How to figure calories when eating out?

wimom27

My daughter has an awards banquet tomorrow night. I think I have gotten to where I am pretty good and knowing which foods are good and which are not so good for me, but how do I actually determine the amount of calories I will be taking in when I am eating at a banquet where I have not prepared the foods myself? Any suggestions?

susinator

Maybe call the school and ask what they are having so you can figure it up before hand would be an idea. Or just eating well all day and then be sensible at the banguet, anything you go over you can just make up for in calories burned at the gym :-)

sleepynite

Just use the closest estimates based on your feel. Its just a gauge

ceejay000

This isn't the advice you're going to get from most people, but personally, I'd take the night off from logging... You know the choices you're making, and in the end the scale will be the final judge. This isn't the right choice for everyone, but this is what I'll do sometimes.

Another thing you could try is guess how many calories you're eating... if your normal meal is 300 cal, and this is equivalent, you can "quick add" 300 calories. If you think the meal is more than your normal meals, you can add 400 or 500 calories. It all depends on how accurate you want to be.

Pebble321

All you can do in that situation is take a guess - When I eat out I look for a healthier option if there is one and try to stay away from too many extras like bread, dessert and wine. And I don't always eat all of my meal if it is too big or calorie laden - so I might eat all the meat but not all the mash or rice. Or just half the starter or a bite of dessert. Then, when I have a chance I search in the database for something similar so I have a guideline as to how much I've eaten.
But I also think that life doesn't stop because you are eating less - enjoy the occasion, eat what seems sensible to you, splash out on drinks or dessert if you will enjoy them then get back to normal programming the next day.

Patricialau

hahaha. i always take the one with higher calories so that I will feel guilty and eat less the next day.

wimom27

Patricialau.... that made me laugh! This banquet is actually a potluck style with meat and beverages supplied by the school.... I guess I will just have to exercise some self-control and stick to the salads and veggie trays... take smaller portions of the obvious higher calorie foods. I am working extra hard at keeping my eating under control especially since I cheated twice this weekend and went crazy on junkie fatty foods! Thanks for the advice all!

djhavoc

Patricialau.... that made me laugh! This banquet is actually a potluck style with meat and beverages supplied by the school.... I guess I will just have to exercise some self-control and stick to the salads and veggie trays... take smaller portions of the obvious higher calorie foods. I am working extra hard at keeping my eating under control especially since I cheated twice this weekend and went crazy on junkie fatty foods! Thanks for the advice all!

You could just eat really light during the day (before the banquet) maybe 500-600 calories then enjoy (reward) yourself at banquet with a 500-1000 calorie foods and just stick to drinking water that would keep you under or at your calorie goal.