Do you eat sushi? If so, please help!

fitnfreeme

It's hard enough for me to keep within my daily calorie goal even when I prepare my own food, so I have avoided eating out since I started MFP. I have a date tomorrow night, first date. He doesn't know I'm dieting. He suggested a local sushi restaurant, Old Chicago Pizza, or whatever I'd prefer. I know enough about nutrition that I chose the sushi over pizza, but two questions: 1) How filling is sushi? Would you recommend I pre-eat before the date so I don't get famished later? and 2) I'd appreciate any healthful recommendations, really any recommendations at all. I've only eaten sushi once or twice before. I remember enjoying it well enough, but little else. What's good? What's bad? In general and nutritionally? I checked the Calorie King website just now but it wasn't especially helpful to me.

Qarol

Avocado roll and spicy tuna roll maybe with some wonton soup. Totally filling.

What's bad is the fried stuff. Yummy but baaaaad.

djkshdfd

I eat sushi at least once a week. A roll that is all fresh fish and no creamy dressings or deep frying is about 300 calories. I find one decent size roll filling but i usually have edmame with my roll.

utes09

You want to stick to the basics as much as you can. Regular tuna rolls are good. They're just tuna, rice and seaweed. Avocado or any vegetable rolls are good. You could also get sashami or nigiri. That's just a piece of fish on a small bed of rice. The spicy rolls are mixed with mayo and tempura rolls are fried. Also stay away from rolls with cream cheese.

jillkent12

Sushi to me is extremely filling as long as you pace yourself during the dining out process. Eat a piece and put the chop sticks down, pause and have some water in between. The rice will expand in your stomach and cause you to feel full. Some good tips to remember when eating sushi, some restaurants offer brown rice sushi which is a good way to keep the nutritional content. Other things to remember about sushi is to stick with as many veggies in the roll as possible!

Good Luck!

maryd523

Sushi is totally delicious, filling, and nutritious. Oh, and low-cal! Just stay away from the spicy mayo (a little bit is okay) and the fried rolls, and you will be fine!!

whatwentwrong

if you're worried about being full, get some edamame (soybeans) and fill up on those i always get inarizushi (sweet tofu) and tamago (sweet omelette) sushi because i don't like fish, but they're not the healthiest :P

skinnyjeanzbound

I eat sushi frequently (usually for lunch) and I typically get the spicy tuna roll--6 pieces which I find to be the perfect amount for a lite lunch. It is about 350 calories total. I think most of the rolls are pretty filling b/c of the rice. Some sushi places offer brown rice sushi which is definitely better than white rice. I would also avoid any of the tempura style rolls since they will contain deep fried seafood. In addition to the spicy tuna, I also like the crab and eel. I would say order a couple of rolls to share and then see if you 2 are hungry and want to add another dish. I wouldn't pre-eat, but that's b/c I absolutely love sushi and would rather save my calories for that

LeelaLosing

i wouldn't make yourself crazy as it's only one meal, i would just decide to enjoy it and try to enjoy getting to know him. if it makes you feel better, make time for an extra long workout during the day and day after.

it depends what kind of fish you like, i love salmon and any kind of tuna and albacore so i usually get sashimi (sliced fish, no rice), sliced fish on top of rice is sushi.....if you want to skip the rice order it as sashimi. rolls usually have rice. I am not a huge eater and it doesn't take much to fill me up so I usually get one order of baked crab rolls or some other roll and one order of salmon sashimi with sake. and it's fun to share so i would just go with the night! have fun and yum yum, i love sushi and haven't had dinner yet!!

ZombieKillaPrincess

the healthiest choice would be to stick with just the sashimi- the proteins alone instead of the rolls which can have a lot of rice and sauces, but even then, if you can one roll, it wouldn't be too bad. I like the spicy tuna and salmon a lot. sushi can be filling but it's also easy to eat a lot of it.

biggirl1000

Sushi is a great way to stay on your plan. Stick with the sashimi - a 3 oz serving of salmon sashimi is about 150 cals. All sashimi is low cal and a great source of protein. I also start with an order of edamame - another great source of protein. If you cannot find the calories here, try http://caloriecount.about.com .....I find this a good resource as well.

lovecrystaljoy

I Love SUSHI and yes it is filling my favorie are the Philli Rolls a little crispy and sweet or the TNT if you like Spicy another good thing to order before your meal is edemame witch are like green beans but better

adidrea

Sushi is pretty low cal and filling! Maybe keep it light on the soy sauce since it has tons of sodium and might make the scale go up due to water retention. I'd also check if the restaurant you're going to has an online nutrition menu...that way you can plan for it ahead of time and adjust your other meals Good luck and enjoy your date!!

_GlaDOS_

Avoid the rolls that have fried items (or are fried), as well as those that have mayo or other sauces. There are a lot of basic sushi rolls in the food database here that you can look at to see what the calories are. I find sushi to be pretty filling, but then again, when I get sushi I go all out, fried rolls and all, and stuff my face.

I say relax and enjoy the date, splurge a little bit and don't think too much about calorie counting. :drinker:

anamikaraks

Most sushi places offer simple soups too, like Miso. It's usually low cal and tasty. I am also known to look the place up online so I can decide ahead of time what I will and won't eat. My standard sushi order is edamame, cucumber roll, house special (a crab roll with just rice, crab, seaweed wrapper, and mackerel), and salmon nigiri (the raw salmon on a rice ball). I am usually not hungry for 4-5 hours afterwards.

Have a great time and congrats on trying something new!

ScrappyKat

I'm not a raw fish type of gal, but I do love my vege sushi I get once in a while. It usually has yellow pickle, carrot and cucumber in it. I have found time and again, that after eating this my blood sugar levels go down a little.

Crystal817

www.sushifaq.com/sushi-calories.htm

mcrowe1016

Sushi is very filling and one of my favorite things to eat. Be careful with the calorie counts from above, as I eat at three different sushi places, and they all have very different versions of certain rolls.

Plain salmon and tuna rolls are what I would recommend, and they happen to taste amazing. (two rolls should be plenty, but I am always tempted to get three. Order two at the beginning. If you are still hungry, order a third later)

You asked if sushi was filling, so I am going to give a little history lesson about rice. When rice became popular, it was being farmed in poor areas where people could not afford enough food. Rice was perfect because it packs a lot of calories in a small package, so you do not have to eat a lot to feel full.

Sushi rolls are nice portion controlled servings of rice, but be careful because it does pack a caloric punch.

Have a great night out, and I hope you like sushi as much as I do!

ladyjessa2

Just wanted to jump in and say while your enjoying your sushi be mindful of your liquid calories. Japanese beer, wine, and saki are usually flowing whenever I go out for sushi with friends. Saying oh I'll just have a little saki sometimes has a way of turning into, I just drank how many calories? Enjoy yourself and have fun.

lanaholt

You can ask them to go light on the rice and some places have brown rice or whole grain rice, adds texture and is more filling. Avoid alcohol if possible and eat slow. Enjoy your conversation, have fun and don't fixate on the food.

fitnfreeme

Great points! Thank you all so much! I'm looking forward to tonight even more than before!

BrewerGeorge

Most sushi places I've been aren't going to take well to YOU telling THEM what to do regarding brown rice or rice portions or whatnot.

Six pieces of nigiri (I like swordfish and tuna especially), with miso soup and edamame to start should be well under 500 Cal. Really, just avoid the fried stuff and don't eat a dozen pieces and it's hard to go wrong. Be a bit careful if they serve that salad with creamy dressing...

Erica_theRedhead

Also, look around for the low sodium soy sauce. Keeping track of your calories and then drenching rice and sushi in pure salt is not a good idea. If they don't have it out on the table, ask becuase they should have some in the back.

fteale

I think sushi has surprisingly high calories for it's size! I always get cucumber and avocado maki, and tam ago, but then I am vegetarian. You definitely won't need to eat beforehand.

Jesung

Sashimi is great as others have mentioned. Everything else will have some rice or deep fried so it won't be as good for you.

NeuroticVirgo

i wouldn't make yourself crazy as it's only one meal, i would just decide to enjoy it and try to enjoy getting to know him. if it makes you feel better, make time for an extra long workout during the day and day after.

I totally agree with this! Its a first date! Its ok to let one meal go here and there (just not a habit! lol). I would just go out and enjoy yourself, and not even worry about what your eating. Be adventurous and try a few different things. I like California rolls personally, but when I was on Vacation a few months ago I went on a "date" with my husband and got a sampler platter. It was neat to try each thing, and makes for good conversation too.

Sushi is actually pretty good too! Coming from someone who doesn't like FISH! Like I seriously do not like cooked fish, I don't like Tuna...but I like Sushi...its very weird....

kalilioness

I think all of the advice given is super, I would only add beware of the soy sauce. Ask for low sodium because regular will make you bloat. Other than that have a wonderful dinner and I hope the date goes well!!!!!

BrewerGeorge

This thread totally inspired me, so I just got back from taking my 10 yr old for sushi. Yum

Thanks for the idea!

ninerbuff

It's hard enough for me to keep within my daily calorie goal even when I prepare my own food, so I have avoided eating out since I started MFP. I have a date tomorrow night, first date. He doesn't know I'm dieting. He suggested a local sushi restaurant, Old Chicago Pizza, or whatever I'd prefer. I know enough about nutrition that I chose the sushi over pizza, but two questions: 1) How filling is sushi? Would you recommend I pre-eat before the date so I don't get famished later? and 2) I'd appreciate any healthful recommendations, really any recommendations at all. I've only eaten sushi once or twice before. I remember enjoying it well enough, but little else. What's good? What's bad? In general and nutritionally? I checked the Calorie King website just now but it wasn't especially helpful to me.

Eat sashimi with just a little rice and you can't really go wrong at all. Just make sure to drink a lot of water though cause sodium is going to be your culprit.

Erica_theRedhead

Totally inspired! I was reading this at work and just convinced my coworkers to get sushi for dinner YUM!

Rawzy

When i go, I usually order a huge Pot of green tea. I make sure to drink my tea before bites of sushi, i get fuller faster, and get the benefits of the green tea!