods to the size of your hand and then you can make reasonable estimates regarding how much you have at a meal. As was said above, you get better at this the more you can do it. When I measure my meat or cheese, I'm usually within a few grams of my target on the first cut or grab for the portion.

If you are not confident, or just want to be safe, take your estimate and then multiply by 1.5

Or, you could just separate it about 50/50 eating one half there and taking the other half home to weigh to estimate your meal.

When I don't know how something is prepared, I look for comparable items and log it as the most calorie dense example in the database.

Since you are not going to the moon with the data, you will be close enough and you can see if you are meeting your goals at the end of the week.

poisonesse

Always choose the highest calorie count on the data base for the same/similar item, and you'll usually be safe enough. If you eat out all the time, it might be a problem, but one meal a week shouldn't derail your lifestyle plan if you're careful... and over estimate, to be safe. And try to stay within your goal, even with those higher calorie counts.

snowflake954

I've been here for a while, and I just take half home. I order things I can do that with. It's so much easier, and the portions are then closer to what I should really eat.

sugarcakes38

Eating out at the smaller, private restaurants used to frustrate me because of this particular issue, the calorie estimating. It gave me food anxiety, to the point where I would have plenty of calories in my day to enjoy a meal out but would decline and eat something at home I could weigh lol. Silly me.

Calorie estimating is a skill that we learn and get better at the more experienced we become at weighing and portioning. Pay attention to the foods you weigh out at home, the grams/serving of certain foods you’re likely to eat at a restaurant like rice, chicken, etc. This will help you better know how much to portion out to eat there, and what to box up and bring home. Otherwise, know this; if you didn’t make it and weigh the ingredients yourself, your estimate will not be 100% accurate but it should be in the ballpark, and that’s really all you need unless you’re eating out every meal every day.

Use what you learn as TOOLS to take with you everywhere. Don’t just weigh your servings at home on the scale and call it a day; pay attention to it all, how much 30g looks like (salsa), how much 28g looks like (rice or cereal), how much 100g (chicken or beef), and study the sizes of those portions, and you’ll soon be pointing at a plate at any restaurant and saying “.... X-Y calories”.

Don’t do what a lot of us do before we know any better and that is isolate ourselves to avoid the calorie estimating monster. Get out there and practice.

ETA: typo

kshama2001

snowflake954 wrote: »

I've been here for a while, and I just take half home. I order things I can do that with. It's so much easier, and the portions are then closer to what I should really eat.

Yes, because normal American restaurant entrees are way too many calories for me, I take half home and weigh that.

I had a salmon, potato, and vegetable dinner for takeout Thursday night and got three meals out of that.

If I add veggies to Pad Thai, I can get three meals out of that.

MikePTY

I eat about half of my meals out and they almost never have calorie information, because it is not required in my country. I've still been able to successfully lose weight by estimating. You get better st it with time, but I cna spot 4 oz of chicken and a cup of rice pretty well now. So my estimates are pretty close. I don't believe in intentionally overestimating. Sometimes I naturally overestimate and sometimes I naturally underestimate, but it all balances out.

AnnPT77

All of the above estimating/portioning methods: Endorsed. I've done some variation on those themes, while eating out on average probably a couple of times in an average week in that sort of place, and lost/maintained fine for nearly 5 years now.

IMO, getting so anxious about it that one can't eat out is one foot on a slippery slope to a bad psychological/social place. "Close enough" is achievable, and "close enough" is good enough for success.

Another strategy I haven't seen mentioned on this thread: If it can be done politely in context, and you have a cell phone, snap a quick picture of the food. Include something of known size for scale (fork usually works). Turn off the flash, in most cases, to avoid rudeness to fellow diners.

Some people like to order foods that are relatively easier to estimate (avoid sauces, etc.), but I'm mostly too hedonistic for that. It's worked anyway.

snowflake954

AnnPT77 wrote: »

All of the above estimating/portioning methods: Endorsed. I've done some variation on those themes, while eating out on average probably a couple of times in an average week in that sort of place, and lost/maintained fine for nearly 5 years now.

IMO, getting so anxious about it that one can't eat out is one foot on a slippery slope to a bad psychological/social place. "Close enough" is achievable, and "close enough" is good enough for success.

Another strategy I haven't seen mentioned on this thread: If it can be done politely in context, and you have a cell phone, snap a quick picture of the food. Include something of known size for scale (fork usually works). Turn off the flash, in most cases, to avoid rudeness to fellow diners.

Some people like to order foods that are relatively easier to estimate (avoid sauces, etc.), but I'm mostly too hedonistic for that. It's worked anyway.

In Rome no need to be careful taking pictures of your food. Tourists are always photographing the food. Everyone just takes it for granted.

COGypsy

I’ve lost and maintained a loss of 60+ pounds eating out more than I don’t most times. It’s made no difference to me. I typically skip the app and dessert and either make an estimate on the entree, or use a count from a chain restaurant. I also only eat half the meal and either toss or take home the rest. Truly, it’s just another meal in a very long line of meals—not worth excess stress, I promise!

ohmscheeks

Me too!

mbaker566

round here it's very common even for smaller local places to have a calorie count. when they don't, having done this for a couple of years, i can get close enough. close enough is good enough when it isn't all the time

amy19355

I cut back my eating out by probably 80% once I got serious about my fitness goals. I make most all my own meals, and stay pretty darn close to my calorie In goals.

This choice takes away the stress of trying to figure out the exact calorie count of a restaurant meal.

hope that helps!

Aquarian

I had never known dominos garlic bread sticks were 880 calories for an 8 stick box. I used to dip them liberally in cheesy dip and eat, to boot! I was shocked to learn that I was eating so many calories!

And all those cheese burst 4-cheese pizzas were doing me no favours, apparently!

Yes eating out is really tough. My new technique is to get large portions of soup to fill me up a lot and then nibble on the main course. I am still a sucker for desserts though. I don’t have any useful ideas or advice on how to restrict a yummy chocolate lava cake, other than to not order it except once a month or as a treat for reaching a certain weight loss goal.

ReenieHJ

I found an alcohol drink online yesterday that yelled 'TRY ME!' and I thought wow, maybe I'll buy the fixins' for that one; it sounded heavenly. THEN I saw the calorie count. 990. Good to know.