Eating out is ruined for me now..

rsclause

I had a similar problem eating out and wanting hard numbers to plug in. I found that a good big salad with lean meat or fish and balsomic vinaigrette is about 700 calories. A 6 oz steak with grilled veggies will hit around 500 calories. This is close enough for me to add to my diary. A lot of restaurants will have a lite or under 500 section. Of course no bread, fries or potatoes. The worst one I found was zaxby's. Their salads are huge and loaded with calories. The solution, gets plain grilled chicken breast or two. Be inventive, if you know what to eat its not hard.

vickiem74

As much as a drag as it can be, I choose my restaurant before we leave home. I use the online nutrition info and plan my meal in advance that way I know how many calories I will be consuming. It helps and actually takes the stress out of eating out.

sherinico2003

Most restaurants are pretty accommodating. Just ask for an item without sauce or any added butter! You can always sub pasta or fries for steamed veggies too

randomtai

First world problems times infinity. :yawn:

81Katz

I understand about the eating out. I figure if I can make the 'light healthy low cal' (sometimes boring and way too stripped down) food at home then WHAT is the point of eating out?! I agree also about restaurants that don't have calorie counts online, I kind of feel like I have to avoid those places, even though their food is usually better than chain restaurants.

I also don't feel like having to search for each individual item, basically re-build the meal and guesstimate how much I actually ate. The portions/cals might not be exact but when the counts are online, it's just easier.

I know a lot of people say "oh well, just enjoy it, one day won't hurt ya!" but not everyone has that mindset.

So yes, I understand where you are coming from.

I hope your vacation is nice though!

Francl27

First world problems times infinity. :yawn:

Yeah this forum is so full of first world problems, I mean, why are you even here?

4legsRbetterthan2

It can be frustrating: some diet friendly places I know of (they have lower calories meals marked on the menue saying they are less than X # of calories)

Chilis
Ruby Tuesdays

All the major chains I have ever looked up have the nutrition information on their website so you should be able to find it there

some fast foods places are putting the calories on the menue boards , I have seen this at some McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Panera

randomtai

First world problems times infinity. :yawn:

Yeah this forum is so full of first world problems, I mean, why are you even here?

To laugh at people freaking out about eating out. :laugh:

Shropshire1959

It's just one meal, every now and then - why stress over it? Life's too short.

4homer

This probably been said but when I go out i only eat half the meal and take the rest home

jimmmer

Just go and enjoy yourself.

One night isn't going to make a difference one way or the other in the long run.

In fact, smeared across the rest of the week, the extra calories are often insignificant.

fannyfrost

It depends on the restaurant. Personally I avoid chains. There are many tricks to eating out.

1- eat 1/2 of the portion
2- order from the appetizers
3- avoid cheese
4- Assume a little more butter than anything
5- Vegetable burgers are on most menus
6- Ask for the sauce on the side
7- Vegetable wraps are good options
8- Breakfast get cereal and fruit

Tomato based sauces are better. FYI, just because it comes with Fries doesn't mean you need to eat them. Tell them yes you know it comes with Fries, I don't want them. Also if you are going to restaurants look for the better choices of Grilled fish, veggies, etc. We go out a lot and you can do it.

I agree that restaurants don't make it easy. In some states they are starting to require calorie counts on the meals. Most of my local restaurants have better choices than the chains. My husband doesn't eat fried food, so that is very helpful as we go places that don't have those items. We go a lot of places that do steamed fish, for example Joe's Crab Shack, I don't dip my fish in butter, so I don't have to worry about that.

Life is about balance and if you are more worried about the calories you are eating than enjoying your life, you are doing something wrong. I get it that its hard and it is. But life should be way fun.

FYI, vacation the real trick is avoid desert, order steamed items and stay active. Usually I am naturally more active on vacation because we do stuff, walk places, go to museums, walk the beach, swim, etc.

Life is too short to be that focused on calories instead of enjoying the company. Food is not focus of dining out, the company is the focus of dining out. The meal is not the focus, the focus is the family and friends you are out with.

GiveMeCoffee

You have lost 80 lbs and have been around for awhile, you need to learn how to do this with every day living now. Go out enjoy it, you aren't going to put all 80 lbs on from one meal or one vacation. I go out often and most place I go do not offer nutritional information, hasn't been an issue. And if I was going on vacation I would most definitely not be picking places like applebee's to go, just go enjoy yourself. Life is way too short

MildredBarhopper

I just try to find similar dishes that are on MFP and use those to guess the calories. I will eat at a bit of a deficit through the week and then eat those extra cals back on the weekend. However, I have to admit that for special occasions, like a vacation, I don't log and pig out! I put a few pounds on, but after getting back to my normal routine, they come right off.

Francl27

It's just one meal, every now and then - why stress over it? Life's too short.

Because it's not. It's one day after a day I already went over, and it's going to be a whole week in 2 weeks.

I eat out every other week or something, so it's not really new to me, but it's always a frustrating experience when we stick to local places. And I know, I don't have to eat the fries, but I don't want to be starving one hour later either, and just one steak is not going to cut it... Same for the people who say that they only eat half... I don't want to be starving two hours later, as I never know how big the meal is going to be when I order it. It's fairly easy to pack 1000 calories in a small plate, lol.

Acg67

Lol in the past month, i've had 2 10+ course tasting menus, a pop up restaurant lunch ordering 3/4 of the menu and 3 all you can eat and drink events. Somehow I did not become a fat slob despite making no effort to curtail cals at any of them

PinkyFett

What kind of woman dreads eating out?

:devil:

mumblemagic

Give yourself a break!

Jlmervin03

If I know I'm eating out, I usually double my workout to earn more calories.

81Katz

Where you are staying on your vacation, is there a fridge/mini fridge at all? Maybe pack some stuff to take in a cooler and put in the fridge -- if there is one.