Logging restaurant food.

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uptightoutasight
uptightoutasight Posts: 69 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How do other people go about logging foods when they have been out for dinner? When it comes to asian style restaurants where dishes are shared, I have no idea what to fill in.

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  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Guess the ingredients, find similar dishes from other restaurants, anything like that. If it's only once in a while I don't worry too much. We sometimes go to an all you can eat Chinese buffet, I don't bother at all with that. When it's something like a buffet or sharing dishes I don't bother trying to guess, it'll probably just be completely wrong. I just ignore counting, try to eat a bit less/a bit healthier, and start the diet again the next day (or eat less the next few days to try to make up for it).
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
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    Do check the Food Database under the restaurant name, because there's quite a bit in there. But if it is something like a buffet or shared food, then as the other poster said, just estimate. This link has easy ways to estimate....like when it's the size of a tennis ball, deck of cards, CD, etc. If it's a mixture of foods, try to remember the dominant one & enter that if you can't find the right mix....so if it's mostly broccoli, but a lot of other veggies, just enter it as broccoli. Practice estimating at home also. Most people tend to underestimate their portions, but over & over again I find I overestimate. Because of that I figure out what I think it is, then subtract just a little. But definitely try to log it, otherwise it can be pretty tempting to just over eat when you know you aren't going to log it. Although I will say that I try to avoid buffets...a little too tempting to "get your money's worth," but if I do go, I try to limit myself to 1 plate of food & not keep making trips back. If people are trying to decide where to go, I'll try to push for a non-buffet place.

    http://caloriecount.about.com/article/when_you_cant_measure_estimate_portions
  • deadyankee
    deadyankee Posts: 74
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    Ultimately, what difference does it make what you log? The only thing to concern you should be whether you are enjoying your evening out. Just exercise a modicum of common sense whilst there and don't consume a vast quantity of food and alcohol.

    Your body will "log" the accurate impact and, if you take a longer term view than a day at a time then you can mitigate the impact of that single meal through exercise and some calorie trimming.

    I really fail to see how and why people fret over the minutiae
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    Haha I never been a fan of family style, shared eating. Even with Chinese food, I want only what I ordered and for everyone else to just eat whatever they ordered.
  • uptightoutasight
    uptightoutasight Posts: 69 Member
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    Yes, thanks. I don't fret about it but I am trying to keep an eye on how I am going and have found logging my food quite useful. I am not worried about eating out as such and still enjoy myself etc but find it frustrating not having a clue about what I really ate.

    For instance, on Saturday night I was at a catered party where all the food was Indian and served buffet style. The following night I was at a tapas restaurant. The weekend before that I was eating at a Thai restaurant where the group ordered dishes that were shared amongst us. For me to be at a restaurant where I can just order a meal that I can figure out just hasn't been happening lately and even tracking alcohol is tricky when glasses are refilled constantly. Next Saturday night I will be at a dinner party that I know will be italian so again I won't be logging grilled fish and steamed vegetables or whatever.

    Guess I just have to be inaccurate a couple of days per week, whereas I am normally really precise and accurate.
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
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    Although I will say that I try to avoid buffets...a little too tempting to "get your money's worth," but if I do go, I try to limit myself to 1 plate of food & not keep making trips back.

    I do, as well, but when I do end up going to one, I'll usually fill up strictly on vegetables, or the salad bar. That way, I still have the freedom to go back again and again, but I just don't eat that much calorie-wise. On my last trip to a buffet, I ended up with three (full) plates of cauliflower, broccoli and green beans - I ate maybe 400 calories MAXIMUM, and I was stuffed full of veggies.

    No one looks at me twice - people just figure that I'm a vegetarian (I'm not) and don't say a word.
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
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    It is quite annoying. As one poster said, if it is a chain restaurant it might be on the database. Also, a lot of places nowadays will post their nutrition menus online. But as you said...if it was a catered event or a small local restaurant the odds of finding them are slim.

    I work with sales people. I frequently go out on lunch dates with customers or the boss caters in on special occasions. If I cannot find an exact measurement, I try to find similar items and guess. Then I tend to burn an extra amount of calories just in case that day.

    In my case ... sometimes me going out is a time for me to enjoy. But other times I dont want to and have to! lol so I still try and log it.

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