Eating out

saraht109

What is the best way to find the calories you have consumed if eating at a restaurant that doesnt show on the database ..... just guestimate I guess.

Vegan_Chick

I have always heard that whatever the calories you think you have eaten at a restaurant, to triple it. Especially at the chain restaurants as they use extremely high amounts of fat and preservatives.

bry_all01

most restaraunts actually have their nutritional value on their web-site and many are listed in the food diary, too

Coltsman4ever

A lot of restaurants have their nutritional information on their websites.
I would check there first.

maghedo

Best way to do is guesstimate. What I do is i find the meat or vegetable in the database and add them separately and depending on how its cooked i may add the obvious ingredients like if I had chicken with mushrooms and onions on it. Then I put chicken (piece) and then mushrooms and onions saute... even if the calories are low or high if you stay consistent it works itself out. Trust me I have lost a lot of weight and this process works....have a good one.

bry_all01

Best way to do is guesstimate. What I do is i find the meat or vegetable in the database and add them separately and depending on how its cooked i may add the obvious ingredients like if I had chicken with mushrooms and onions on it. Then I put chicken (piece) and then mushrooms and onions saute... even if the calories are low or high if you stay consistent it works itself out. Trust me I have lost a lot of weight and this process works....have a good one.

is this a joke?

jrhstarlight

most restaraunts actually have their nutritional value on their web-site and many are listed in the food diary, too

Sorry wrong, I visited my family for a month and we ate out alot and yes checked the website if they even HAD one and no luck. Guesstimate is the best you can do by trying to find something similar in the database and go with it and don't overindulge later in the day in case there were more calories in what you ate. Alot of places are mom and pop type places that don't have websites or nutritional info ready on hand or local food chains.

bry_all01

most restaraunts actually have their nutritional value on their web-site and many are listed in the food diary, too

Sorry wrong, I visited my family for a month and we ate out alot and yes checked the website if they even HAD one and no luck. Guesstimate is the best you can do by trying to find something similar in the database and go with it and don't overindulge later in the day in case there were more calories in what you ate. Alot of places are mom and pop type places that don't have websites or nutritional info ready on hand or local food chains.

Hmm, nope. I WOULD check there first, before making a guesstimate, and IF there is not a website, which in this day and age is almost unheared of, then, and only then would I guesstimate.

gatorflyer

I check websites first and plan where I am going to go based on what I see. In cases where I can't find the exact things, I find similar things and add them up to come up with best guess. I usually will err on the side of going higher, that way I'm not lulling myself into a false sense of eating fewer calories. Seems to work for me.

bry_all01

I check websites first and plan where I am going to go based on what I see. In cases where I can't find the exact things, I find similar things and add them up to come up with best guess. I usually will err on the side of going higher, that way I'm not lulling myself into a false sense of eating fewer calories. Seems to work for me.

THIS makes sense.

saraht109

Thanks guys ... did look to see if they had a menu with info etc on but no joy so think I will try and work it out from the database and add extra on just to be safe. We dont eat out a lot so shouldnt affect me too badly.

Have to say I am loving this site btw

jdavila73

I usually pre-select my meal down to the drink and appetizer from the restaurant’s website before heading there. Of course you have to stick with it and not be enticed by other items on the menu when you’re there. If the restaurant doesn’t have nutritional information on their website, then I search for the closest thing I can find in the MFP database and choose the one with the highest calorie value.

rdmchugh

I travel for a living, so eating out for a week at a time is the only option. I have learned to avoid chain restaraunts completely. Before I travel, I go online to look for places that serve "natural" "whole food" or "vegetarian" and either ask or guess as close as I can. Most of these locally run businesses are eager to help. When I find a good place, I will order dinner for that night and take out for lunch the next day (if there is a fridge in the hotel room). If I have trouble finding such a place to eat within a reasonable distance (like being on foot in New York City) I will do Thai, Indian or Seafood and be very careful about what I order. So far it seems to be working, just takes a little effort.

alcon79

I went to a local Mexican restaurant last weekend and they don't have nutritional information. In the database, I looked up equivalent foods at chain Mexican places like Don Pablo's or On the Border as an estimate. I figure it's in the ballpark since they're all restaurants and likely using similar oils, salt prep and the chain is probably slightly higher in cals than what I had.

momof3dll

I have always heard that whatever the calories you think you have eaten at a restaurant, to triple it. Especially at the chain restaurants as they use extremely high amounts of fat and preservatives.

Ain't that the truth! Found out a full size Southwestern Salad at Applebees is a whopping 1240 calories...yikes! I just try to avoid restaurants as much as possible.