Eating out is ruined for me now..

Francl27

I've always loved eating out and trying out new restaurants... but now it's just a real drag. I just spent 2 hours looking for a restaurant to go with my mom tomorrow, and ended up deciding on Applebee's just because it's about the only place I can get the calories for (and she doesn't like Italian restaurants).

My husband had 3 suggestions, and everything looked delicious... but I'm just tired of having to guess calories. I just looked at a menu for kicks and tried to guess the calories for each meal by its description... something that looked pretty healthy turned out to be 1700 calories! (some grilled steak at Macaroni Grill). All those nice local restaurants have random sauces and whatnot, and you just can't know the calories for the food.

Now I dread eating out... the last two times I ended up having to have some salad with dressing on the side, everything else was fried or had sauces, or came with fries (they didn't even offer veggies on the side), it wasn't that great and not even filling. I'm just so over it..

We're going in vacations in 2 weeks and we'll be eating out a lot and I'm already dreading it frankly. Ugh.

SunofaBeach14

What kind of woman dreads eating out?

Achrya

Well that's unfortunate. No woman should dread it.

badumtush


Seriously though, just breath and let it go. You've lost 80 pounds. You aren't going to undo that in one night or in the span of one vacation. Literally nothing is going to happen that you an't come back to MFP and fix in a week or two, assuming anything happens at all.

aldousmom

Pretty much if you stay away from most meats and cheese, and don't order anything fried or with a sauce, don't eat all the bread, and get dressing on the side, you'll be fine. Fish and chicken are *probably* okay, if they're not fried. Hang in there, you'll get it.

Remember that a tablespoon of fat (from any source) is 120 calories ...butter, olive oil, salad dressing, any oil. So, just skipping the butter on bread can save you nearly 300 calories or so.

Keep trying, don't get discouraged. Restaurants many times will make food for you that's not on the menu, if you can see by the menu that they have the ingredients.

LifeWithPie

Applebee's has an 'under 550' menu. (Entrees less than 550cals). It has I think 8 or 9 choices.

Trechechus

Where are you going to dinner? I can usually find something 450-800 calories when I go out.

Cassandram333

Relax and enjoy it. It's just one meal. It won't ruin your week. One meal didn't make you gain it before so why would it now?

QueenBishOTUniverse

Seriously, you are way over thinking this. Yes, trying to log a restaurant meal is really just guess work, but after an 80 pound loss you probably already have a decent idea of how many calories are in most foods and even if you're way off, as Achrya said, one night is NOT going to undo all of your hard work. I have dinner out at least once a week and I still manage to lose steadily, you'll be fine.

And yes, I changed I eat out once a week to I have dinner out once a week, because ya'll are dirty.

donnat238

Don't sweat it! I just returned from vacation and ate at restaurants numerous times and actually lost 1.5 lbs. I walked a lot while sight seeing and bought fruit at the local farmers markets to eat as snacks! Good luck!

vjohn04

one nice meal isn't the end of the world.


eating out certainly isn't the end of the world either.

howardheilweil

I have to agree with Achyra. You really have 2 options, both of which are fine, in my opinion... You can go and ask for a stripped down version of a menu item.. For example, a chicken breast or steak WITHOUT all of the added sauces and toppings, etc... OR, just bite the bullet for that day and have a relaxing dinner, log the 1700 calories, or whatever it is, and start again the next day... Not really a very big deal. Good luck!

azrubael

Two words.
Crab Legs!!!

RaggedyPond

Fish

bajoyba

We don't eat out often, but when we do, we usually choose a local/family owned restaurant because the food is awesome and we like to support local businesses.

If you accurately log your food the rest of the week and successfully maintain a deficit, one estimated meal here and there won't make or break your progress. I find that most menus tend to have a couple of options that are a little more calorie friendly, but if I'm ordering something that I think is super calorific, then I try to fill up on a salad first (dressing on the side) and eat just a portion of my main meal.

Francl27

I have to agree with Achyra. You really have 2 options, both of which are fine, in my opinion... You can go and ask for a stripped down version of a menu item.. For example, a chicken breast or steak WITHOUT all of the added sauces and toppings, etc... OR, just bite the bullet for that day and have a relaxing dinner, log the 1700 calories, or whatever it is, and start again the next day... Not really a very big deal. Good luck!

It's kinda a big deal when you go out to the restaurant 3 or 4 days in a row... and I'm not sure how active we're going to be either (especially as it's 13 hours of driving each way). For tomorrow I wouldn't have cared that much except I already went way over today, and I don't want it to become a pattern...

So yeah, pretty much having to stick to the restaurants that have nutrition info. I wouldn't even trust grilled steak, fish or chicken breast, you never know what oil or butter they put on it...

stephe1987

MFP has a lot of restaurant foods in the database. If the calorie count isn't on the online menu you should check it.

It's okay to treat yourself, just don't do it very often. One meal can have a lot of calories and undo a week of progress especially as you get closer to your goal and the weight is more difficult to lose. I did read somewhere that if you're going to go over it's best to do it all at once rather than over the course of a few days, something to do with the way the body digests food. So have one cheat day not several.

If you know you're going to eat out, you should probably fast during the early part of the day or just have a piece of fruit or something small (<200 calories) to hold you because you don't want to go over by too much.

And there's always cardio. If you go over you can exercise to burn off some of those extra calories.

Francl27

MFP has a lot of restaurant foods in the database. If the calorie count isn't on the online menu you should check it.

It's okay to treat yourself, just don't do it very often. One meal can have a lot of calories and undo a week of progress especially as you get closer to your goal and the weight is more difficult to lose. I did read somewhere that if you're going to go over it's best to do it all at once rather than over the course of a few days, something to do with the way the body digests food. So have one cheat day not several.

If you know you're going to eat out, you should probably fast during the early part of the day or just have a piece of fruit or something small (<200 calories) to hold you because you don't want to go over by too much.

And there's always cardio. If you go over you can exercise to burn off some of those extra calories.

I did 2.5 hours of cardio today and burned a whopping 500 calories! I got to start running I guess.

That whole 'one day isn't the end of the world' thing is the reason why I've only lost 2 pounds in the last 3 months, by the way, lol.

Fsunami

Google Dotti's weight loss zone. Basically has all the restaurants and all the info in one place. It helps me to evaluate 3 choices before I go, so I don't feel limited when looking at a menu.

Really helps when I have an OG or Chili's craving.....:)

Francl27

Google Dotti's weight loss zone. Basically has all the restaurants and all the info in one place. It helps me to evaluate 3 choices before I go, so I don't feel limited when looking at a menu.

Really helps when I have an OG or Chili's craving.....:)

Doesn't really help me as it was local restaurants, but thanks!

Derp_Diggler

Just stop.

I work in a restaurant. While there I eat out three times a week . It's free so I'd be foolish not to. I don't know what the exact calorie count for each meal I eat is, as it would be impossible to figure out. And yet, in the past 40 days I haven't gained or lost any weight. Not one single pound. Why? Because I took the time to learn about the general calorie content of many of the foods that I enjoy. Seriously. A little knowledge can go a long way. If I can do it for over a month you can do it for one day.

them_and_me

this thread is making me giggle