Estimating takeout calories

albertine58

I'm wondering how most people go about estimating calories in takeout Chinese & Thai dishes, particularly. I've seen wildly different calorie counts all over the internet, and of course the same dish made by a different chef could have much more/less oil - but how do you estimate how much oil was used? I know there's not going to be a correct answer; I just want to see what people tend to do.

I know it's a much better idea to just cook everything at home so I can measure all the ingredients, and that has always been my approach to weight loss- and it's been very successful....until I lose steam after 12 lbs, spend a week ordering all my favorite takeout, and then don't climb back on the wagon again for 2 months. It's a lovely cycle! So I'm determined to show myself that I can lose weight while still eating the less-healthy foods I crave sometimes - but I need to be able to track somewhat accurately, and know whether my fried tofu + broccoli is in the ballpark of 600, 1000, or 1200 calories! The internet is allll over the place on that one. Pad thai as well!

bajoyba

I order vegetarian Pad Thai occasionally, so I understand your struggle! I usually choose an entry with calories on the high side to be safe, but I also check out the macros to see if they seem accurate and in line with what I'm actually eating. Sometimes I also try to eat only half or 3/4 of the order to leave room for error... but I have been known to eat the whole thing.

Some of my favorite restaurants are small, family owned establishments, so there is always a lot of estimation involved. As long as you only eat out on occasion, it shouldn't affect your long-term progress.

chezjuan

I generally look up several different versions of the food and log the average (the mode as opposed to the mean). I play with portion sizes based on what the entries say.

So if I get Kung Pao Chicken, and three out of five entries say 300 calories for 100g, I use one of the 300 calorie entries, then do my best to estimate the portion size. It hasn't done me wrong yet.

exercise2day2

It is tough to estimate, but if it is just a treat once in a while, the impact of miscounting is not too significant. I like to check some of the websites from fast food or food court type Thai, Japanese or Chinese restaurants. A lot of them have nutritional information. It will give you an estimate at least. Good Luck

just4nessa

I check the USDA website first: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list. If I don't find what I'm looking for there, then I use chezjuan's method of averaging from several similar entries. Just have to keep an eye on those portion sizes.