eating out

snowflakechelsea

hard to find the nutritional values when we dine out. resturants have not yed provided nutritional values. ia ma private about my life and never wan to make a point of questioning waiters and maitre ds about the calorie count in a filet minon or chicken martini. ialways ask for no butter preperation and no oil salad ddressin on he the side but i realy do not know how to calculate what i have eaten accurately on fitness pal. any ideas?::happy:

debruhf

Many times you can go to their website (if they have one) and they provide the nutritional information there.....so sometimes, I go online and review the menu and plan accordingly BEFORE I even step foot into the restaurant, that way I have a plan in place and won't be stuck making a rash decision.

ALSO, I have a Droid phone and I've recently downloaded an app called restaurant nutrition and it gives you A LOT of chain restaurant nutritional information right at your fingertips.

But if you are really in a pinch, just be smart about your choices....eat half portions and remember....NO ONE eats perfectly EVERYDAY of their lives!

fitnesspirateninja

Check their website before you go out to eat - a lot of places have that information available online. If you feel comfortable, you can always say you have "dietary restrictions" and would like to see their nutritional information. If they don't have it, or you're uncomfortable asking, just give it your best guess when logging. It's pretty easy to log a dry grilled chicken breast, a side of veggies, or a salad with oil and vinegar, and some brown rice. I don't know how accurate I am with every single thing I log, but I try to get as close as possible. And of course, it's a lot easier when I'm making my own food.

ETA: Fixed a spelling error. Oh! And you might want to buy the Calorie King book: http://www.calorieking.com/. It has nutritional information for a bunch of places, and also just "generic" foods.

NightOwl1

If you eat at a chain restaurant, they will have the nutritional info on their website. The key is to look up the information and make your decision before you get to the restaurant, so that you're making smart choices. If it is a family run restaurant, try to log it by logging a comparable item from a chain restaurant.

Steaks, Chicken, and Seafood tend to be your best choices, as long as they aren't smothered in cheeses and sauces. Avoid the pastas, and be careful with the salads. A lot of them have fried meats, cheeses, and fatty sauces that can make them worse than you would think.