Logging when eating out

jordymils

Just curious as to what everyone does when eating out, whether it's at a restaurant or someone else's house...

Do you guess at the quantities etc, knowing it won't be exact coz you can't weight/measure and also don't know what exactly is in the food (if they used oil in cooking, sugar in sauces, etc etc) or do you just treat it as an 'off meal' and not bother with logging it?

I don't eat out THAT much (I have fairly restricted dietary requirements so it's just too hard sometimes) but when I do, I'm never sure what to do.

Thanks!

randomtai

Usually restaurants have nutritional information posted on their website. When I go out I try to stick to things I know I can log separately if I needed to, like steak and veggies.

themelmac

I struggle with this too. It's definitely easier when you are eating at a chain restaurant and can look at their nutrition info.

If they don't post nutrition info, I usually search for a similar food in the database or look for a recipe that looks similar online and use those calories. I usually assume that I'm going to be off and guess a little higher.

jordymils

Hmm. Restaurants having nutritional info online must be an American thing, coz we certainly don't have that in Australia... I can't get simple things like steak and veg coz I'm vegetarian so my meals tend to be a little more mixed up with veggies, grains, some kind of protein if they have it, etc. My favourite meal to eat out is breakfast so things like eggs, toast and veggies is usually pretty easy to log, and I add in some olive oil knowing they've probably used it in cooking...
Guess I'll just keep going as is, logging where I can...

elly1979

I bring my scale with me.

And try to stick with more whole foods, and less "sauce" based stuff.

I use my results to gauge whether I need to tighten up my tracking. And if I eat out when weighing isn't possible, I tend to err on the side of over estimation, given the amount of oil & sugar restaurants use.

natini

Only chain restaurants offer the nutritional information in the US. I dont usually go to chain restaurants so I guess to my best ability. I log all the ingrediants that would make up that recipe that I am eating. I just try and do my best. I normally try and stay away from sauces or gravies. I make sure to add in butter or olive oil because I am sure they cooked with it.