Indian Restaurant...

cattycutie

Hi everyone!

Today is the first day of my new thin life and as it turns out, it's a bad day to have decided on it, because I have been invited to an Indian Restaurant with my family, as it's the first birthday that we've had without my grandmother. My favourite thing from Indian restaurants is Lamb Masala - I don't know the calorie count, and I'm worried aboyt jeapordising my weight loss already. My biggest worry is that my catchphrase almost is "my diet starts tomorrow." The problem is, it never does, and if I say that today, I might not manage to get back on the bandwagon tomorrow.

Does anyone know the calorie count, or have any good ideas of what to eat instead?

Thanks,
Beth

MyM0wM0w

MFP food database has a generic Lamb Masala in their database. It might not be exact but you can use it to build the rest of your day to fit it in.

Remember, a diet is a temporary thing. Long term weight loss is a way of life.

Generic - Lamb Tikka Masala
Servings:
Calories 320 Sodium 550 mg
Total Fat 22 g Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 0 g Total Carbs 9 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 2 g
Monounsaturated 0 g Sugars 0 g
Trans 0 g Protein 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Vitamin A 0% Calcium 0%
Vitamin C 0% Iron 0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

like_milk

Have the curry but just pay close attention to the sides. Nothing deep-fried and have a small portion of plain boiled rice and you should be fine.

kendrafallon

^^ this.

Restaurants aren't exactly known for low-cal menus!

bluefox9er

Hi Beth..

My take is forget the logging, eat sensibly and eat what you enjoy...calorie counting is way too hit and miss when eating out, especially in Indian restaurants....Indian food is loaded with hidden ingredients and very rich fats.

Just enjoy yourself, and work it off tomorrow.

gogoyubarino

I know I will probably get peppered with criticism but I'll say it anyway.
Start your diet tomorrow.

Indian restaurants are not known to make low fat food. You may find a restaurant here or there that advertises itself as having healthier options in my experience the vast majority use a lot of fat. Add to that the calories from a naan or some sweet mango pickle and you will probably be close to your daily limit :P

Eating out to celebrate special moments are things you should cherish- sitting there counting calories is boring for everyone involved.

Also acknowledge that the road to a healthier lifestyle/ weightloss begins in your head- if you really are decided that you want to do this, one extra day will not break that resolve. Psychologically it is really important to accept that you will have days where you will go over your calories, not every day will be the same and it is ok to enjoy life once in a while- if you can't accept that I fear that you may be setting yourself up for failure before you've even started.

batgirlmama

I;m just going ahead and telling you that indian food is hhiiiiiigh in calories. I've made indian food many times and have spent time in the country. That said - it is your birthday, so don't freak out.

Go with a small portion of rice, and go ahead and get the lamb. Usually indian restaurants also have a cucumber/tomoto salad that is seasoned. its very declicious.

Just go for a run before. and enjoy yourself.

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Have the curry but just pay close attention to the sides. Nothing deep-fried and have a small portion of plain boiled rice and you should be fine.

^ This

Also try to stay away from anything that has ghee or clarified butter. Maybe go vegetarian.

MandaJean83

My fiance is half indian, so we go out for indian food atleast once a month. It has not stopped me from losing weight. I might be up a pound the next day, but within two days that extra fluid is gone.

Here's what I do:
1) Eat a very small breakfast/lunch
2) Do some high intensity exercise earlier that afternoon to torch as many cals as possible...for me, I aim to burn around 600 calories or so...for you, it may be higher or lower
3) EAT! Try to go light on the rice and naan (but I always do have some of each...I love them!)
4) Avoid the fried stuff (Pakoora and Samosas)
5) Chug water with the meal. I usually get my glass refilled 4 or 5 times.

A healthy indian dinner is hard to find, and is nowhere near as good as the fatty stuff. I make exceptions for the rare days we get to go out for a dinner there.

Darnit, now I want lamb korma...

TavistockToad

MFP food database has a generic Lamb Masala in their database. It might not be exact but you can use it to build the rest of your day to fit it in.

Remember, a diet is a temporary thing. Long term weight loss is a way of life.

Generic - Lamb Tikka Masala
Servings:
Calories 320 Sodium 550 mg
Total Fat 22 g Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 0 g Total Carbs 9 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 2 g
Monounsaturated 0 g Sugars 0 g
Trans 0 g Protein 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Vitamin A 0% Calcium 0%
Vitamin C 0% Iron 0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

this is a BAD example... there is no way an indian restaurant portion of lamb masala would be 300 cals. plus it doesnt have a protein count.

i love an indian... and have never got a decent meal for under 1000 cals....

start the diet tomorrow! make that meal your last treat till christmas!

animatorswearbras

I think that database prediction is wrong I would say lamb massala is prob closer to double that.

"Healthiest" things on the menu

Tandoori chicken - it's oven baked and usually comes with salad and sauce try to restrict the sauce as that can be loaded.
Boiled Rice (try to not have loads)
Chapatti (avoid naan)
avoid starters as they're loaded and try to go for veggie, chicken or prawn as lambs quite high cal too.

If you want to go for something in a sauce try to stick to the tomatoe based ones like balti and rogan josh, massala can sometimes be loaded with cream. Also ask if they can do low fat, no harm asking.

Another thing would be to go for something alot hotter than your used to like a jalfrezi or a hot madras so you can't manage to have a huge portion ;P

cattycutie

Thank you all so much. I think the consensus is go, eat the usual but be sensible about sides (naans and rice etc) and do some sort of exercise before I go. I reckon that will assuade the guilt and help me really enjoy the day as much as I can :-)

I think, this time, I'm putting my foot down, and my motivation will still be strong tomorrow.

kfesta52

Yum, love Indian food. Tandoori lamb would be a good choice (or chicken). They're grilled and without sauce, and delicious. Add steamed jasmine rice and it's really a pretty healthy and low fat meal, at least in comparison to many of the curries, which can be pretty heavy. There's also a good selection of Indian foods in the MFP database, so you can poke around and see what you might be getting into if you choose a curry. But tandoori meat and rice would probably even leave room for some naan and/or rice pudding without being an unreasonable meal.

This won't be the last time you go to a restaurant, right? Figure out how to handle eating out as part of your new thin life, so you can enjoy eating out at restaurants instead of worrying about it, or regretting it later. You can look up a restaurant's menu or at least the types of foods before you go, and decide ahead of time what you're going to get and how much of the dish you want to eat. If you want to steel your resolve, log it into MFP before you go. Once you've written down what you plan to eat, you're more likely to stick to what you've planned. My husband thinks I'm a little obsessive, but it works great for me.

You could wait until tomorrow, or you could just start today living your new thin life!

nxd10

Just start. Estimate. There are lamb masalas in the database. Just pick one.

What will kill your calories for the day is the chai and the rice. Enjoy your lamb. Have a nice meal. Start logging. No one thing kills a long term commitment to weight lost.

Snoozypaws3000

Hi there and well done for starting...even if it isn't the best possible day...as you say, you can always find a reason to postpone.

When I go to our local Indian restaurant, which I do fairly often I have either the Tandoori chicken or Tandoori lamb as a starter [just coated in yogurt spices and then baked].

As a main course I have ....the same! BUT I order a side jug of vindaloo sauce on the side so that I can jut dip my meat into it rather than have it served actually in the sauce...this controls how much sauce I eat.
My other half doesn't have to watch his weight at all but still orders his madras sauce on the side as he doesn't like his meal to be too sloppy.
It's a great way to keep your calorie count lower.

I order a couple of baked chapati instead of boiled or fried pilau rice or a naan bread to go with it and I also have a poppodom [spicy which is baked rather than plain which tend to be fried]

I also order a side salad which helps my plate look fuller

Hope these tips help.

Sky x

amykarryn1

Was thinking maybe you need to get out of the "diet" mentality. If you make a concious decision to eat healthy and sensibly, special occasions won't send you into a tailspin. Most of us on the site have probably dieted for some reason or another most of our adult life and probably pros at it. So I agree with most everything that was said about what you should eat. Don't overdo it, get in exercise, drink your water....as not to repeat i will just leave it that