How to count calories with mixed items at a buffet?

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botography
botography Posts: 95 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Let me explain more fully. I went to a dinner party and the choices were buffet approach and all salads. There was a selection of lettuce, tomatoes, etc. In other words as in a cafeteria you could pick your own and make it yourself.

Obviously you can not scan the products. You cannot measure it either.

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  • smarieallen85
    smarieallen85 Posts: 535 Member
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    At a buffet I make myself a salad as I would at home. Since I'm used to measuring at home (and the veggies have little calories), I can eyeball the measurements and put them in as such. In the case of any kind of mixed veggies, I assume they're sauteed unless stated grilled and you can actually enter "sauteed ..." in fitness pal. It will account for the oil. The rest is a lot of guessing but the more you measure at home the more accurate you can be when you're out.
  • smarieallen85
    smarieallen85 Posts: 535 Member
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    Also I have a tiny measuring cup I keep in my purse but I'm psycho.
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
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    If it's not something that you're faced with often, guessing will probably not derail you. Just make wise choices. Fill up on veg, pick the leaner protein options, try to minimize the dressings and added fats. Then take your rough estimate of calories in your head, add 50 calories for good measure (haha, maybe that's silly but it's what I do) and log it as a new food "Salad bar - one plate (estimate)" or whatever you feel like. That way you know what it was if you're reviewing your food diary.

    I second the poster who said that you will be better and better with your guesses when you're out if you are very good at weighing and measuring in your day-to-day cooking at home.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I eyeball it and guess. It's not precise, obviously, but it's better than just quick adding 1000 calories or something...at least in my book it is.

    The other day I went to a Chinese buffet and what I got, I logged like this:

    0.5 cup cantaloupe
    0.34 cup honeydew
    4 large strawberries
    California roll, 5 pc
    0.34 cup Hyvee Chinese Express sesame chicken
    0.5 cup Hyvee Chinese Express beef & broccoli
    3 medium shrimp, boiled with salt
    0.25 cup cooked cabbage

    I wasn't eating at HyVee supermarket but the stuff looked and tasted similar. Anyway...I'm not eating Chinese buffet daily or even monthly so not a big issue to me.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    Without being able to measure/weigh the items you put in your salad, it's really going to just be your best guess. When I'm in that situation, I just do my best to make good choices and don't sweat it. It won't be the end of the world if you miscalculated one salad :-)
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    Enjoy your food, take a mental note of the items and the approximate amounts, do your best to find reasonable entries in the database to use, and hope you guessed accurately.

    It's going to be a rough estimate, but a rough estimate is better than not knowing anything.
  • ChronicOptimist
    ChronicOptimist Posts: 558 Member
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    I just do my best, and have a rule that I don't put anything in my mouth until it's been logged.

    I also use something I call the "olive oil" trick where at the end of a buffet or restaurant meal, if the calorie count seems a little too good to be true, I just log a tablespoon or two of olive oil. It's not ideal, but it gives me a little more of a padding and makes me feel a little more accurate about things. Plus, I feel better about adding olive oil rather than just quick adding calories because it adds fat too.

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