Do you feel bad about a food you can't log?

rahholland
rahholland Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anybody feel guilty when they have a food that is just to hard to log? For example my dinner tonight was Chicken pasta Alfredo and green beans. I have no idea how many calories are in the pasta. I am not rough on myself or beat myself up about it. But just curious what other people do when they can not log a food. Do you even care as long as you ate a healthy portion? Or will you only eat foods you know you can log?

Replies

  • swingkid1975
    swingkid1975 Posts: 105 Member
    Did you make the dinner or was it dinner out, like at a restaurant? If you made it at home use the recipe builder and it will tell you how many calories, and you can save it for the next time you have it.
  • darisey
    darisey Posts: 228 Member
    I would look up similar foods in the database to get an idea of about how many calories may be in it and then just give it my best guess and enter a high estimate under "quick add"
  • lumstead0317
    lumstead0317 Posts: 85 Member
    I try not to eat places that don't have caloric information... I do try to track though... if you know what's in it you can get kind of a basic idea about how many calories, just remember restaurants are calorie hogs so don't underestimate! Hope this helps. Also, a lot of chain restaurants have nutrition on their websites...
  • MinisterTom
    MinisterTom Posts: 108 Member
    I add the recipe and log it. Not just for calories, but also for the macros, and sodium.
  • lilmissbamaqueen
    lilmissbamaqueen Posts: 184
    Does anybody feel guilty when they have a food that is just to hard to log? For example my dinner tonight was Chicken pasta Alfredo and green beans. I have no idea how many calories are in the pasta. I am not rough on myself or beat myself up about it. But just curious what other people do when they can not log a food. Do you even care as long as you ate a healthy portion? Or will you only eat foods you know you can log?

    If I can't log that specific food, I guesstimate, or pick something close to it. For example, I had a bacon cheeseburger for lunch. The restaurant I got it from is not in the database, so I had to use my best educated guess on the number of calories. Don't feel bad, just do the best you can. :)
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
    its rarely happened so i try to find the ingrediants and go that route ..usually its when i go out to eat that happens but not often
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    If it is homemade pasta, find out the brand and log. If it is at a restaurant, find a close equivalent and log.

    I am an American living in Japan and I speak very little Japanese yet. Yesterday, I ate out at a restaurant and bought snacks at the convenience store to try some new things. I could not understand anything except I found the calorie counts and even taking pictures of the barcode didn't help. I just found something that was a close equivalent and logged it, making sure that if what I logged was lower calorie than what I ate, that I made up for it.

    Usually, whole wheat pasta has around 200 calories for a 2oz dry serving (I find out how many servings in a box and separate it into semi even servings before cooking because I do not have a food scale). This doesn't take into account low carb or other types of pasta though.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    If I made it myself (a miracle)... I would use recepe builder

    If I ate out, try to find it online.

    Otherwise (ate my wife's cooking or someone elses), I try to find something as close as I can and account for it; if it seems unusually creamy or something add 100 quick calories for good measure. In the end, it is all an approximation anyway.
  • eazy_
    eazy_ Posts: 516 Member
    Log each ingredient individually.

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  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
    I'm pretty careful about what I make at home, but eating out in a restaurant or when friends have cooked is tricky. I just try to keep the portion size of the meal down, make the most realistic guess I can from what's in the database, and eat well within my calorie allowance for the day overall.

    I'd rather have a social life than obsess about my diet, but it does make me feel a bit uncomfortable if I eat out several rimes in a week, yes.
  • ebr250
    ebr250 Posts: 199 Member
    I would look up similar foods in the database to get an idea of about how many calories may be in it and then just give it my best guess and enter a high estimate under "quick add"

    This!
  • sgv0918
    sgv0918 Posts: 851 Member
    i look through the database and choose a middle of the road option. Happened w/ lunch yesterday
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    I just search the database and pick something that seems close if I don't have the inclination to log the recipe or don't have the recipe (my husband makes things like a mad scientist - a little bit of this, a scoop of that, etc).
  • foxymama73
    foxymama73 Posts: 60 Member
    I just put it in under what ever it is...Pasta Alfredo, that's what I would look under...you can do a rough estimate of how much you ate. That's what I do. If I can't find it directly, there is usually an entry for Homemade. Hope that helps.:smile:
  • UKMarjie
    UKMarjie Posts: 257 Member
    Does anybody feel guilty when they have a food that is just to hard to log? For example my dinner tonight was Chicken pasta Alfredo and green beans. I have no idea how many calories are in the pasta. I am not rough on myself or beat myself up about it. But just curious what other people do when they can not log a food. Do you even care as long as you ate a healthy portion? Or will you only eat foods you know you can log?

    I always log everything - even if that means a quick calorie add. I find if I don't log something it slides and then I miss a few days (or all of Christmas) and then I have to restart doing the right thing on here.
  • suzely0530
    suzely0530 Posts: 150 Member
    Does anybody feel guilty when they have a food that is just to hard to log? For example my dinner tonight was Chicken pasta Alfredo and green beans. I have no idea how many calories are in the pasta. I am not rough on myself or beat myself up about it. But just curious what other people do when they can not log a food. Do you even care as long as you ate a healthy portion? Or will you only eat foods you know you can log?

    I definitely have a hard time eating when I dont' know the caloris. Free lunch was offered at work yesterday and I turned it down because I didn't know how many calories i was eating. Before I go out to eat, I always check the website to see if I can find the nutritional content and then make my choice based on that.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Does anybody feel guilty when they have a food that is just to hard to log? For example my dinner tonight was Chicken pasta Alfredo and green beans. I have no idea how many calories are in the pasta. I am not rough on myself or beat myself up about it. But just curious what other people do when they can not log a food. Do you even care as long as you ate a healthy portion? Or will you only eat foods you know you can log?

    Was it a packaged meal...dining out...make at home? I have yet to come across a package type meal that is not in the database...not saying there isn't something out there, but the database is pretty extensive. Eating out, find something similar from a similar type restaurant if that particular restaurant isn't in the database. Make at home, I use the recipe builder.
  • PriceK01
    PriceK01 Posts: 834 Member
    I definitely have a hard time eating when I dont' know the caloris. Free lunch was offered at work yesterday and I turned it down because I didn't know how many calories i was eating. Before I go out to eat, I always check the website to see if I can find the nutritional content and then make my choice based on that.

    I'm the same way. Unknown foods at work weird me out. Not only do I not have an idea of nutritional content, but I also hadn't planned my day (other meals / exercise) around it.

    If I do end up in a position where I've eaten something without knowing the numbers, I find something similar in the database or online and hope for the best. I had to do that the other day after a surprise sushi lunch with my sweetie.
  • lee91356
    lee91356 Posts: 330 Member
    or dont stress out. Skipping one day of exact logging wont really harm your end goal. It may stall you for a day or two but not in the long term. If you can find it or dont want to bother to play that 'is this right or am I over/ underestimating' game than just make a note that what you had but didnt log if you want to have some point of reference.

    Remember this is about a lifetime eating plan and sometime you eat something with an unknown amount of calories for the sheer pleasure of enjoyment, such is food and such is life. :bigsmile:
  • beejelblor
    beejelblor Posts: 123 Member
    I do two things, I use other items already in the database that best resemble what I ate and I create saved meals if it is something I will likely eat again.

    There are times I forget or get to lazy with elaborate items but typically I will not skip anything even if it is my best guess otherwise extra calories tend to get consumed.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    There's nothing you CAN'T log - might be something you don't want to log, but you can add anything - even if you only use quick add calories.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    I never feel guilty as there is always a way to log whatever it is.

    If you ate it at a restaurant, see if they have their NI posted online (or check with the place) than use that.

    If you made it at home put all the ingredients into the recipe builder and calculate it that way.

    If you ate at someone elses house or someone else made the food and you don't know what went into it find something similar in the database.

    There shouldn't be something you can't log at all. It's better to guess (and try to guess higher than you think) than not put anything in.
  • alitap
    alitap Posts: 38 Member
    I would look up similar foods in the database to get an idea of about how many calories may be in it and then just give it my best guess and enter a high estimate under "quick add"

    I do this as well :)

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  • swingsintherain
    swingsintherain Posts: 121 Member
    I usually pick things that are similar. Like, there's a local restaurant that has delicious chicken wings, but no nutrition info, so I usually just go for the info for buffalo wild wings instead (rather than someone's homemade recipe, which is probably way lower calories, LOL).

    It won't be exact, no, but it should get you close.
  • alexbusnello
    alexbusnello Posts: 1,010 Member
    I do : /
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I usually find the closest thing I can and bump it up a few calories incase I missed anything. If I'm not feeling lazy I'll try to enter the recipe.
  • haileybailey5
    haileybailey5 Posts: 17 Member
    or dont stress out. Skipping one day of exact logging wont really harm your end goal. It may stall you for a day or two but not in the long term. If you can find it or dont want to bother to play that 'is this right or am I over/ underestimating' game than just make a note that what you had but didnt log if you want to have some point of reference.

    Remember this is about a lifetime eating plan and sometime you eat something with an unknown amount of calories for the sheer pleasure of enjoyment, such is food and such is life. :bigsmile:

    YES everything this person said!!

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