Restaraunt Calorie Counts

mjhooperii
mjhooperii Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello all,

I'm brand new to the site and am trying to get into a habit of tracking everything I eat so I can stick to a weight loss plan without putting it back on every year. One thing I am having trouble finding on the site and the internet as a whole is Calorie Information for certain restaurants I am used to eating at. Major chains like Applebees, Chilli's, etc have this information readily available from a quick Google Search, but places like Duff's Famous Wings (I'm from Buffalo, NY) have no information.

To be true to myself, I don't want to start guessing at things like Chicken Wings and Fries since I have seen things as low as 500 Calories for 10 Wings up to 1k Calories for 5. Fries can range from 300 for a small to 1,500 for a large! Is there a database that people have had success with for finding accurate caloric information for things like this, or is guesstimating my best option?

I am sure asking for this information at the restaurant itself is also a possibility, but being a computer programmer by trade, I have to think this information is on the web somewhere.

Regards,
Mike

Replies

  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    Search chicken wings in the database, find an average that you think is close and call it good

    postcount++
  • SARgirl
    SARgirl Posts: 572 Member
    Most chain restaurants' items are already in the MFP database but smaller chains or local chains generally are not. I eat at a lot of local establishments and will generally choose something similar from the database. If there are a lot of different calorie counts I'll generally choose one in the middle and go with that.
  • runnninginmd
    runnninginmd Posts: 67
    I try to find the same/similar food product from a restaurant that is listed and use that data. Not perfect, but probably closer than completely guessing. For example, use Chili's wings since they are in the system when you go to your local place.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,455 Member
    If you can't find the actual restaurant and food, then some guessing has to take place. Such is life. For that matter, all the restaurant numbers are going to be off by as much as several hundred calories, even if you do find them. Take a guess, move on. As long as you aren't eating every meal out, you'll be fine.

    Weight loss can be more difficult with wings and fries, but it's possible. I have wings and fries at least once a week, and I've maintained my weight loss for five years. You can't have perfect numbers - it's not possible.
  • mjhooperii
    mjhooperii Posts: 11 Member
    Agreed -- I know things like Wings and Fries aren't ideal for diets, but I'm also realistic in knowing that I will eat these foods from time time (smaller portions no doubt to stay in my limits).
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
    If I eat something from a restaraunt that is not in MFP, and they do not have nutrtion info on their website, I just do a search on MFP and look at all the choices. If there are a lot that show arund the same # of calories, I will go with one of those selections. If not, I just try to pick something kind of in the middle calorie range of all the choices, or the higher end. I don't eat out very often, so I don't worry too much about it being exact, just try to get as close as I can.
  • dorianaldyn
    dorianaldyn Posts: 611 Member
    I basically do what everyone else has said ~ find something similar and make my best guess.

    I really wish that all food for sale came with this information and not just packaged food in a grocery store. I like to support the smaller restaurants in my neighborhood over the larger chains, but man, it's nice when you go into a larger chain and all the calorie information is right there.

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