Eating out

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ummmmm84
ummmmm84 Posts: 50 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When at home I weigh everything or scan it if it's a packet of something. When eating out pub lunch or cafe I can't do that because there is nothing to scan and it's a little extreme taking the scales out with me. How does everyone register there food and find the calories. There are so many things that come up when I type something in I get a little lost with which one to pick.

Thanx

Replies

  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
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    some of the major restaurants have nutrition guides.

    there is a website somewhere online that gives you a picture of what a 5 oz serving of meat is - it is the size of a deck of cards, if you could find that, actually someone posted it on MFP.

    Other than that, use your best guess. If it were me, I would guess on the higher side, since restaurants tend to overdo on the fat, and calories and other things like that.
  • YaGigi
    YaGigi Posts: 817 Member
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    When I'm dining out I still follow my diet rules - nothing fried, nothing too fat. I mostly order whatever I know how to cook, like a steak, or fish, or seafood. I always ask for the dressing or sauces on a side.

    And most restaurants have information about the meal in the menu. It's always weight at least, often calories too. If there's no calories, I just add the weight of the food stated in the menu.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    Oh, you mean restaurants. *Leaves thread*
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Oh, you mean restaurants. *Leaves thread*

    Oh... it's not... *follows behind*
  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
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    Salad with no dressing or soup is probably the way to go in a restaurant. If I'm feeling indulgent I'll do a salad with meat on it, like a steak salad.

    For a plain salad with as little dressing as you can put on it you can figure about 350 kcals in a restaurant. For soup, it really depends but if you stick to a non creamy soup you should be able to ballpark it at 300 kcals. If you have steak on your salad ballpark it at 750 kcals. If you have chicken on your salad ballpark it at 900 kcals.

    Of course these are general guesses not knowing where you're going or what exactly you're eating, but these estimates should get you close on the day. You can't have any appetizer, dessert, or non-diet drink, the salad or soup is your entire meal.

    Good luck

    Osric
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Here's my take...

    Pick something close, possibly from a chain restaurant because they often seem to be the highest calories so they're the worst case scenario, and forget about it. It's all estimates anyway, even when you scan and weigh things, there's still a margin of error.

    I certainly wouldn't advise only getting plain bland salads and plain bland grilled chicken. If I'm going out to eat, I'm not going to get some boring crap I could make at home for 1/10th the cost. Get something you'll enjoy and savor every bite.
  • ummmmm84
    ummmmm84 Posts: 50 Member
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    I'm going to a place called kersey,England they only have one pub. Last time I went I had a beef lasagna it came out with a lot of oil or something over it. Thank you for the suggestion of salad BUT it doesn't do anything for me except make be feel hungry. I will have a look for the deck of cards pictures for a rough portion size think I might have seen something like it before on google.. No boring crap that I could make at home for the 1/10 of the cost will be consumed.

    Thanx for all the replys
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
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    Here's my take...

    Pick something close, possibly from a chain restaurant because they often seem to be the highest calories so they're the worst case scenario, and forget about it. It's all estimates anyway, even when you scan and weigh things, there's still a margin of error.

    I certainly wouldn't advise only getting plain bland salads and plain bland grilled chicken. If I'm going out to eat, I'm not going to get some boring crap I could make at home for 1/10th the cost. Get something you'll enjoy and savor every bite.

    Every single word of this.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    I estimate how much of the main ingredients I think is on the plate, and log them separately. Then I add a few hundred quick calories to compensate for underestimatng and the ingredients I can't "see" (oil, etc) . I cant account for somehting, like sodium, this way, but hell, its all an estimate anyway! I very rarely order anything with a sauce, but if i did, for that I'd find a similar sauce in the database.
  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
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    I'm going to a place called kersey,England they only have one pub. Last time I went I had a beef lasagna it came out with a lot of oil or something over it. Thank you for the suggestion of salad BUT it doesn't do anything for me except make be feel hungry. I will have a look for the deck of cards pictures for a rough portion size think I might have seen something like it before on google.. No boring crap that I could make at home for the 1/10 of the cost will be consumed.

    If you don't want to watch what you're eating budget 1,500 kcals and you'll be fine. That'd cover most meals without alcohol at a restaurant. For example, if you have The Keg's Filet Classic with Bacon, served with veggies & mushrooms, bernaise sauce, a ceasar salad, and add garlic bread, that will clock in at 2,084 calories (150g of fat). So the 1,500 estimate would only be under by 25%.

    Osric

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