Eating out & tracking

markdon82

Hi,

Trying to loose a bit more weight. I work away regularly and finding it hard to track on an evening. Generally work away with 1-2 other people and we always eat together, been doing this job for 17 years, so sorta like family now. Back in the day it was big breakfast in hotel, supermarket lunch (pies, pasties, chocs etc etc), evening meal - curry, chinese, pub grub, 2-12 pints. So 17 years has taken its toll. currently set on 2400 cal, 50/25/25 carbs/fat/protein, when home i can manage, when away i really struggle. Tend to not eat in chain places so finding it hard to guesstimate what im eating.

Not sure where im getting with this tbh But just hoping someone out there does something similar to me and can give some insight.

Ive been buying Fuel porridge pots for breakfast, having the best lunch i can from supermarkets, generally a salad box or healthy option sandwich, bit of fruit, water, can track all that, then try my best to have something trackable on an evening. But im thinking perhaps knock 20% onto evening meal as im finding when i work away im putting 0-2lbs on a week, and when im home im loosing 1-3lb a week.

Sorry if im waffling, just trying to think best way to do it.

Cheers.

Lietchi

I tend to choose dishes and cuisines that are easier to track, with ingredients that are easy to identify and eyeball.

For example last week at a restaurant with friends: I ate a seafood pasta dish containing only pasta, roast tomatoes, clams and olive oil. A type of food I'm accustomed to logging at home. My friends ate pizzas, which I avoided because I have no idea how to judge the weight or size of an Italian style pizza (and I was pretty sure all that pizza dough would be more calories than a pasta dish).

Whe eyeballing, err on the side of overestimating and choose dishes easier to log and lower calorie. Avoid sauces and dressings, since they can be very calorific. Grilled meat or fish is a good option too.

I would like to add that restaurant food generally contains more salt, so your weight gain might not necessarily be fat gain, it could be temporary water weight as well.

Priasmama416

Alot of chains have nutritional information online that you can look up ahead of time. You may be able to do that, and plan ahead on where and what you are going to eat, still staying within your daily calories ect. Also you may want to grab a lean cuisine type from the supermarket and make it at the hotel

hesn92

Oh, yeah, that's tough. The occasional meal out is no big deal but when you have to eat out on a regular basis like that it can make losing weight tricky. Truth is there's no way to know for sure how many calories are in your meal even if you're at a chain with nutrition content posted. I just don't trust the cooks in the back to be carefully measuring and weighing ingredients lol.

You got some good advice above. I would say just do your best. Choose restaurants that have calorie info available and go with that, or choose meals where the calories might be easy to estimate (like if you eat at a place where you can order a steak, a baked potato, and a vegetable, you can just look up each individual item). I find most restaurant meals tend to be in the 800-1300 calorie range (here in the US anyway, not sure where you are located??), so if you just made a point to only eat half of your meal each time, that might be a good way to go.

rainbow198

When going out to eat I look up menus online first and have a plan before I go. If I don't I try to guesstimate the calories.

If it's a large meal I make a point to ask for a to go box at the beginning. I put half away and eat the rest the next day. So that takes care of 2 meals.

If I will be away for a while I try to make sure my hotel room has a kitchenette or at least a fridge and microwave. I bring some of my own food (homemade protein bars, easier to carry foods like my homemade oatmeal packets or a couple of sandwiches (if it's a road trip). Also I will go to a local store and pick up water, fruit and veggies.

Some grocery stores or markets will have ready to go meals are sometimes a little healthier compared to a meal out.

Great point above about possible water weight. If you're eating meals out, chances are they are full of sodium, which can add water weight, which can mask your progress on the scale.

Good luck ❤