Anyone else hate eating out?

i have impulse control issues I guess.

Try to change your approach / mindset ...

- Plan ahead
- Eat a light healthy snack beforehand so you are not as inclined to make a 'hangry' decision
- Start with a non-creamy soup or salad
- Order side dishes only and make up your own healthy entree
- Focus on the social aspect, not the calories!
- Don't be afraid to ask (politely) for exactly you want / don't want
- Enjoy!

I use all of the above frequently and still stay within my calories. (It's usually the wine that causes trouble!)
To me there is absolutely no point in going out if I'm going to be miserable about calories or making a dinner choice that I really don't want. I'd rather stay home!

I don't eat out too much, mostly because the food tastes like crap and I always wonder after why I did it. LOL

I don't eat out too much, mostly because the food tastes like crap and I always wonder after why I did it. LOL

well if you are eating out at TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, Applebees etc..i can understand.

but if you go to authentic thai, korean, indian, ethiopian etc.. places you will have a great meal.

Nope. It's not hard to estimate most "standard" meals... sauces and things can make it hard, but most restaurants have nutrition information either on their website or upon request. If I know it's going to be a big meal, I may save some extra cals for it, get in a bigger workout that day, or just say the hell with it.

If I'm not enjoying myself when I eat, what's the point? Mental health is just as important as physical health... I'm not going to drive myself crazy over analyzing every single calorie.

Additionally... it's 1 meal. If you are focused on long term steady progress (like you should be), 1 meal isn't going to make a difference.

^ this. I used to freak out over it all the time. I'm learning not to do that and It's been nice to just go out and have fun and enjoy myself. At the same time, I'm not over-eating and I take smaller portions and try to pick healthier choices when I go out. It's turned out to be great as portion control and over eating was my biggest reason for weight gain.

I enjoy eating out, but I don't enjoy not being able to find the nutritional info for a lot of London restaurants, especially ones serving things like tapas.

The thing that drives me batty about eating out is sodium. A lot of places will post calories or fat, or brag about being low fat, but they make it worse- they take the fat out and replace it with salt (so that the food has some kind of flavor). A normal human is supposed to have no more than about 2500mg of sodium a day, but the typical American diet is 5-6000+ a day. One meal at a restaurant can easily be 3500mg or more.

It's not as commonly reported as calories, carbs or fat. Everyone is focused on calories and fat and they aren't thinking about salt. So much of our food is excessively salty. It's just awful.

I really don't care about calorie counts that much. This is one of the most misleading and least important measurements of nutritional value to be honest.

What is this thread about?

Me exactly!

Nope. It's not hard to estimate most "standard" meals... sauces and things can make it hard, but most restaurants have nutrition information either on their website or upon request. If I know it's going to be a big meal, I may save some extra cals for it, get in a bigger workout that day, or just say the hell with it.

If I'm not enjoying myself when I eat, what's the point? Mental health is just as important as physical health... I'm not going to drive myself crazy over analyzing every single calorie.

Additionally... it's 1 meal. If you are focused on long term steady progress (like you should be), 1 meal isn't going to make a difference.

^ This, especially the bolded part. I don't fear or obsess over food - trading weight loss for disordered eating isn't a healthy choice. I eat it, enjoy every bite of it, then move on. If I'm over on calories for that day, big deal - it's one day, weight gain/loss doesn't work on a resetting 24-hour clock. If there's lots of sodium and an extra pound or two shows up on the scale, so what? It'll be gone in a day or two. I refuse to let food (or the fear of it) rule my life.

Bingo!!

I assume most things I'll get that aren't grilled meat and veg will be between 650 and 1000 calories, as served. (Obviously you don't HAVE to eat the whole thing, but I mean, it's a bit mean.)

If you're counting, it's easy for even great food to add up. Big bowl of pho? Curries with breads and rice? Stir-fries are great, but consider the sauce, the spring rolls (holy crap spring rolls).. Pastas with anything other than a straight tomato/basil sauce will for sure get at least 600 a plate.

I eat that stuff anyway, because it's delish, and if I'm paying to have an experience, it's not going to be one I can have at home. But I don't eat at restaurants often. Budgeting calories is the best technique, I think (if you want pho).

I have to be extremely careful eating out b/c of the sauces they put on things. Since a lot of things have hidden sugar and I don't eat that, I could easily end up eating something that will set me off and make me crave for days afterwards. So I have a few basic things that most every restaurant will have and I just stay with that in the safe zone. Usually grilled chicken breasts are safe. Salads with dressing on the side are safe usually. I sometimes get a small steak with steamed veggies. And check everything on the website in advance.