Restaurant Nutrition Facts?

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  • kimmymayhall
    kimmymayhall Posts: 419 Member
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    I typically go out to eat at small, local restaurants that do not have nutrition information available. I look for similar restaurant entries in the database and enter one at the higher end of the average range of calories. I might add a bit of oil or butter to my diary for the meal if I feel it should be more calories than what I entered, over estimating is better than under. Because I cook a lot and measure/weigh everything at home I've gotten pretty good at estimating the quantities of food when I'm out. Sometimes I will take a picture of the plate so I can remember the proportions later, but am not going to do that at a nice restaurant.
    I don't eat out that often so I enjoy it and don't stress about the calories too much. I do not like eating at most chain restaurants and am not going to do so just so I "know" the calories.
  • celebrity328
    celebrity328 Posts: 377 Member
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    It depends on the state you live in, in the state I live in they are now required to at least have nutrition/allergy information on hand for those who ask. I am highly allergic to gluten and the first 20 mins is me pouring over a binder trying to figure out what I can eat. Most of the places I have gone are very understanding and understand the reasons why. I have only had one problem in the last year and left since they wouldnt provide me with any infomation.
  • BigMech
    BigMech Posts: 428 Member
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    I either pick a similar dish from the database from another restaurant. I try to use an entry from another restaurant, because home cooked dishes are usually much lower in calories.

    If I can't find anything close I'll input what I think are the ingredients to try and get a rough estimate.
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
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    If I have to estimate I go with the HIGHEST comparable item in the database or add 20% if there is only 1 appropriate estimate.
  • lizlkbg
    lizlkbg Posts: 566
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    Hi there!

    I'm kind of a pro at this because my youngest kid has Type 1 diabetes so I have to esitmate carbs for all his meals in order to figure out his insulin dose.

    His endocrinologist gave us a "Calorie King" book - it's small but thick - and we keep it with his insulin supplies. It has "average" nutritional data for all different types of food. For example, "pancake, 3" diameter" or "cake, frosted, 2x2 piece." If he eats a dish with several ingrediants I will ask the waiter generally what goes into it and then esitmate using the book - for example, if he ate sweet n sour chicken at a Chinese restaurant and it wasn't in the book I would look up "chicken nuggets" and "sweet n sour sauce" and esitmate. If there was no sweet n sour sauce I would pick something similar in sugar, such as syrup, and use that.

    Is it exact? Nope. Is it close enough? For the purposes of givnig a correct dose of insulin, yes. So probably for the purposes of knowing pretty much how many calories you are consuming, yes!

    Oh, one caveat - you have to have a good handle on portion sizes. Buy a scale for home and learn what one oz of meat, cheese, or whatever looks like, buy measuring cups and learn what 1 cup of pasta looks like spread out on a plate.

    Good luck! Feel free to add me!
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
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    This helps a little, but there is a way to query just the specific restaurant in MFP; but I havent found it. Just dig & persevere. LOL

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/brand/list
  • records1138
    records1138 Posts: 28
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    Athijade wrote: »
    Just have to guess.
    And honestly, I don't think a restaurant should be forced to give out it's nutritional information. No one is required to eat there. It is a choice that one makes to do so. If it is such a huge issue, then don't eat out.

    Yeah, so this is really late to the game, but seriously, that's kind of ignorant. I read all the comments up to yours, and nobody said anything about being required to eat anywhere. People just want to be informed on the matter, and there's nothing wrong with that.

    Personally I would love to see every restaurant post their nutritional value. Not necessarily so that I know what to avoid, but rather so that I know how much is in what I want to eat. Not only will this allow me to plan my remaining meals around eating out, but it will also help me gauge how much of the plate they bring me that I should eat to have a balanced meal.

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