counting calories when eating out

shahrazad990
shahrazad990 Posts: 39
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
i'm having trouble keeping an accurate calorie count when i eat out somewhere that doesn't provide nutritional information. i know you can find the info for big companies but what about those little cafe's? how do you add those calories? also, what does everyone do when someone else has prepared the food? how do you count those calories?

Replies

  • shahrazad990
    shahrazad990 Posts: 39
    i'm having trouble keeping an accurate calorie count when i eat out somewhere that doesn't provide nutritional information. i know you can find the info for big companies but what about those little cafe's? how do you add those calories? also, what does everyone do when someone else has prepared the food? how do you count those calories?
  • AbbyIsWangsterful
    AbbyIsWangsterful Posts: 170 Member
    You could possibly ask the person how many calories it is and all those nutrition facts but what I do is search everything you ate and get the one that's the worst for you just in case you don't underestimate and end up being wrong (ex.- you quesadilla, rice, and beans; search that and either list it as the worst one or list it then more than one serving :) Hope this helps :flowerforyou:
  • Lowrider
    Lowrider Posts: 16 Member
    I go by ingredients and portion size. Give or take you should be in the ball park. I even ask to share the recipe and when I get home it gives me a opportunity to catch up on what is eaten without being too bold. Stick to fresh veggies and if it is "shiny" it is covered in butter or salad dressing, keep the portions small. Stay away from cream or cheese sauces, those are really harsh and can come in at 100 to 150 calories per tbsp easily. Save yourself a minimum of 250 calories by passing on the bun and butter at the beginning of the meal to save up for enjoying dessert guilt free. There are some good web sites on "hand portioning" ie your palm is approx 3oz of protein. Your thumb is approx 1 oz of cheese or butter. Canada Food Guide on the web is a great source for "hand portioning" and it will help you figure out the calories. Cheers.
  • christina31
    christina31 Posts: 124 Member
    When I eat out at a place not listed, I try to search for the food I ate and then pick the closest to restaurant quality. For example, I ate at Shoney's tonight, but that's not listed. So instead, I keyed in a search for my meal and then picked restaurant listings that seemed similar. I've also found the same works for homemade. Usually I give it a shot and type in homemade first. If nothing pulls up, knowing that most people aren't cooking on a diet, I usually choose a restaurant item so that it adds a few more calories. If anything, I log a little more than what I probably ate just to be safe.
    Hope this helps!

    :heart: Christina
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    It can also help to just ask your server or an employee at the location you're eating at or ate at. You can even call. They should be able to get the information for you or, at the very least, give you a list of ingredients in the product so you can figure out the count on your own.
  • diegelmansm
    diegelmansm Posts: 90
    I try to avoid places that don't offer nutritional information. Usually there's a reason why they're not giving it up!
  • shahrazad990
    shahrazad990 Posts: 39
    thank you all for your help!!!
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