Anxiety when eating out

femmi1120

Has anyone else experienced this?
I'm on a road trip with my parents and eating dinner at restaurants has been hellish for me, because the restaurants we've gone to have no nutritional info. While I'd like to think I've been making good choices, it really stresses me out.

I don't mean like mild irritation, I mean like borderline panic attack, to the point where I'm constantly dreading dinner and where we're going to go, what options I'll have, and how accurately i'll be able to guess at portion sizes.

I brought my scale along to measure out snacks I eat in the car or hotel, and I've seriously contemplated sneaking it into the restaurant, but I'm pretty sure that would just make me look completely mental...

Thoughts?

And does anyone have any tips on guessing portions? I usually try to go by those comparisons like one serving of meat = deck of cards or your palm (minus fingers), or a cup is about a fist, but certain foods are very hard to just eyeball...

HMFooden

usually when i go out to eat i'll order a plain salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side (usually oil and vinegar)... even if the restaurant doesn't have something on the menu i'm sure that if its a generic enough food they can whip it up for you. Also, don't be afraid to order your food how you want if you decide to eat something that is on the menu... if its made with fried chicken you can ask for grilled, if somethings made with butter ask for it not to be, this is your body and you decide what goes into it. most restaurants don't have a problem with special requests.

femmi1120

usually when i go out to eat i'll order a plain salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side (usually oil and vinegar)... even if the restaurant doesn't have something on the menu i'm sure that if its a generic enough food they can whip it up for you. Also, don't be afraid to order your food how you want if you decide to eat something that is on the menu... if its made with fried chicken you can ask for grilled, if somethings made with butter ask for it not to be, this is your body and you decide what goes into it. most restaurants don't have a problem with special requests.

Oh definitely, i always do that. In fact, I've had to do it once on this trip already at a restaurant where literally every menu item was fried. I can usually find at least a couple of decent options. I just hate having to guess at how much I'm eating.

Sl1ghtly

Relax, a few meals out won't kill you. Unless you eat some under cooked shrimp, slip in water, or something like that.. anyway..

http://www.dietfacts.com/fastfood.asp

d2footballJRC

Pardon my wording and post, I'm just going to be truly honest with you. Which is part of who I am.

You are being mental. Relax a bit, this is a life style change. You don't plan on living like this the rest of your life do you? Now a couple points.

A. Over indulging unless you are eating literally 3500+ calories OVER your maintenance are you going to gain a pound of weight. B. Many people eat huge once or twice a week, it's called spiking. Your body has to replenish the glucose and other things in your body before it stores anything as fat.
C. Live a little, stress and anxiety will ACTUALLY LEAD to weight gain.
D. If you are like this a lot in real life you might want to see a Dr. about it and maybe get on some medicine to help you relax a bit. Stress is a huge evil weight loss stopper! Going this extreme is a bit over the top, it hints towards you might have some OCD or something kicking in. (I've been diagnosed with OCD, I understand what you are doing, only I've never obsessed over taking a food scale everywhere.)

darylinny

usually when i go out to eat i'll order a plain salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side (usually oil and vinegar)... even if the restaurant doesn't have something on the menu i'm sure that if its a generic enough food they can whip it up for you. Also, don't be afraid to order your food how you want if you decide to eat something that is on the menu... if its made with fried chicken you can ask for grilled, if somethings made with butter ask for it not to be, this is your body and you decide what goes into it. most restaurants don't have a problem with special requests.

This is great advice! Plus you already know the visual cues i.e. deck of cards, palm of your hand etc. Just relax and ask for something grilled or steamed and you'll be fine. The anxiety you feel is a part of the change in attitude and eating behavior that you are going through. It's natural, just remember you are ordering the food so ask for it the way you want it. And worst case scenerio you'll just all leave and pick another restaurant where you'll find something to eat.

ChrisWurt

Pardon my wording and post, I'm just going to be truly honest with you. Which is part of who I am.

You are being mental. Relax a bit, this is a life style change. You don't plan on living like this the rest of your life do you? Now a couple points.

A. Over indulging unless you are eating literally 3500+ calories OVER your maintenance are you going to gain a pound of weight. B. Many people eat huge once or twice a week, it's called spiking. Your body has to replenish the glucose and other things in your body before it stores anything as fat.
C. Live a little, stress and anxiety will ACTUALLY LEAD to weight gain.
D. If you are like this a lot in real life you might want to see a Dr. about it and maybe get on some medicine to help you relax a bit. Stress is a huge evil weight loss stopper! Going this extreme is a bit over the top, it hints towards you might have some OCD or something kicking in. (I've been diagnosed with OCD, I understand what you are doing, only I've never obsessed over taking a food scale everywhere.)

Some GREAT tips there!

The biggest thing I see with my wife is she always thinks she has failed because she over did it one day and tends to give up. I just keep my iPhone with MFP on it and kinda guess on what I can eat. I also make sure if its going to be a night out and I am going to eat something with a lot of calories, I get my butt to the gym and makes sure I burn off what I plan on eating that night and a couple hundred extra for some cushion. If I do go over, I watch the next couple days even more just to make sure that I am not giving up on myself.

ChrisWurt

usually when i go out to eat i'll order a plain salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side (usually oil and vinegar)... even if the restaurant doesn't have something on the menu i'm sure that if its a generic enough food they can whip it up for you. Also, don't be afraid to order your food how you want if you decide to eat something that is on the menu... if its made with fried chicken you can ask for grilled, if somethings made with butter ask for it not to be, this is your body and you decide what goes into it. most restaurants don't have a problem with special requests.

This is great advice! Plus you already know the visual cues i.e. deck of cards, palm of your hand etc. Just relax and ask for something grilled or steamed and you'll be fine. The anxiety you feel is a part of the change in attitude and eating behavior that you are going through. It's natural, just remember you are ordering the food so ask for it the way you want it. And worst case scenerio you'll just all leave and pick another restaurant where you'll find something to eat.

This usually doesn't work for me. Even if I don't change things on the menu, I get the wrong things or the bad meal. When I try and get them not to do something it usually has twice as much of it. I thought it was that i wasn't speaking clearly and it was happening so often that my wife started telling them and I STILL got the exact opposite of what I ordered. LOL Some kind of food karma maybe? LOL

UponThisRock

Experience with estimating calories on not waking up fat helped me a lot.

femmi1120

Pardon my wording and post, I'm just going to be truly honest with you. Which is part of who I am.

You are being mental. Relax a bit, this is a life style change. You don't plan on living like this the rest of your life do you? Now a couple points.

A. Over indulging unless you are eating literally 3500+ calories OVER your maintenance are you going to gain a pound of weight. B. Many people eat huge once or twice a week, it's called spiking. Your body has to replenish the glucose and other things in your body before it stores anything as fat.
C. Live a little, stress and anxiety will ACTUALLY LEAD to weight gain.
D. If you are like this a lot in real life you might want to see a Dr. about it and maybe get on some medicine to help you relax a bit. Stress is a huge evil weight loss stopper! Going this extreme is a bit over the top, it hints towards you might have some OCD or something kicking in. (I've been diagnosed with OCD, I understand what you are doing, only I've never obsessed over taking a food scale everywhere.)

To be very honest, I feel like it has started to become a little ocd for me. Realistically I know being a hundred or so calories off from my guess won't be the end of the world especially when I'm doing my best to eat the right calories. But I'm still constantly anxious about not being in absolute control of my portions and while I haven't actually cut anything out of my diet (not even fried foods, junk foods, or dessert), I am absolutely terrified to eat certain things. Like yesterday, my parents ordered a piece of cheesecake for all of us to share, and I said i'd have a bite, but when it actually came out, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's not just that I didn't need it or want it, bit I was actually scared of it.

d2footballJRC

Pardon my wording and post, I'm just going to be truly honest with you. Which is part of who I am.

You are being mental. Relax a bit, this is a life style change. You don't plan on living like this the rest of your life do you? Now a couple points.

A. Over indulging unless you are eating literally 3500+ calories OVER your maintenance are you going to gain a pound of weight. B. Many people eat huge once or twice a week, it's called spiking. Your body has to replenish the glucose and other things in your body before it stores anything as fat.
C. Live a little, stress and anxiety will ACTUALLY LEAD to weight gain.
D. If you are like this a lot in real life you might want to see a Dr. about it and maybe get on some medicine to help you relax a bit. Stress is a huge evil weight loss stopper! Going this extreme is a bit over the top, it hints towards you might have some OCD or something kicking in. (I've been diagnosed with OCD, I understand what you are doing, only I've never obsessed over taking a food scale everywhere.)

To be very honest, I feel like it has started to become a little ocd for me. Realistically I know being a hundred or so calories off from my guess won't be the end of the world especially when I'm doing my best to eat the right calories. But I'm still constantly anxious about not being in absolute control of my portions and while I haven't actually cut anything out of my diet (not even fried foods, junk foods, or dessert), I am absolutely terrified to eat certain things. Like yesterday, my parents ordered a piece of cheesecake for all of us to share, and I said i'd have a bite, but when it actually came out, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's not just that I didn't need it or want it, bit I was actually scared of it.

You need to go see a Dr. Get this in check before it becomes an eating disorder. Seriously, speaking from experience here. I wish you the best.

Also another thing is learning how to measure food portions compared to the size of your hands. It takes some getting used to but you can get pretty darn accurate after awhile. I'm really good at estimating the size of chicken breasts now from eating them and doing it so often. Same with a cup of pasta and etc.

I truly do wish you the best, and I hope I haven't offended you.

Onesnap

I travel a lot for work in the spring and in the fall.

I don't eat at chain restaurants unless presented with no other option.

I don't suffer from anxiety when eating out because on a day I eat out I make sure to do something active. I also know what works for me personally. Since I tend to support small family owned restaurants I don't get this type of anxiety.

I also pre-plan my day as much as possible.

itsuki

Let me start out by saying I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

BUT

If the concept of eating out can make you anxious to the point where you have a panic attack is not just "being mental" or being really picky about your diet. Are there other things in your life that can lead to panic attacks, or just food?

The fact that you seem able to admit that it's kind of an irrational reaction combined with the fact that the food doesn't make you feel guilty or self-conscious, but rather scared or panicky, sounds like you could have an underlying issue here.

If it's getting to the point that the anxiety is affecting your daily life (and it sounds like it is, no one should be scared of eating one bite of cheesecake), it may be time to see a doctor. If you have a GP he or she could refer you to someone who specializes in OCD/anxiety disorders/etc.

Just my 2c. I do have OCD as well, and it took me a long time to realize I should actually do something about it (it affects my daily life in a BIG way). I wish I had talked to a doctor sooner!

sparkly96

Just relax, dont make yourself crazy over this. Order what you think may be a good choice and when you get back home then you continue on calories counting. I've been on vacation while dieting and would eat out and came home without gaining weight but if you do gain a little weight so what chuck it off and continue dieting when you get home. You have to live life and enjoy yourself. Continue making good meal choices but dont stress it while on vacation. Good luck!

Jesea

I agree with all the posts about making sensible choices when eating out...but are you getting any exercise? You can always jog in place for 20 min or so at the hotel (feels kinda silly but I've done it) and burn a couple hundred calories if you overdo at dinner

2012asv

I am an advocate for moderation. Unless you plan on NEVER eating out ever again, that's fine- but if you are trying to incorporate this into your "lifestyle" you need to be able to balance high calorie meals once and a while. It's a part of life. However, be careful with what you are putting in your body- I pretty much only eat home cooked meals and this last weekend while on a roadtrip with family I guilt-lessly indulged in some pizza... it was DELISH however since my body is not used to that stuff I was puking it up within half an hour.
Overall, dont be afraid to take control of what you're putting in your body, but also dont deprive yourself out of fear that one meal with throw you off track... that's the beauty of cardio! even 15-20 mins can balance you out a little bit!
Good luck hun

sun33082

I feel your pain. Tomorrow morning I leave for a 2 day conference for work and first I was stressing because I thought the meals were going to be provided and I'd have no choice. Now I'm stressing because meals are on our own, but none of the restaurants at the hotel have websites. So I don't even know what the menus are like.

And no I can't just leave the hotel and go somewhere else because it's in Frenchlick Indiana out in the middle of no where, where all there is is the 2 1920s style hotels that have their own restaurants. My plan is salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side or a small steak with some kind of steamed veggies, but it's still stressful.

I'm also packing some apples and clementines and beef jerky so that I can have that for snacks.

femmi1120

Pardon my wording and post, I'm just going to be truly honest with you. Which is part of who I am.

You are being mental. Relax a bit, this is a life style change. You don't plan on living like this the rest of your life do you? Now a couple points.

A. Over indulging unless you are eating literally 3500+ calories OVER your maintenance are you going to gain a pound of weight. B. Many people eat huge once or twice a week, it's called spiking. Your body has to replenish the glucose and other things in your body before it stores anything as fat.
C. Live a little, stress and anxiety will ACTUALLY LEAD to weight gain.
D. If you are like this a lot in real life you might want to see a Dr. about it and maybe get on some medicine to help you relax a bit. Stress is a huge evil weight loss stopper! Going this extreme is a bit over the top, it hints towards you might have some OCD or something kicking in. (I've been diagnosed with OCD, I understand what you are doing, only I've never obsessed over taking a food scale everywhere.)

To be very honest, I feel like it has started to become a little ocd for me. Realistically I know being a hundred or so calories off from my guess won't be the end of the world especially when I'm doing my best to eat the right calories. But I'm still constantly anxious about not being in absolute control of my portions and while I haven't actually cut anything out of my diet (not even fried foods, junk foods, or dessert), I am absolutely terrified to eat certain things. Like yesterday, my parents ordered a piece of cheesecake for all of us to share, and I said i'd have a bite, but when it actually came out, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's not just that I didn't need it or want it, bit I was actually scared of it.

You need to go see a Dr. Get this in check before it becomes an eating disorder. Seriously, speaking from experience here. I wish you the best.

Also another thing is learning how to measure food portions compared to the size of your hands. It takes some getting used to but you can get pretty darn accurate after awhile. I'm really good at estimating the size of chicken breasts now from eating them and doing it so often. Same with a cup of pasta and etc.

I truly do wish you the best, and I hope I haven't offended you.

No, not offended. Not too surprised either. It's just that I've found from past attempts at weight loss that it's all too easy for the line to get blurred between trying to be healthy by exercising and watching what you eat and getting to the point where it starts to take over your life.
I used to give myself a day off from counting cals to prevent stuff like this, but lately I've started tracking my spike days also...

As for all of the suggestions on working them off, I probably should have added that being on a road trip, I'm in the car most of the day, and I did bring a workout to do in the hotel room which was custom made for me by a trainer at my gym. Only problem is that whether or not I actually get to do the workout fully depends on when I get to the hotel room and when everyone decides to go to sleep :-/ which is just fueling the stress...

femmi1120

Let me start out by saying I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

BUT

If the concept of eating out can make you anxious to the point where you have a panic attack is not just "being mental" or being really picky about your diet. Are there other things in your life that can lead to panic attacks, or just food?

The fact that you seem able to admit that it's kind of an irrational reaction combined with the fact that the food doesn't make you feel guilty or self-conscious, but rather scared or panicky, sounds like you could have an underlying issue here.

If it's getting to the point that the anxiety is affecting your daily life (and it sounds like it is, no one should be scared of eating one bite of cheesecake), it may be time to see a doctor. If you have a GP he or she could refer you to someone who specializes in OCD/anxiety disorders/etc.

Just my 2c. I do have OCD as well, and it took me a long time to realize I should actually do something about it (it affects my daily life in a BIG way). I wish I had talked to a doctor sooner!

I don't really get stressed or feel anxious a lot. It seems to be very limited to counting cals. Same with ocd. To my knowledge, it doesn't seem to really affect any other areas of my life.

d2footballJRC

Let me start out by saying I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

BUT

If the concept of eating out can make you anxious to the point where you have a panic attack is not just "being mental" or being really picky about your diet. Are there other things in your life that can lead to panic attacks, or just food?

The fact that you seem able to admit that it's kind of an irrational reaction combined with the fact that the food doesn't make you feel guilty or self-conscious, but rather scared or panicky, sounds like you could have an underlying issue here.

If it's getting to the point that the anxiety is affecting your daily life (and it sounds like it is, no one should be scared of eating one bite of cheesecake), it may be time to see a doctor. If you have a GP he or she could refer you to someone who specializes in OCD/anxiety disorders/etc.

Just my 2c. I do have OCD as well, and it took me a long time to realize I should actually do something about it (it affects my daily life in a BIG way). I wish I had talked to a doctor sooner!

I don't really get stressed or feel anxious a lot. It seems to be very limited to counting cals. Same with ocd. To my knowledge, it doesn't seem to really affect any other areas of my life.

That sounds like OCD to be honest. That is how I get, I get one thing in my head and that is my compulsion. Biggest thing to remember is stress regardless of the situation is not healthy and is harmful to your health and weight loss goals. Just relax a bit, sometimes taking a couple days off from counting the calories and just eating sensibly can help. Call it a refeed of sorts.

femmi1120

See, I've thought about just taking a few days off for the rest of the trip. But I don't think I can. Like, I feel like I'll still be trying to track it in my head if nothing else :-/

That's why I started off doing it once a week, to make it a habit to take days off, but I haven't done that since valentine's day and now I think trying it will just stress me out even more

seebeachrun

Don't track the spike days! Part of what makes them enjoyable is not having to count. I eat what I want when I want on that one day per week and I have found that I am paying more attention to my body when it signals that I am full or something doesn't agree with me.

Case in point, this past Saturday was my cheat day (my diary is blank on cheat days.) It was my FH's turn to pick the cheat day main meal because we rotate each week (last week I picked, this week he picks.) He wanted Publix spicy fried chicken wings and a large meat lover's pizza from our local pizza place. When we last ordered the same pizza, roughly 3 weeks ago, I put down three slices in one sitting by myself. This time I finished one piece and then my stomach couldn't take any more.

Use your "spike" as a day to relax and enjoy food without counting or worrying. As for the road trip exercise thing, it doesn't sound like there is much you can do unless you commit to using the hotel gym and/or taking a walk (if you're in a safe area.) I try not to be hard on myself during vacations since a lot of the time you are stuck with what everyone else wants to do or where they want to eat. I just get back to work when I get home.

femmi1120

Yea, counting my spike days ended up being a really bad idea. I started because I was afraid of letting them become full out binge days :-/

kbmnurse

Relax. There must be something on the menu you can choose that would be healthy.

john41958

Just had a great experience that I wanted to share so all of us go in and keep this attention to healthy eaters on the menu! My wife and I had lunch at Ruby Tuesday yesterday and were having the usual struggle with finding something to eat on their menu when I notice that they have added spaghetti squash marinara to their menu. It was really good (not the best sauce I ever had but definitely good) and 257 calories! We each got one and we also got a side order of grilled chicken breast that we cut up and put in it for some protein. Go there...order this...it is so rare that a big chain like this actually takes the interests of healthy people into account and this should be rewarded in sales, the only real language they speak.

Megclark37

bump

Leiki

Ask them to box half of it, and bring out only a half portion, or split with someone.

Choose grilled or fresh if you can.

Choose light on sauces and dressings, or get them on the side.

Just enjoy your meal, and get back on track after you get home. You can enjoy food once in a while, as long as you manage the portions.

HorrorChix89

Wow I agree with everyone saying you need to relax. Life is about enjoying yourself, not worrying about how much butter the cook put in the mashed potatoes. A road trip with family should be a time when you kick your feet up and say to hell with worries and stress...well besides gas money lol. Just breathe, relax, and have fun. If going out has you THIS stressed you, then you need to take a step back and check yo self.

KrazyAsianNic

Sometimes when you eat out you will just need to do the best you can to record it and hope you either recorded it accurately, or personally, I'll overrecord to be safe. I mean, I feel as long as you are recording something, it's all good. Plus, road trips are suppose to be fun. It's okay to have a couple not so healthy meals as long as when the trip is over, you're back on your normal routine.

lilo1971

Yes I do, i start doing the calculating of what the H$% am I going to eat at that place and I usally end up with a plain salad, grilled chicken and water

PositivelyFlawed

Just the fact that u are posting here worried leads me to believe you are making the best possible choice for yourself. The first step is awareness. Do the best you can, make healthy choices as much as you can, that is all anyone can ask of you and all you can ask of yourself!