For those of you who eat out...how do you record calories?

calliekitten9
calliekitten9 Posts: 148 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I tend to eat out with friends often...some places have calories listed...but others do not. I can "sometimes" find the restaurant and item in the MFP database...but more often I cannot. So I oftentimes have to put in components or the "closest item" that I can find. However that means that those entries are best guesses at best for calories. I am wondering how others handlle that...do you leave extra calories remaining to account for an estimate?
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Replies

  • Lisah8969
    Lisah8969 Posts: 1,247 Member
    If the restaurant doesn't have a website that I can input the correct numbers, best guess is what I am left with. Once you have been tracking for a while, you will get a better feel for what is true. When I really have no idea and there is more than one item in the database that is similar, I just put in the one with the higher calories (if I am choosing b/t two items) or the one in the middle (if I am chooing from more than two). I never choose the one with the least calories.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Chain restaurants have their nutrition information available. If it's a small local place that doesn't have that info available, I accept that it simply is a "blackout" meal that I do not log.
  • MzLaLa29
    MzLaLa29 Posts: 258 Member
    google it. if you're at red lobster, type "red lobster menu with calories". I sometimes do this at home so when I get there I already know what I'm going to order
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Giggity
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
    Sometimes a best guess is the best you can do without knowing recipes, exact portion sizes, etc. Sometimes restaurants will have nutritional information on their websites and if they're not in the database you can add them yourself.

    Or you could be like me and just not bother to count for that meal and then start again tomorrow!
  • FerretBuellerr
    FerretBuellerr Posts: 468 Member
    Yep, that's exactly what I do.

    Or, depending on what it is I'm out eating (for instance, when I go out for sushi or any other buffet/all-you-can-eat type of place) I just won't log that meal at all. I find it to be less hassle that way, and I just assume I went over for the day and then just move on to the next!
  • starrycarina
    starrycarina Posts: 59
    Depends on where. If it's a chain, many of them have their info available in the restaurant if not online. If not...then I guess as best as I can.
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    Most the time I don't have an issue finding things in MFP but for the few times I do, I try to find something close, like you said but I will take the item with higher calories. If I'm having spaghetti and I find two different entries, one for for 312 cal, another for 320 cal, and a third for 400 cal, I take the one with 400. That way if I'm off its either over or if it's under, it's much closer. I also carry a pocket food scale with me so I can make sure I know exactly how much I'm eating.
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  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    So I tend to eat out with friends often...some places have calories listed...but others do not. I can "sometimes" find the restaurant and item in the MFP database...but more often I cannot. So I oftentimes have to put in components or the "closest item" that I can find. However that means that those entries are best guesses at best for calories. I am wondering how others handlle that...do you leave extra calories remaining to account for an estimate?

    That's basically what I do. Sometimes I'll put in the ingredients as best estimated... 8oz chicken breast, bread crumbs, olive oil, spaghetti sauce, cheese = chicken parm, that kind of thing. I'll often add it a bunch of extra fat (usually through extra oil as it's the easiest) since restaurant foods are generally higher in fats than non-restaurant dishes.

    But ultimately, everything we do is a guess. Estimate it as best you can and move along.
  • bigphatcat
    bigphatcat Posts: 7,843 Member
    Doesn't burn many calories, but the wife sure enjoys it
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    If it's a chain restaurant, odds are the information is available on their website, somewhere else on the internet, or even already here in the database. If it's a local place, you'll need to find the closest approximation and hope for the best. My two favorite restaurants in the area are local and don't list the nutritional information, so when I go there I find something similar and leave several calories uneaten as a buffer.
  • bigphatcat
    bigphatcat Posts: 7,843 Member
    Seriously.....most places have a website and the ones that don't I try to find something close on MFP
  • _db_
    _db_ Posts: 179 Member
    I make a best-guess estimate of the meal based on stuff in the MFP database. If I eat it regularly, I'll make a 'recipe' out of it.

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    I often eat that salad with a piece of grilled chicken breast, so I just pick one from the MFP database that seems to be about right. For example, this place puts very little salt on their chicken, so I picked one from the database that has low(ish) sodium content, "Johns - Grilled Chicken Breast - Skinless, Boneless" and adjust the weight accordingly; the pieces are usually 5-6 ounces at this place.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    No. I cook a lot from scratch, and weigh and measure everything I eat at home now for logging, so I'm pretty confident I'm in the ballpark for how much of a food is on my plate (and I'll go with the high end of my estimate of how much food -- e.g., "that was more than half a cup of rice but it wasn't more than 3/4 -- it was probably closer to two-thirds, but I'll say 3/4 to be on the safe side"), and I generally feel pretty confident about whether something was cooked with a lot of added fat or not. Salad dressings are a pain, especially if it comes predressed, but even on the side it's sometimes hard to distinguish between the mouth feel of a full fat dressing and one that's using corn syrup to replace some fat. I'll usually order a simple oil and vinegar dressing on the side, or if I'm at an event with preplated and predressed salads, I'll just find the closest 200-calorie-per-serving salad dressing in the database (or skip the salad).

    Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is I build my leeway into my estimates for the food I'm logging rather than trying to undereat the rest of the day and not hit my calories in the log.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I don't log when I eat out, but I don't do it all that often. A best guess is all you will ever get, because even the info on a web site is not going to much more than guesstimate. Not every taco or burger or steak made will have the exact same calories. Topping amounts will vary, fat content and total weight of chops and steaks will vary, amount of cheese, etc. It's all going to vary from meal to meal.

    I think what you describe is the best you can do when eating food you don't prepare yourself.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    If there isn't nutrition information available I will either make up my own best guess recipe for the food, or just log something similar. For example, random restaurant, bacon blue cheese burger, I will just log the version from Applebee's or something like that.
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    I typically pick an item that is close, or if I'm eating a sandwich or salad, for example, I add the ingredients separately. If nothing else, I pick something close in the MFP database. The log isn't always going to be 100% accurate but if you do the best you can and are still consistently losing, you are doing good.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    Please keep in mind, cals posted for chains are per serving, not for the entire meal. What the serve you is probably a serving of 3 or something. Be careful. It's tricky.

    But, to answer your question, I just guess. I had Peruvian food yesterday for lunch because my boss lost a bet. So, he bought. So, I just totally guessed. How would you possibly figure out Peruvian food?

    The same way you would figure out any other food? Break it down (mentally) into its components, estimate how much of each component there was, make sure you account for sauces and cooking fat,, don't skimp on your estimates, and log.
  • smithcarola
    smithcarola Posts: 51 Member
    That's happened to me several times. I usually try to log it peice-meal or I look at similar things other people have added to the database and take an average.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    I try to ballpark it and/or find things that seem equivalent. You just have to assume extra oil/fat and extra salt. You need to get good at eyeballing portions too - not like you're going to whip out the food scale when your plate arrives ... \

    Over the course of a year, an average person eats nearly a million calories. Being off by a couple hundred every day is an issue, but being off by a couple hundred every now and then is not. No need to stress over it.
  • Pidgeywendy
    Pidgeywendy Posts: 32 Member
    If you put the word 'Generic' in first when searching for a meal, it will come up with it. So for example, if you're eating at a friends house or an independent restaurant and had fish pie - just type in 'Generic Fish Pie' and it will offer you portion sizes. There's no need to miss logging or try and make it up.....everything is there :-)
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  • calliekitten9
    calliekitten9 Posts: 148 Member
    Please keep in mind, cals posted for chains are per serving, not for the entire meal. What the serve you is probably a serving of 3 or something. Be careful. It's tricky.

    But, to answer your question, I just guess. I had Peruvian food yesterday for lunch because my boss lost a bet. So, he bought. So, I just totally guessed. How would you possibly figure out Peruvian food?

    That is what I ran into last night....someone had put an item in that was 5.5 oz....well....not to sound ignorant, but I did not know if my portion was truly 5.5 oz...so I put 1.5 servings and then only ate half. I am buying a food scale later this week so that I can at least visually guage ounces...but I agree...1 plate is tricky. Especially with things like a salad bar.
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  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Depending on the frequency with which you do eat at restaurants, you may be able to get away with just plain not logging it.

    I go out to eat only once every few months. Because of that, I can get away with just not logging whatever it is I'm eating or worrying about the nutritional content and it won't matter _at all_. However, people who eat out weekly won't have that luxury.
  • smarionette
    smarionette Posts: 260 Member
    You know that the server can tell you how many ounces of a particular thing are on the plate right? Or they can at least ask the chef. Restaurants are businesses, and they have to track inventory like every other business. They are NOT out to sabotage you and put 3x more food on a plate than they have to, and if you simply ask you can often get the information you need. You can also do things like ask for any sauce to be on the side, ask for a double portion of veg over starches etc.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    You know that the server can tell you how many ounces of a particular thing are on the plate right? Or they can at least ask the chef. Restaurants are businesses, and they have to track inventory like every other business. They are NOT out to sabotage you and put 3x more food on a plate than they have to, and if you simply ask you can often get the information you need. You can also do things like ask for any sauce to be on the side, ask for a double portion of veg over starches etc.

    You may be able to get this info from a chain, but I think you'll find that trying to go into eating at a smaller, single-location, perhaps family-owned place is different entirely (in regards to the first part, anyway).
  • Happymelz
    Happymelz Posts: 536 Member
    We eat out a lot, and usually at locally owned places who do not have actual calorie counts or sometimes even websites. lol. :)

    I try to find calories for similar items from other restaurants and er on the side of logging higher just in case.

    Or, I ask the server to find out the oz serving size of the protein, and build from their.
  • smarionette
    smarionette Posts: 260 Member
    You know that the server can tell you how many ounces of a particular thing are on the plate right? Or they can at least ask the chef. Restaurants are businesses, and they have to track inventory like every other business. They are NOT out to sabotage you and put 3x more food on a plate than they have to, and if you simply ask you can often get the information you need. You can also do things like ask for any sauce to be on the side, ask for a double portion of veg over starches etc.

    You may be able to get this info from a chain, but I think you'll find that trying to go into eating at a smaller, single-location, perhaps family-owned place is different entirely (in regards to the first part, anyway).

    I do it all the time at all manner of places and I don't eat at chains. Let's face it, you can't run a business if you can't track your inventory. Sure I've gotten some funny looks but very rarely have I never got an answer.

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