Tips on Logging Restaurant Meals (when nutrition info is available)

kristennoel20

Hey Y'all! I've been trying to be pretty mindful about logging just about everything I eat lately. I even go as far as weighing most of my food to ensure accuracy. Where I get most tripped up is logging for restaurant meals - especially those where the nutrition details are nowhere to be found.

I try to find something similar and cross my fingers that it's accurate, but I want to see if y'all have any additional tips.

I'm specifically logging for tracking for weight-loss and also to show my doctors if any issues arise.

AnnPT77

If it's a common-ish dish, look up a similar meal on a chain restaurant's web site.

Alternatively, make a guess at ingredients, and log it in parts. (I often add extra oil/butter to the estimate because I figure restaurants use more of that than I would at home..)

If it's polite to do so in context, take a phone photo (no flash!) to help you mentally break it down into components later and log the parts. Put a fork or other standard-sized thing in the photo for scale.

Look up the dish in the MFP database, pick an entry that ideally has some relatable indication of portion size, and if there are multiples, choose one on the middling-high to high calorie side of the available options.

Some people choose items from the menu that are easier to log. I don't roll that way. A rare wildly-estimated meal is a drop in the ocean of overall calorie estimation. If you don't eat out all that often, it's not worth spending a lot of energy beyond getting a reasonable ballpark guess.

If you keep weighing/logging meals at home, you'll get better and better at estimating restaurant meals confidently.

lynn_glenmont

The more you weigh and log foods at home, the better you should be at estimating or eyeballing amounts when you eat out.

If you're eating a meal out that has separate easily identified components (e.g., 6 oz sirloin steak -- most restaurant menus in U.S. will tell you the pre-cooked weight of steaks -- a baked potato, grilled asparagus), you can just log them individually.

If you're eating a dish where different foods are combined (lasagna, pizza, stew), your best bet may be to look for the same dish from a chain restaurant -- especially if you're familiar enough with the chain to feel the food is comparable. Or you could use the USDA database and look for fast food pizza (scroll down under Legacy Foods tab). Once you find the pizza size, crust, and ingredients (meat or veggie), copy the syntax (e.g., Fast Food, Pizza Chain, 14" pizza, sausage topping, thick crust) and paste it into the MFP database search field, which should bring up an entry that matches.

Best of luck.

BeanieBean93

Agree with the above. As you track more, you'll become familiar with typical calorie amounts in items. A lot of single entrees at chain restaurants (TGI, Olive Garden, Chilis, Cracker Barrel, Red Robin, Cheesecake Factory etc) will run about 1200 and up per entree. The portions are massive and can usually feed two or more people. So, if you plan to eat the whole plate, you can just estimate 1200 cals and move on.

Or, you can try to break it into pieces.
If it's a hamburger -
bun - 250
hamburger patty - 350
cheese - 150
mayo or sauce - 100
fries - 500

Burrito -
large tortilla - 300
meat - 250
cheese - 150
beans and rice - 200
guacamole and sour cream - 200

Chicken/steak/seafood dish -
meat - 300- 400
vegetable side - 150
baked potato side - 250
mashed potato side - 350
mac and cheese side - 400
rice side - 250

Pasta dish -
pasta - 400
meat topping - 300
cheese - 100
sauce marinara - 50
sauce alfredo or vodka - 150-200

Again, it gets easy the more you do it.