Eating out & logging unknown calories

skyttles
skyttles Posts: 33 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I apologize if this has been asked recently, i couldn't find a similar topic using the search box, however i wasn't quite sure what to look for.

The job i'm employed at occasionally entertains over dinner and in a couple of weeks we are hosting a small event that i'm required to attend. The meal will be at least 3 courses and i will be required to choose an appetizer and a desert which i have to at least nibble on for appearances. I am not to worried about the selection, i'll do the best i can, what am i concerned about is how to log the meal. The restaurant does not offer nutritional information and the database here does not have any entries from the menu. I have been faithfully tracking calories up to this point and i'm rather inclined to keep doing so. Should I figure its one day and not logging won't kill me? Should I search similar items and log an average for the meal and hope its right? Should I just quick add a high number of calories and figure better safe than sorry? Is there a better way to do this that i'm completely missing?

I'm sure i'm over-thinking this, however i'm highly habitual and i'm scared that if i skip adding calories once i'll start doing it more often, so any advice would be appreciated!

Replies

  • elebel82
    elebel82 Posts: 69 Member
    Personally, I take a guess from a medium to high calorie version of a similar meal that is on the database. If I'm still not convinced I add a tablespoon of oil to it. It's not always going to be 100% accurate but if you're pretty accurate most of the time, it's not likely to be a huge deal. Remember it's a lifestyle change not a diet. Can't live a lifestyle terrified to eat out all of the time because you don't know exact calories.
  • meghannrenee
    meghannrenee Posts: 202 Member
    If you feel you have to log something best guess is the way to go. I've done that for a few fancy dinners just to keep myself in the habit, knowing that what I was logging wasn't entirely accurate. It's one meal - one meal won't put you off track :)
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I'd just search for similar items and log those. Sometimes I will skip logging and other times I'll do a search and try to get as close as I can to what i actually had and I usually choose the higher calorie choices to be safe.
  • skyttles
    skyttles Posts: 33 Member
    Thank you all for the advice, i'll just go ahead and log as similar as possible while erring on the high side!

    @ elebel82 Completely agree, however most of the restaurants i eat at have the calories listed or are familiar enough that i have good comparisons, this one is hard for me because the food is all "chef specials" and slightly unique so its more of a gamble, but yea even if i'm off it won't kill me.
  • veganashley
    veganashley Posts: 70 Member
    I estimate high and quick add calories. I drive myself crazy if I try to log individual components of a restaurant meal, unless it's something very simple.
  • Cassierocksalot
    Cassierocksalot Posts: 266 Member
    Personally, I take a guess from a medium to high calorie version of a similar meal that is on the database. If I'm still not convinced I add a tablespoon of oil to it. It's not always going to be 100% accurate but if you're pretty accurate most of the time, it's not likely to be a huge deal. Remember it's a lifestyle change not a diet. Can't live a lifestyle terrified to eat out all of the time because you don't know exact calories.

    This is what I do. Seems to be working fine so far.

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