Eating out calorie domination!

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SouthernBell86
SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
in Success Stories
I am so incredibly pumped I want to share this with you all!

Today was an amazing success for me. It was my brother's birthday dinner at Ted's Montana Grill. Plus chocolate trifle at home later. Did I go over calories? NO!

I researched the calorie info before I left home, and ordered the salmon kid's meal with green beans and mashed potatoes. I only ate half the mashed potatoes because I felt it was more than a normal kids serving should be, and I utterly disdained the roll they put on my plate! The salmon was 5 oz too! It's amazing what they are feeding kids these days :) Actually it's amazing how most of their meals have close to 2,000 calories in them...but not mine!!!

I really feel so great to be able to eat out for 400 calories or less. A delicious, nutritious meal! Everyone else got burgers, nachos, and onion rings, but I wasn't jealous at all! The kids portion was actually what a normal adults portion of food should be, and it was only 6 dollars for the plate. Normally they charge 2 extra dollars for adults to order the kids meal, but the waitress told me she didn't add it as a courtesy.

The last time I was on a diet (Atkins) every meal away from home was a huge struggle and an emotional event of sadness and carb envy. Tonight I left the restaurant feeling confident in myself, happy with my decisions, and satisfied with the awesome meal I just had. Researching a place ahead of time takes all the stress and unnecessary guilt out of what should be an enjoyable celebration :)

Oh, and the trifle? I painstakingly entered every ingredient into the recipe form, and figured out the weight of the items combined and how much my serving size should be for a cool 250 calories, which still fell into my allotted calories for today. I'm not gonna eat it everyday, but it's great to be able to eat it without feeling guilty!

Anyone else feel great about eating out because of at home research?

Replies

  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
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    Was not as successful as you, but in awe of your accomplishment! You have inspired me! Kudos to you and keep up the good work!
  • Stephycakes612
    Stephycakes612 Posts: 8
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    That is awesome to hear! I have been doing the same thing...Looking everything up on here before I go to dinner or looking it up on my phone at the place we are eating! KUDOS to you! :0)
  • countrymama08
    countrymama08 Posts: 92
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    I have been looking everything before I go out to eat. It really helps to ahve a game plan.

    How awesome that you could order from the kids menu and they had something that was good for you. A lot of kids menu items are just as bad as the regular menu. Some places won't let you order from the kids menu unless you are under 12. I think that is crappy.

    I went to CiCi's pizza with a cousin this evening. (Not something I will ever do again. Not worth it at all. Mediocre pizza at best and really who needs a pizza buffet.) I looked everything up before hand. I selected 4 varieties from the buffet that looked like ones I would want to try. Before I ate, I entered them and saw that I could without going over my calories so I had dinner and stopped there. Good but totally not worth the calories when I could have a nice crab cake or salmon fillet for the same.
  • hjackson6
    hjackson6 Posts: 30 Member
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    Awesome!!!
  • Aeriel
    Aeriel Posts: 864 Member
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    Great job! I always research my meals out too!
  • pbrza95
    pbrza95 Posts: 1
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    I have only just started using My Fitness Pal but I am impressed with your accomplishment. My first few days were horrible. I blew through the calories and ended up in the negative the first three days. But now I have a better clue as to how to figure this. Once again, I'm impressed with your accomplishment. Great Job!
  • Will_Lift_4_Shoes
    Will_Lift_4_Shoes Posts: 238 Member
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    I have researched this too. My husband and I eat out A LOT!! I like knowing what everything is in calories so I can order without feeling like I have been gyped. One time we went to Panda Express. I love the beef dishes and the one beef dish that I was thinking sounded really good was an enormous 840 calories!! That would have been almost my entire day and in no way would it have lasted all day. Keep loooking it up and staying on track. The best diet is the one where you can eat what you want, keep it reasonable, and give yourself permission to have the naughty trifle once in a while. Planning the day will keep you successful!!!
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,023 Member
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    CONGRATS, you should be proud of yourself, what an accomplishment. I research places before I go also. the other night we went out to eat and I have a grilled tuna steak , steamed rice and grilled veggies, I didnt even finish all of it and I left the restraunt feeling very content and happy with myself
  • SouthernBell86
    SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
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    Thanks everyone! It's great to see the affirmation! My family is a little supportive ( No one pressured me to get a burger or fries or anything) but they just don't get why I'm so excited about that meal.

    I really think that I'll be making Ted's Montana Grill a regular destination, because that meal was great, and the price was right. Plus, they have food other non dieters love as well, so I won't have to twist people's arms to go there.

    Good for all of you for looking up things before you go. It totally makes the difference! I had been feeling kind of down about my diet earlier today, and anxious about tonight, but this and yall's encouragement has totally energized me for staying on track!
  • LainMac
    LainMac Posts: 412 Member
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    Eating out is problematic. So doing it well as you did, is a major accomplishment. I get it totally why you are so proud of this.

    WTG!
  • mom23kids
    mom23kids Posts: 91
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    Congrats! Way to attack and conquer! I experienced the same thing today. I just joined MFP yesterday and today had made plans to meet friends for lunch at Chili's. I researched on line before I went to lunch. I usually order an appetizer of boneless buffalo wings as my meal. I was shocked to see that it added up to 1000 calories. By the time I left the house I had several options to choose from. I opted for the Margarita Grilled Chicken. It's total was 600 calories with the black beans and rice. I ate half of it for lunch and because the portion was so big, I was able to bring the other half home for dinner. Now research will be a "must do" before ever going out to eat.
  • megan_mp
    megan_mp Posts: 77
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    And Applebee's has some 'Under 550 Calories' meals.

    Had the Asiago Peppercorn Steak tonight. It's a 7oz. sirloin steak that they couple with steamed red potatoes and steamed mixed vegetables. When I entered it into my food chart, it was 390 calories for the meal! I loved it!
  • SuzMcH
    SuzMcH Posts: 343 Member
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    I'm impressed. Well done. It's never occured to me to order a kids meal instead of adult portion. It will now. Mind you in UK the kids options aren't that healthy (nuggets, pizza, fish fingers etc) but I'll def check kids section of menu.

    Also in UK not that many restaurants have nutritional info available. Unless it is one of the really big chains whihc often don't have that many healthy options. Although recently when giong to Pizza Express I've ordered a salad. I know no pizza in a pizza restaurant - what's wrong with me, lol !
  • bloblynda
    bloblynda Posts: 99 Member
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    It would be a good idea if restaurants put the nutrition values of their meals on the menu. But that would probably stop people eating there:laugh:

    Here in the UK kids' meals are inevitably burgers, fish fingers or chicken nuggets all with chips (Fries). No wonder our kids are getting fatter. WEhen our son was small we used to ask if he could have a half portion of the adult meals. Some restaurants would, but most (especially the chains) would not.
  • KayKGee98
    KayKGee98 Posts: 14
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    I'm jelous!

    I ALWAYS research the restaruant before i go even if it's fast food, so i can find something healthy or atleast low calories to get. That helps me ALOT. but the other day i had to go to chevy's with my family and didn't have enough time to research it so i ended up getting a sald that was 1200 calories! I was so dissapointed. lol.
  • SouthernBell86
    SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
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    Yeah, most kid's meals in America aren't that healthy either, it really just depends on the restaurant. This particular restaurant is sort of health focused and "green" so I think that's why they have healthier kids meals. They aren't really making low calorie meals in general, but they use healthier ingredients, and have tips on ordering for those with diabetes, gluten free meals, and low carb, as well as low cal, so it's really not run of the mill.

    Oh, and salads? NEVER order a salad at a restaurant unless you know it is low calorie. They usually tend to be over a thousand calories, and you don't even enjoy it as much as the thousand calorie burger and fries.

    If you're ordering blind, best thing to get is a plain chicken breast with steamed/plain veggies. It might be a little boring, but at least you're safe.

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