Guessing calories in meals? (please answer)

daniiix3333 · August 2014

For the past 2 years I have been extremely strict with my eating plan, and weighed/measured everything. I would usually not eat anything that I could not know the calories in.

I originally started MFP to maintain my weight, but eating this way i actually lost weight! (who knew a 4 foot 8 inch 88lb girl needs more than 1500 calories a day!)

So i want to be able to enjoy food from my local pizzeria or a fresh meat packed sub from a deli without feeling so anxious.

HOW DO YOU GUESS CALORIES IN MEALS and how often?!

EX. i eat 75% of an eggplant parm from a pizzeria.. how to guess?
EX. Subs from delis can range from meat packed, thick bread too lighter bread and barley meat.. how could you possibly guess this?

thank you!

FlowerFairy493 · August 2014

ETA: I rarely guess. But when I go to restaurants I only eat half my meal and save the rest for another meal. Just to be safe.

defauIt · August 2014

I eat out almost every day during the summer (too many delicious food trucks nearby to avoid them all).

I just guess very conservative. A big burger starts at 800 calories and I adjust up if it has lots of bacon/cheese/mayo/sauces/etc. I adjust down for chicken burgers or if there's no cheese/bacon/etc.

A 6" sub starts at 600 calories and gets adjusted the same way. A chicken sub might be 450-500 cals, sausage sub might be 700-750 calories.

Pizza starts at 300 calories a slice and gets adjusted up/down based on size and toppings.

If you're totally lost, find something similar on a restaraunt website and use that as a base.

Always assume they use full fat everything, assume everything is covered in butter and be conservative.

howardheilweil · August 2014

I eat out almost every day during the summer (too many delicious food trucks nearby to avoid them all).

I just guess very conservative. A big burger starts at 800 calories and I adjust up if it has lots of bacon/cheese/mayo/sauces/etc. I adjust down for chicken burgers or if there's no cheese/bacon/etc.

A 6" sub starts at 600 calories and gets adjusted the same way. A chicken sub might be 450-500 cals, sausage sub might be 700-750 calories.

Pizza starts at 300 calories a slice and gets adjusted up/down based on size and toppings.

If you're totally lost, find something similar on a restaraunt website and use that as a base.

Always assume they use full fat everything, assume everything is covered in butter and be conservative.

I agree with Default. I always try to over estimate food calories and under estimate calories burned from exercise.

Branstin · August 2014

Find another food place that list calories and use a similar item for comparison. Another option would be to buy the food at places that list their calories. Use Google and use the average from about 2 or 3 sites.

meridianova · August 2014

HOW DO YOU GUESS CALORIES IN MEALS and how often?!

EX. i eat 75% of an eggplant parm from a pizzeria.. how to guess?
EX. Subs from delis can range from meat packed, thick bread too lighter bread and barley meat.. how could you possibly guess this?

if the restaurant you're going to doesn't list their nutritional online, then choose things that are easily deconstructed or will be fairly consistent across vendors. on the sub, take a look at how many slices of which meats they're using, how many slices of tomato, leaves of lettuce, etc. you can always order the mayo and mustard on the side, in which case they'll usually come out in 1oz containers.

if we're going to eat out, i'll check the nutritonal online first and see what works. if that's not as much of an option, i'll plan the rest of my eating so that i can be a little more lenient and not go over my macros.

daniiix3333 · August 2014

Thank you for all the advice, most places like local pizzarias don't have nutritional informationa available.

I guess choosing something similar is a good idea.

how often would you say you guess how many calories in your meals? the idea of doing this scares me.

for dinner tonight me and my friend ordered baked spaghetti parm.

I have no eaten something like this in a long time

meridianova · August 2014

how often would you say you guess how many calories in your meals?

not very often... once or twice a month, tops. i do all the cooking, weighing everything, and i buy raw ingredients to make my lunches at work, so i know exactly what's going into them and can log accordingly.

Unknown · August 2014

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KCMission · August 2014

Thank you for all the advice, most places like local pizzarias don't have nutritional informationa available.

I guess choosing something similar is a good idea.

how often would you say you guess how many calories in your meals? the idea of doing this scares me.

for dinner tonight me and my friend ordered baked spaghetti parm.

I have no eaten something like this in a long time

I get where you're at here but also remember that moderation is the key. An overindulgence every now and then is NOT going to define the outcome of healthy eating. We are meant to enjoy food

Too many people make food the enemy. If you are tracking accurately and making healthy choices 80% of the time, don't panic over the odd inaccuracy.

Enjoy life

cassique · August 2014

If it is just a run of the mill, eat on the fly eating out situation, I will google something similar and make smart choices based on what I have learned in my logging, weighing, measuring experiences. If it is a special occasion I will just make the best guess I can and enjoy my meal. I will eat less and exercise more the days surrounding the overindulgence to keep my averages on target. I guess at least once a week, and if there is a party I don't even bother logging but I make up for it on other days. The not logging seems to only happen once a month and it hasn't hindered my weight loss at all.

I try not to focus so much on daily goals, and instead look at the week at a whole and see if my daily averages or on target. I have some days where I am eating 1200 calories (sometimes less) and other times that I am close to 2000 (or over I'm sure on non logging days), yet my weekly averages tend to be around 1500-1600/day. It works for me because I don't feel deprived. I make the best choices I can in my normal day to day life, and enjoy special treats when they come along.

ETA: As for pizza, I live in NY and there was so much variety in how many calories are in a slice of NY pizza. I found an article that broke it down based on an 8 oz slice. I input that information in the database by oz and weigh my slices every time we order in. They always tend to be about 6.5 oz, so when I eat out I use that as a guideline and adjust as necessary. If I get toppings I add that separately.

daniiix3333 · August 2014

Wow everyone thanks so much for all this advice and support. Does anyone else ever feel kind of uneasy about eating out or at a friends house?

Also, do you "save calories" for night time snacking?
I have been doing this for 2 years and I LOVE being able to enjoy some snacks before bed... opinions on this?

FlowerFairy493 · August 2014

Wow everyone thanks so much for all this advice and support. Does anyone else ever feel kind of uneasy about eating out or at a friends house?

Also, do you "save calories" for night time snacking?
I have been doing this for 2 years and I LOVE being able to enjoy some snacks before bed... opinions on this?

I'm never really uneasy I just used that hand portion control chart I sent you. Apart from that, I don't eat in the afternoons or evenings anymore because I start binging. I just eat breakfast and lunch.

I do calorie cycle however which means I have higher calorie days and lower calorie days. I tend to go out on the higher ones and stay at home on the lower/normal ones.

That being said you should do what works for you, just make sure it all fits in your calories.

KCMission · August 2014

I did what you are doing and found that I spent so much time worrying about WHAT I was eating that I forgot to enjoy. I made myself take a break from MFP, stopped tracking, and just let myself enjoy and ... guess what? Didn't gain an ounce, actually continued to lose. Eating healthy has become a habit now that I don't need to spend time worrying about it.

i try to stay within my designated calories, but also know that if I indulge once in a while - ya know what?? It's absolutely fine.

Guessing calories in meals? (please answer)

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