Scolded for asking nutrition facts

Sorry to hear that...your mother must not have ever been in the position that you are where the nutrition facts are something we rely on to lose the weight, or to keep it off, or...crazy thought...just to stay healthy! Good for you for asking and sticking to your plan...that's why restaurants have nutrition menus, right

They must have a low-threshold for embarrassing. I have celiac disease and can't eat gluten, so I have to ask all kinds of questions about the food. Whenever I don't, it ends up bad, like when I ordered cinnamon ice cream with fruit thinking it would be gluten free only to have them put a huge freaking cookie right in the middle of it that wasn't listed on the menu.

The servers usually don't care. Most realize the better they can answer your questions the better the tip is going to be.

I know that they are your parents and it's hard, but just ignore them and keep doing what you are doing. It looks like it's working great for you! Plus you'll be a great example to YOUR kids!

Oh boy, She doesn't know just how embarrassing some dinner partners can be :laugh: You just keep doing that. It is in no way rude. Now if you asked your mother for a nutritional menu at her house,she might have reason to complain.

So last week I decided to join my parents and take my kids to dinner and ice cream. At the restaurant I asked for the nutrition menu they had so I could find something for myself. As I am on the phone with my mother today she told me that it was embarrasing and rude to ask. I guess I am to not care while I go out. It really stinks that they arent more supportive considering how hard I am working to make my life better.

I'm sorry you endured this behavior!!! Truth: It's embarrassing your mother feels it's embarrassing.

Is she unhappy with her weight? Many ppl IRL are rarely supportive, so please don't dwell on this. Just focus on you and how great you're feeling & looking!! ...Just another obstacle I KNOW you can overcome! )

Never feel ashamed for asking. You have every right to ask for what you want. You are the customer! It's not rude to ask, trust me. When I was a sous chef at a restaurant there were customers who had the balls to ask the ingredients in our sauces and meatballs because they said they wanted to make it at home. Once one of these rude people popped into the kitchen... Now that's rude. But you are certainly NOT rude. Something like nutrition is fine, you have every right to know the calories, and that kind of info. You won't always get an exact number, but you can get a close estimate. Cooks have access to kitchen tools, scales and I and along with the other cooks had smart phones so we could easily look these things up based on the weight and portion of the food.

So, if you are ever out at a restaurant with your mother, you tell her this, and tell her what some crazy customers do, and compared to them asking about nutrition is really nothing. I am really upset that your mom thinks this is embarrassing, has she not seen what other people do? The others are right, your mom is probably intimidated and insecure by your health goals.

Not that there's anything wrong with what you did... IMO its awesome. What I usually do... and not because i give a crap what people think but because it makes ordering quicker.. I research before I go out, assuming I know where were going. And before we even get there I've already decided what i'm having. This way I can budget for it AND not have to decipher charts and stuff while everyone is waiting for me to order. But keep up the awesome work!

I use to be a server at a family restaurant. I would always be frustrated at how many people asked for the nutrition menu because we didn't have one. I kept asking the owners to make one up for people to see and they never would. So I was frustrated at the owners mostly for not providing the facts for our customers, who by the way have every right to know what they are eating.

I'm sorry you had to go through that, I was wondering, maybe next time if you know where you are going ahead of time you can look up the nutrition online maybe? That's just a thought. But you obviously have every right to ask for it!!! There is no reason why that should be embarrassing.

If the restaurant had a nutrition menu, it could not possibly have been rude to ask.

It wouldn't be rude to ask anyway, but your mom's behavior confuses me.

Moms have a way of getting over those things. Soon she will realize that it's important to you and to your health (and your children's health). She may still feel embarassed, but she'll also stop talking about it (at least to you).
I ask about ingredients all the time because of food allergies and sensitivities. It's my new normal.
Keep doing what you're doing!

When the information is available online, I review the menu ahead of time, pre-log something that fits, and order immediately like a boss. Makes me look so decisive and in control.

When it's not... yeah, ask or estimate. My new favorite burger joint has a nutrition info sheet with everything broken down, including bread substitutions, condiments, extras and deletions. It's not posted anywhere, but I walked in and asked and they handed me a copy. Love the Habit.

ETA: When I was dealing with food allergies and migraines, I had a very restricted diet. @OP, your mom would have crawled under the table while I peppered the waiter with all my questions!