HOW DO YOU FIGURE IN EATING OUT CALORIES?!?

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MoMoves
MoMoves Posts: 36
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I don't eat out at resteraunts very often. But I knew I was going to last night, and so I worked really hard on keeping calories lower in the early part of the day so that I could relax and enjoy the evening. I savored every bite of a grilled chicken floretine sandwhich...it had spinach, red & green peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and melted provolone, all on a crusty italian bread/bun. I enjoyed the sandwhich, and proudly passed the heaping pile of fries that went with it to my daughters....and I only drank water. Overall, considering all my options on the menu, I was pleased with myself. But I have NO real idea how many calories I ate. We went to smaller local chain restaurant and the menu nor their website provided such detail.

So what I want to know, is how do YOU handle such a thing? I found something on the data base that was sorta similar and doubled the serving size, just to have a rough idea to add to my diary for the day. But truth is, I just don't know. I know it's only one day and not a huge, huge deal...but .I was just curious how other peopled figured in a meal like that, when you don't really know.

Replies

  • imperfectlyhere
    imperfectlyhere Posts: 87
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    often i make that a free day...I rarely eat out so I just eat light and don't worry about it too much. Most restraunts have nutrition info tho. We ate at subway yesterday but everthing was listed in the food log.
  • katacha999
    katacha999 Posts: 44
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    Hi! I have run into a similar situation this weekend as I know I'll be out a restaurants. To guess at the calories - none of these restaurants have their meal nutritional value available - I dissected the meal.. i.e. pork loin broiled, cabbage braised, chocolate torte, crab cake etc. Never pick the "lighter" valued one - unless you know for sure it's made "light". That will give you a pretty good estimate to put in.
  • driscollmc
    driscollmc Posts: 85
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    what i usually do is make a rough estimate. that's really all you can do if they don't have the calories on their website. just think of how it was prepared, if you have any idea, and go from there. it's okay if you're off by a bit. what i usually do is if i know i'm going out to a restaurant that i know i can't get nutritional information at, i kick my butt at the gym before i go just in case something is prepared with a lot of oil or butter or whatever. hope that helps!
  • FoamyRiver
    FoamyRiver Posts: 276 Member
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    I do exactly what you did...try to find something similar and log it. I've also broken down what I think are all the ingredients in something I've ordered and log them separately but you never know what kind of spices and fats a restaurant has used to make something so tasty. I think the more accurate count is to log something comparable.

    Go Steelers! :wink:
  • alba_merula
    alba_merula Posts: 15 Member
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    Same way as you did: look for something similar in the database, and bravely overestimate the portion, to make sure I don't cheat myself (unless the issue in the evening is to reach the minimum kcals for the day, in which case I add the lower limit of what I could have eaten).
  • sec820
    sec820 Posts: 40
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    I would do exactly what you did - estimate the cals from something similar and move on. I have come to learn to not beat myself up about eating out. You did well by eating light for the most part of the day and make a wise choice when you got there. Look at it this way...i'll bet that's not what you would have chosen before you started MFP and i'll bet you wouldn't have skipped the fries!!!
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    eating out calories are no different than eating in...... :)

    Remember....when we go out to eat, we need to focus more on the company and not the food. You can make the same food choices at a restaurant that you make at home--you just need to voice to your server how youwant it cooked and hold all the sauce, and skip the fries, eat more veggies and most of all...........ENJOY THE COMPANY. I do it every weekend, and have had no problem losing my 74 pounds in 15 weeks.
  • oldperson
    oldperson Posts: 8 Member
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    You did the right thing by cutting back on your calories during the day to enjoy your evening out. Sometimes we have to guestimate. When faced with this issue, I try & break things down, such as by ingredients in the sandwich & bread type. You won't get the exact, but you should be pretty close. Oldperson

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