For those of you who eat out...how do you record calories?

sullus

I try to ballpark it and/or find things that seem equivalent. You just have to assume extra oil/fat and extra salt. You need to get good at eyeballing portions too - not like you're going to whip out the food scale when your plate arrives ... \

Over the course of a year, an average person eats nearly a million calories. Being off by a couple hundred every day is an issue, but being off by a couple hundred every now and then is not. No need to stress over it.

Pidgeywendy

If you put the word 'Generic' in first when searching for a meal, it will come up with it. So for example, if you're eating at a friends house or an independent restaurant and had fish pie - just type in 'Generic Fish Pie' and it will offer you portion sizes. There's no need to miss logging or try and make it up.....everything is there :-)

calliekitten9

Please keep in mind, cals posted for chains are per serving, not for the entire meal. What the serve you is probably a serving of 3 or something. Be careful. It's tricky.

But, to answer your question, I just guess. I had Peruvian food yesterday for lunch because my boss lost a bet. So, he bought. So, I just totally guessed. How would you possibly figure out Peruvian food?

That is what I ran into last night....someone had put an item in that was 5.5 oz....well....not to sound ignorant, but I did not know if my portion was truly 5.5 oz...so I put 1.5 servings and then only ate half. I am buying a food scale later this week so that I can at least visually guage ounces...but I agree...1 plate is tricky. Especially with things like a salad bar.

contingencyplan

Depending on the frequency with which you do eat at restaurants, you may be able to get away with just plain not logging it.

I go out to eat only once every few months. Because of that, I can get away with just not logging whatever it is I'm eating or worrying about the nutritional content and it won't matter _at all_. However, people who eat out weekly won't have that luxury.

smarionette

You know that the server can tell you how many ounces of a particular thing are on the plate right? Or they can at least ask the chef. Restaurants are businesses, and they have to track inventory like every other business. They are NOT out to sabotage you and put 3x more food on a plate than they have to, and if you simply ask you can often get the information you need. You can also do things like ask for any sauce to be on the side, ask for a double portion of veg over starches etc.

contingencyplan

You know that the server can tell you how many ounces of a particular thing are on the plate right? Or they can at least ask the chef. Restaurants are businesses, and they have to track inventory like every other business. They are NOT out to sabotage you and put 3x more food on a plate than they have to, and if you simply ask you can often get the information you need. You can also do things like ask for any sauce to be on the side, ask for a double portion of veg over starches etc.

You may be able to get this info from a chain, but I think you'll find that trying to go into eating at a smaller, single-location, perhaps family-owned place is different entirely (in regards to the first part, anyway).

Happymelz

We eat out a lot, and usually at locally owned places who do not have actual calorie counts or sometimes even websites. lol.

I try to find calories for similar items from other restaurants and er on the side of logging higher just in case.

Or, I ask the server to find out the oz serving size of the protein, and build from their.

smarionette

You know that the server can tell you how many ounces of a particular thing are on the plate right? Or they can at least ask the chef. Restaurants are businesses, and they have to track inventory like every other business. They are NOT out to sabotage you and put 3x more food on a plate than they have to, and if you simply ask you can often get the information you need. You can also do things like ask for any sauce to be on the side, ask for a double portion of veg over starches etc.

You may be able to get this info from a chain, but I think you'll find that trying to go into eating at a smaller, single-location, perhaps family-owned place is different entirely (in regards to the first part, anyway).

I do it all the time at all manner of places and I don't eat at chains. Let's face it, you can't run a business if you can't track your inventory. Sure I've gotten some funny looks but very rarely have I never got an answer.

tigerblue

Chain restaurants often will be listed in the data base. If not, find a similar item or log the components as best you can.

I do always log something because that will at least get me in the ballpark.

Regardless, think of how much better you are doing just by logging something!! After all, if you are like me, before I started here I would have eaten the restaurant food with abandon, and even ordered appetizers and dessert. And then gone home and eaten more. . . .

contingencyplan

Chain restaurants often will be listed in the data base. If not, find a similar item or log the components as best you can.

I do always log something because that will at least get me in the ballpark.

Regardless, think of how much better you are doing just by logging something!! After all, if you are like me, before I started here I would have eaten the restaurant food with abandon, and even ordered appetizers and dessert. And then gone home and eaten more. . . .

And if you limit it to only once every few months, you can get away with doing exactly that and it would not affect your goals in any way.

shining_light

More often than not, I choose my restaurants based on whether their nutritional information is readily available. It's nice that all fast food chains here have to have their calorie information available, but that really should be a requirement for ALL restaurant chains. I don't know why sit-down restaurant chains are excluded from this requirement. Surely it doesn't take that much effort for them to do; a recipe calculator like MFP's would be all they need and it takes minutes to calculate it.

BlackStarlight

If the restaurant doesn't have a website that I can input the correct numbers, best guess is what I am left with. Once you have been tracking for a while, you will get a better feel for what is true. When I really have no idea and there is more than one item in the database that is similar, I just put in the one with the higher calories (if I am choosing b/t two items) or the one in the middle (if I am chooing from more than two). I never choose the one with the least calories.

This xxx

smarionette

You know that the server can tell you how many ounces of a particular thing are on the plate right? Or they can at least ask the chef. Restaurants are businesses, and they have to track inventory like every other business. They are NOT out to sabotage you and put 3x more food on a plate than they have to, and if you simply ask you can often get the information you need. You can also do things like ask for any sauce to be on the side, ask for a double portion of veg over starches etc.

You don't understand the food service industry. None of the wait staff know, and the cooks don't care. When I've asked, they just shrug their shoulders, and make something up. I know they're lying. I can tell that they have no idea. Sure, the chef can tell you the salmon is 6oz, but I can see that. They also have no concept of a serving. Have you seen what most chefs look like? They love food, and butter, and all that. They don't care about one serving of mashed potatoes. Nor, do they care to tell you exactly what's in it.

They are deceptive, and it is intentional.

And the aliens are out to get you too...

I actually know several people in the industry, friends and family, and contrary to what you think they aren't obese slobs. Say it with me "A restaurant is a business." Are portions given at restaurants bigger than what is recommended? Yes. Should you know what a serving of mashed potatoes looks like? Yes. Will people make an effort to get you information if you ask politely? Yes. Demonizing an industry is just silly.

karijoeide

If I know that I will be going out to eat, I will usually pre-plan my meal by looking up the nutritional value of what I am having before I even get to the restaurant. Nothing to decide once I get there....no surprises

kroonha

I tend to go for the veggie/salad meals anyway in a restaurant so I add the ingredients that I know, then additional calories for oil/salad dressing etc and overestimate the calories. If I know I"m eating dinner out, I have a light breakfast and lunch, or plan my meals accordingly.

gabbygirl78

Most large chains have a nutrition info page on their website but when I eat at a place that does not I either go to another website with similar menu items and use that info or I just guess at it.. sometimes I don't even log it but that's not frequently.

calliekitten9

Thanks everyone. I am going to J. Gilberts with my family this Saturday to celebrate my birthday and although I can't find anything in MFP or online....it appears to be very similiar to Ruth Chris so I'll just use those entries and adjust accordingly.