Eating outside your comfort zone?

easy2putt
easy2putt Posts: 36 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm really surprised how much food data MFP has..but what about when you go to a restaurant or even another person's house for dinner and you really don't know the food value to log in to MFP?

Replies

  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    I always make sure that I am aware of what I'm eating before I actually eat it.
  • easy2putt
    easy2putt Posts: 36 Member
    I always make sure that I am aware of what I'm eating before I actually eat it.

    ..is it an estimation..how do you know the exact calorie, carbs, fats and proteins to plug into the MFP?
  • LeahT84
    LeahT84 Posts: 202 Member
    Most restaurants have their nutrition information on their websites, and a lot of it is already in the MFP database. I have no problem asking someone what is in the food they are offering me, and I have no problem declining foods that I know I can't eat because of it's caloric intake. But, everyone knows that I eat low calorie and healthy, so if they are offering to make/serve me dinner, they usually have options I can have. If you don't know what is in it, all you have to do is ask.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
    Estimate high. There's no way to know unless they basically give you the recipe to plug in.
  • dmitriunkovsky
    dmitriunkovsky Posts: 44
    I know what you mean. I work at a hospital, and I don't know the calorie count of most of the stuff they serve in the cafeteria. I usually bring something light for lunch, but sometimes I'll forget and have to go down to the cafeteria so I can keep my strength up to do my job. It's really unnerving because I don't know how to calculate what I'm putting into my body.

    What I do in that situation is choose the food in the database and choose the 'homemade' one, and go with a best estimate.
  • Jewlz280
    Jewlz280 Posts: 547 Member
    Well, what I do is guess based on what I had. If you go to someone's house and you have no info or if you go to say, an ethnic restaurant, you may just have to do your best and guess. The truth is, if the rest of the month you are spot on, one night out and not knowing EXACTLY what was in it won't be a big deal. Just don't make it a habit. Still guess and log to your best ability, but note in your food notes that it was a guess and move on. :)

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