When menu calories don't add up....

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DrJanet98
DrJanet98 Posts: 138 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Went to a charity event at Dave & Buster's Gold Coast last night. I had been under on calories all week, planning on going over for the occasion. I have no problem logging an "over" day, but figuring out the actual calories is often a pain when eating out.

I ordered the Teriyaki Steak (8 oz) with fries instead of garlic mashed potato; it also comes with frazzled onions, and I asked for added mushrooms, 'cos mushroom and steak go so well together. The MFP total for the steak, mashed potato, and onions is 1554 kcal. The teriyaki steak alone is listed as 380 kcal, the potato as 243 kcal, and the frazzled onions were on another site as 590 kcal (for a "small bowl" which is probably more than came on the plate), which leaves 341 kcal unaccounted for.

How do you all deal with trying to adjust for substitutions when the calories don't add up? Do you add in the missing ones as floating "calorie only" entries? Do you just add up the separate components and call it a day? Do you hunt online for more information until you find something that does add up, whether it's from that restaurant or not?

I'm not really stressing out about this, given that I was planning on going over and I've been losing on schedule by doing things this way. I'm just a bit annoyed by math that doesn't add up.

Replies

  • WannaBeHealthyMe
    WannaBeHealthyMe Posts: 2 Member
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    I look for another entry because usually there are multiples or I just add the correct information myself.
  • TArnold2012
    TArnold2012 Posts: 929 Member
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    It could be added oils, that we often don't think about.

    I usually go with the highest numbers since I would rather over estimate than under.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    I'd just increase the portion size of one or more foods to make it add up correctly.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,976 Member
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    Sometimes it's not worth the effort to figure out and I just call it a day.

    You can get carried away with every meal and calorie counting. A lot of this is estimation. Weight loss is not about exact numbers. That's not even possible unless every bite you eat is measured on a gram scale. . . even then, why?

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