Do you have to eat at home to lose weight?

fastfoodietofitcutie

I'm almost convinced the only way to lose weight is to eat at home and prepare everything yourself. Unless the restaurant has nutritional information, it's virtually impossible to calculate a meal correctly. You don't know how the food is prepared, the portion size, etc.. It's all a random guess. I've got several business lunches and dinners this week where I have to eat what is catered. I think I'm undereating a lot because I'm scared to go over my calories. How great would it be to have a bar code in your mouth that would scan everything you ate and tell you how many calories it is! Someone get started on that app!

SadKitty27

You can get the nutritional value from most major chain's website, or other sites such as this: http://www.nutritionix.com/restaurants If you're in a hurry.

I do feel that It helps if you plan your meals in advance so that you get a rough idea of how much your intake value is going to be, as well as helping prevent straying from your diet if you absolutely MUST go out to eat.

HOWEVER,

These values are usually calculated with exact portion measuring in a lab under strict guidelines - it's a different environment entirely.

With that being said, you never know when a cook will add a dash more of "this or that," when a server will give a more generous portion of whatever condiment or sauce, thus effectively throwing off nutritional information given on the website. Additionally, you can't be so sure that the person prepping the food in the morning is doing it right either - you could be getting more than what you should as outlined by the parent corporation.

There are TONS of variables that could make the nutritional value counts that you see on their websites completely off.

Personally, I refrain from eating out for this very reason.. Additionally, when places offer "healthy" alternatives, it is usually lie (usually due to added toppings or condiments.)

Another thing, is that with most restaurant chains, a lot of the food usually has tons of additives and preservatives in it. The huge advantage of cooking your own food is that you know exactly what goes in it (seeing as though you have the option of buying foods that are minimally processed, or what some would consider "green/organic,") as well as knowing how much (if you have a kitchen scale) you're eating.

*Edited to make sense.

Yaya1976

I agree. I think it is easier to lose weight when you eat at home, at least for me it is

BCSMama

I agree that it's definitely easier to prepare your own food and log it. I prefer eating at home and preparing my own food for that reason and because it's cheaper. However, there are times when it's nice to go out to dinner with a friend or in your situation where it's work related. If I were you, I'd have a nice sized snack before the catered meal. That way you're not really hungry and can just have a few bites. Then log it as best as you can. Now, if it's a nice dinner with a friend to a restaurant you like, I'd just eat light that day and plan a workout so I could enjoy myself at the restaurant. But yeah, I get most annoyed in work situations where you have don't get to pick the food or restaurant and really don't want to waste calories on food you don't even want to eat.

Siege_Tank

It is much easier to eat 1600 calories worth of calorie light food, like green vegetables, steamed rice, any piece of meat you can find, potatoes, baked fish...

When 1600 calories is the caloric cost of a McDonald's Angus Bacon Cheeseburger, Large fries, and a Large Coke, You can sort of see how total food volume can come into play here. 1600 calories of healthy food would be TEN 4 ounce portions of baked chicken breast PLUS six cups of steamed broccoli. I don't know about you, but given an entire DAY I don't think I could eat that much chicken, let alone the broccoli on top of that.

Just google wrong calorie counts, and you will see numerous newspaper articles about restaurants being CAUGHT (by undercover testing) serving 2 or even 3 TIMES the calorie counts listed in their foods. Most often, the "healthiest" menu items were the ones which had the most incorrect calorie counts.

When we eat less, our body makes up for the calorie deficit by chaining fatty acids together with amino acids (called gluco-neo-genesis)... from stored fat and stored protein. If we eat enough protein in our diet, then stored protein (muscle) won’t be used in the process. That’s why you see people lose muscle mass when they diet improperly, gluconeogenesis requires protein from somewhere, and the body doesn’t care where it comes from.

Starve the body of dietary glucose and your body will MAKE it's own glucose from eaten protein and stored fat. OR, if you eat wrong, Stored protein (your muscles) and stored fat. If you eat less than you need each day, then your body will use stores of energy to make up the deficit.

Gramps251

Eating your own food isn't the "ONLY" way to lose weight but I find it is the best way for me.

The "only" way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn.

Iceman420

It's much easier for me to lose weight by eating at home. Restaurants have too much fat food, which I can't resist.

lindan70

Eating at home is a big plus. When I do go out, I look up the menu before I go so I can find the healthier choices.

josiereside

I personally do better when I "control" my own meals... that being said, at times I tend to "hibernate" when really trying to track but most times if I want to go out to dinner, to a party, etc.... I don't bother tracking and give myself a freebie... but you may not have a choice yourself doing business lunches, etc... all you can do is make the best food choices available and practice portion control. You can guestimate it later...
Like you said, I wish we could have bar code readers in our mouth and food come with a little computer chip, but I wonder how many calories that would be! :laugh:

melinda200208

Yes, I very seldome go out and eat. For one, it is expensive, secondly we dont live close to anything, and lastely I dont even want to know how many calories are in most foods when you go out and eat. I will treat myself every now and again but mostly it is too expensive. I would rather have my hubby make a good meal at home and help him cook it. We got a lot of new cooking utensils from our wedding so we are having fun with it all

blondie_girl14

I agree. I think its easier and healthier to track what you've eaten and you know what is really in what you are eating.
Its ok to occasionally eat out, but good to go places where they have nutritional value/menu.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I dine out often and still can lose weight (hypothetically, since I've been stuck for a good year).

TheCaren

I calculate my food options BEFORE I get to the restaurant. Almost every restaurant has nutrition information online. I go online and check it out first. So I go with an idea in mind of what I'm going to eat before I get there. I usually give myself a couple of things to choose from, and then make the actual choice once I'm there, smelling other foods, looking at the menu, etc.

Anthonydaman

I feel the same way, the only way I can lose weight is to not dine outside of my kitchen. I try to limit my dining out to twice a week

mikedean441

I dont think you have to be a prisoner in your own home when it comes to this. Its ok to eat out, as long as its not all of the time. With your new found appreciation for calories, you will be more aware of what you are eating at these places. And even if you splurge on a good meal, 1 night everyone now and then isnt going to kill you.

lstnlondry

I loved that barcode on the mouth comment! I joke that I wish that FitBit deal worked that way-instead of calories burned it would calculate calories eaten!!

Rachel_Hambleton

I definitely want that barcode mouth thing.

twinketta

I'm almost convinced the only way to lose weight is to eat at home and prepare everything yourself. Unless the restaurant has nutritional information, it's virtually impossible to calculate a meal correctly. You don't know how the food is prepared, the portion size, etc.. It's all a random guess. I've got several business lunches and dinners this week where I have to eat what is catered. I think I'm undereating a lot because I'm scared to go over my calories. How great would it be to have a bar code in your mouth that would scan everything you ate and tell you how many calories it is! Someone get started on that app!

I totally agree with you and you can go out to eat with the best intentions and then be tempted by something on the menu...it takes willpower, and I have lost it a couple of times.

Good luck to you and making healthy choices x

ShaSimone

It is most certainly the safest route to take, but if you do have to eat out or meals are catered for you my rule is to eat only half of whatever they've offered or brought me on the plate. Save the rest for another meal or share. The MAIN problem with restaurants...in my opinion is that over the years the have practically DOUBLED and in some case TRIPLED the portion size that a normal person should comsume. Eat half or share a meal, worked for me!

Chief_Rocka

Estimating a certain percentage of your food intake is fine, how much freedom you have depends on how good your estimates are.

It's not like you know *exactly* how many calories you burn on a particular day anyway.

alpine1994

I hear ya! It's definitely easier when you can prepare all your own food. I just try to use as much common sense as possible when I go out. I look for words like "steamed" or "grilled" instead of "lightly pan fried", ask for the light dressing and for it on the side when I get salads, make sure not to get anything with cheese/pasta/rice/cream sauce. Usually I'll get something like a small grilled steak (and eat what appears to be between 4-6oz) with steamed veggies/side salad.

Once in a while I'll get something I REALLY want to remind myself that I'm human, eat half, and take the rest home.

sheriann1271

I have a very hard time eating out. Much easier for me to eat at home.

AZKristi

At restaurants you can specify how you want something prepared (i.e. requesting veggies steamed w/out butter). You can also look for words in the description of menu items that are cues to how the food is prepared. For meat, a serving is about the size of a deck of cards.

At catered events, if its a buffet, keep a protein bar in your purse and just eat the veggies.

jr1985

You don't HAVE to... but it certainly makes it MUCH easier... That way you not only are in control of making sure you measure and weight the foods you are using... but can also control the quality of what you eat... particularly fast food restaurants use a lot of ground meat with at least a 20% fat composition... and generally use LOTS of sodium and butter...even if you look up the nutritional information online before you go somewhere... like at Qdoba for instance, my favorite cheat meal!... One person's idea of a 'handful' of cheese is completely different from the next person's...

I'm not saying to NEVER go out to dinner and enjoy yourself... but try to keep it to once a week or less if possible.

Capt_Apollo

in the beginning, yes. it's easier because you are measuring and weighing everything. you are getting used to how your body feels after eating, and you have to tell your mind that you are full.

if you aren't pre-logging before you eat, you should be.

MB_Positif

For restaurants that don't have posted nutrition info I log the closest thing from a chain restaurant. If I can't I try to break it down by ingredients. Numbers don't have to be perfect, just close!

kwamenyanyo

yes I agree sometimes the temptation to to great

cwolfman13

You don't have to , but it's a hell of a lot easier IMHO. It's also difficult for me because I rarely go to a chain type of restaurant when we go out...it's almost always a local restaurant so rarely do I find nutritional information in the data base or at the establishment itself. I always have to use information from elsewhere to guestimate.

Because it's a rarity for me, I don't really worry about it too much and just enjoy myself...I know others who eat out frequently though; a buddy of mine has one rule (he's not a calorie counter...just "naturally" skinny)...he eats a fist sized portion of everything that is on his plate and that's it...usually comes out to about 1/2 the entree and then boxes the other half up. It seems to work for him as, like I said, he's "naturally" skinny...makes since too because on average it seems a restaurant's portion is really closer to 2 serving sizes.

auroranflash

While the main thing is to stay at a calorie deficit, I find it is easier to eat most of my meals from home because:

- It's easier to plan your day ahead of time so you know where you stand and aren't tempted.
- You know what's going into it, so you have control over nutrients/calories.
- It's usually tastier and more filling than something of equal caloric heft I would get out at a restaurant.

It's just a matter of getting into a routine of buying what you need for the week and prepping it ahead of time.

In the case of having meetings/social events where you're expected to eat the food served, you just do what you can to estimate and keep track of your overall progress to see if your estimations are correct or could use some adjusting.

Mich4871

I think that you do what is comfortable for you. With that said, we eat out on average 3 times a week, and I've lost 60 lbs so far. I just make better choices then I did in the past, and if you ask, most restaurants will alter how they prepare the food. Usually, if it's breakfast, I ask they cook my eggs dry on the griddle, no butter, no oil. Whole wheat toast dry with the butter on the side. Instead of homefries, I ask for a veggie or fruit. If it's dinner and I order chicken, I ask it's grilled or baked (again, dry) and ask for veggies not sauteed in butter.... etc....

NeverGivesUp

I like to know what I am eating so I rarely go out to eat and if I do it is clean and sauceless food that I order.