logging food

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clover0820
clover0820 Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
how do you guys go about logging food that you did not make.. say when you go to a party and they made something.. do you guys estimate?

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  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    Yes, I estimate and try to estimate high, to have a buffer in case they prepared something in a manner I normally wouldn't (extra butter in a sauce or maybe their secret mashed potato ingredient is full fat cream cheese or whatever)
  • lucylousmummy
    lucylousmummy Posts: 348 Member
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    yep over estimating is far safer if you haven't got accurate calorie info, or made it yourself
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    It depends on the type of party and the food. If I can, I try to ask the person there how they made it if it's a dip that could be light or healthy. If I know some of the ingredients by the look at taste, (like apple, crescent rolls, certain obvious cheeses), I will log them in pieces.

    I've found that people really like it if you ask them what they used to make their amaaaazing dish that you love so much. Sometimes they'll even tell you where they found the recipe and you can look up the info later.

    If there is no way to guess what is in something (deserts can be tough, Crisco can be hidden in anything), I will log it in terms of worst case scenario. Worst case, that slice of cake may have as many calories as a slice of cheesecake. So I log cheesecake. It keeps me from going overboard on rich foods.
  • licorice_tea
    licorice_tea Posts: 59 Member
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    Depends on several things!

    - If I know the host well then I might ask about food preparation to help me estimate, or if it is catered then I can ask where it was catered from to help me estimate
    - If I know in advance I'm going to a party, I might just take it as a "cheat meal" that I just assume is 2000 calories and then do a lot of exercise that day to bring me in at maintenence :)
    - If I don't know the host, or if the party was unplanned, I would try to go for the foods that have the most consistent calorie counts and are easiest to guess

    Anyway, as long as you are not doing it that often every week, I don't think it would have too much of an impact. Here's some advice on how to minimize these number of situations per week:

    - If you know you often attend social events at friends houses, cut down on the number of times you eat out at restaurants that don't post calorie counts and consider that going with your friends is your equivalent of a restaurant meal
    - If your friends order delivery at their parties, see if you can have some input and ask that they order from a place that makes its nutrition information available
    - Offer to bring some food! Most hosts are thankful for the help, and then you will know exactly how many calories that has :)

    Best of luck!

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