Eating out

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Replies

  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    Personally, we go out to eat once a week when we take the 90 mile drive to town for groceries. I don't even attempt to log restaurant food because even if I go through item by item, there is always unknown ingredients.

    I don't always stick to grilled or baked things either. if I want fries or onion rings or a bacon cheeseburger...I get it.

    This has been my process for a year and it hasn't hindered my weightloss to get what I want and not worry about it. A meal or a day will not hurt your progress..unless you're doing it constantly.
  • Brandicaloriecountess
    Brandicaloriecountess Posts: 2,126 Member
    i thought this was about something else.

    X2
  • KatherineVictoria
    KatherineVictoria Posts: 68
    I typically look in up... but for the case of not knowing, perhaps create the recipe (I saw others had this same idea). After I create recipes from going out or having someone else cook my food I always, always add atleast an extra 100 calories to it to cover anything I might have missed. Sometimes an extra 200 if I know butter was involved.
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
    A day off never hurt any body!
    Enjoy yourself & then get back on the wagon tomorrow :)
    Meanwhile, stick to what you know is healthy, go with your gut instinct!
    Nothing fried, go for grilled, like grilled chicken or fish :)
    No oils, butters or dressings! They're evil ;)

    ^^^THIS - just don't take 10 days off in a ROW. 1 fried cheese stick or a few nachos or some hot wings or maybe a beer or even ALL that together won't throw you off track. I'll get flamed for this but its 3500 calories to a LB so even if you really really over indulge and say you eat 5000 calories you will be back on track in no time. You have to enjoy moments here and there its when you are enjoying the moments DAILY that causes the issues.

    just my 2 cents

    No flaming, definitely agreeing!

    I ran into this problem at lunch today. Went out for Thai food for lunch at a local place, no nutritional info available. I do my best to guess at the calories based off the many, many duplicate entries in the MFP database. I make an educated guess at it, and try to err on the conservative (higher calorie) side for what I log. If I'm off a little, I'm off. So what. I'm not going to put 40 lbs back on due to one meal.
  • xMonroeMisfit
    xMonroeMisfit Posts: 411 Member
    Go and estimate. Eat sensible the rest of the day and get healthy options, no fried foods, etc.

    Dont listen to people that say dont go, this is a lifestyle change, youre not always going to go to places that have nutritional menus available and you cant restrict yourself.

    Enjoy!
  • Rosa1213
    Rosa1213 Posts: 456 Member
    I just overestimate on the calories.
    if I find something similar on MFP's database, I'll log for 1.5X the amount I actually ate. I end up with like 2000-2300 calories for my day, but I make a note in my diary that says why. Also, I usually try to limit myself to one "unhealthy" thing when I go out. If I have a salad, I'll allow myself some fries off of my boyfriend's plate :) Or if I have two sides to choose, I'll get the steamed veggies for one, and the mac & cheese for the other.

    Oh, and I almost forgot: even after you over-log what you ate and overestimate, and you end up with like 2000 calories. Stop and think that that's what normal people eat for just one day of normal activity. It won't kill you. PLUS, you overestimated, so you probably didn't even eat that much :)
  • lax75
    lax75 Posts: 118 Member
    I often have to go to business/client meals where I don't have any input into the choice of restaurant, don't want to have to ask the wait staff too many questions, and can't walk out with a doggie bag. And some of these are celebratory events at relatively fancy places with fancy suces, large portions, etc.. I track food mostly to control my sodium and saturated fat for specific health reasons (the calories take care of themselves with those 2 restrictions!), which can be very hard to avoid when eating out.

    What I usually do is call the restaurant ahead of time (on the day, so I can talk to whoever will be on duty when I'm there), explain that I have diet restrictions, and ask them for advice on what dish would be most appropriate for me to order. I have found everyone tries hard to be helpful, and it means I don't have to make a big deal about any of it when I'm giving my order. Sometimes they'll even suggest special requests, like ordering a salad off the bar menu when I'm eating in the dining room, and say "if there's a problem tell them Sam told you it would be OK."
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
    We aren't living at home right now, we're in a hotel for the summer (hubby's a consultant and this way we see him the whole summer).

    I have a SMALL kitchen (2 burners, a toaster oven)...we eat out probably 3-4 nights a week and although I try to gear myself towards places that have nutrition info...we need to use restaurant.com's etc a lot because of the expense. I do okay...I find something similar at another restaurant to compare to (esp if its something I've had before so I know if they're similar or not). Another thing I do if I HAVE to guess is make an honest guess than multiply by 1.25 - Specifically for mozzeralla STICKS these run 100-120 calories per stick at dozens of restasurants so compare the SIZE of those to the size of your 'cubes'. It is possibly 41 calories for smaller salad size cubes.

    If there's not much for me I go just a salad and have a luna bar at home later. I'm a vegetarian so it's even harder for me since I can't just have 'grilled fish/chicken'....and honestly the levels of sodium in some of that is insane. I KNOW there's a new sodium study and all but the levels at some of these restaurants can't be healthy or natural even IF you raised what we 'should' be able to eat.
    Sounds like you should eat meat :)

    Haha no. I manage. There's always middle eastern restaurants with falafel and hummus or Indian and asian restaurants with tofu. I get to go there sometimes too :)
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
    A day off never hurt any body!
    Enjoy yourself & then get back on the wagon tomorrow :)
    Meanwhile, stick to what you know is healthy, go with your gut instinct!
    Nothing fried, go for grilled, like grilled chicken or fish :)
    No oils, butters or dressings! They're evil ;)

    Sure, it doesn't hurt you.. But it can lead to bad choices over time. "oh, back at it tomorrow" then tomorrow is the next day, the next and then finally it's "oh next week I'll be back at it"

    that's where will power and your commitment level comes in.

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