How can you possibly estimate calories from meals at a restaurant?

fzermer
fzermer Posts: 229 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Once a week, I eat with friends at differing Asian restaurants. Many of the entree's are multi ingredient items, shared by the group. A cup of rice is easy enough to estimate, but the rest seems impossible.
«1

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Look for like items in the database and always guesstimate up. After you do this for awhile, it gets pretty easy to grasp portion sizes.
  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    I guess that's the only option, but I have a difficult time estimating how many grams of a particular item I've eaten. I will probably just call the meal 1000 cals and be done with it.
  • eileensofianmushinfine
    eileensofianmushinfine Posts: 303 Member
    often when looking up meals, you can look up by the restaurant (if it's a chain) or the type of food -- you can check multiple listings to see if something is listed in an alternative measurement -- cup, ounces.... OR another option may be to weigh something comparable on the scale to get an idea of what size different gram amounts are.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    edited February 2015
    I use their nutritional info if they have it, or if not take the highest calorie info for something similar in the database.
  • Khukhullatus
    Khukhullatus Posts: 361 Member
    I tend to just search for the dish then always use the highest calorie version I can find. That way, I figure I most likely won't be under. Unless you really beat some people to a few dishes, you could always just take the serving size and divide it by the number of people at the table. That is what I always used to do with blender drinks when I still drank.
  • Mentiri
    Mentiri Posts: 1,356 Member
    I've had good luck asking my favorite restaurants for recipes. I use those when I eat similar dishes at other restaurants, too.
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
    There's just no way to know. I way overestimate the meal, try not to get too full, drink lots of extra water, and have an extra work out. That said, I limit meals I don't cook myself to once a month, if that. It's really helped the pounds fly off.
  • procolorer
    procolorer Posts: 326 Member
    higgins8283801 wrote: »
    I use their nutritional info if they have it, or if not take the highest calorie info for something similar in the database.

    This! :)
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    fzermer wrote: »
    I will probably just call the meal 1000 cals and be done with it.

    A 1000 calories of what is essentially chinese fast food is a depressingly small amount of food.

    I'd consider using a bigger number...
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I went to a buffet last night and had lots of different foods and desserts. Have absolutely no idea how many calories I had. So I did a quick add calories and hopefully overestimated..
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    Five Guys bacon cheeseburger is 920 calories. A 1,000 will just leave confused and then coming back and saying "I weigh everything and am not losing"
  • snarlingcoyote
    snarlingcoyote Posts: 399 Member
    weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/qt/eyeportions.htmhttp://

    Here's a guide to guestimating portion sizes. Take that, guess how much you ate, then find something that seems as close as possible to what you ate and take a stab at it. You can usually even look up ingredients if you are completely in the dark. My Fitness Pal has a LOT of different foods in it - including a couple I was shocked to find from local places, so there should be something similar in the database somewhere. If not, this is your chance to contribute!
  • Kazzsjourney2
    Kazzsjourney2 Posts: 22 Member
    Im the same as the others, look for it in the list going for the highest value.If you are eating out once a week or once a fortnight if you are slightly off it wont be a major issue, but if you are eating out numerous times per week is where it will become more of a issue.
  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    eileensofianmushinfine wrote: »
    often when looking up meals, you can look up by the restaurant (if it's a chain) or the type of food -- you can check multiple listings to see if something is listed in an alternative measurement -- cup, ounces.... OR another option may be to weigh something comparable on the scale to get an idea of what size different gram amounts are.

    Fortunately, these are not chain restaurants I visit. They are (usually) family owned, like most in a "China Town" sections of a large city.
  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »
    There's just no way to know. I way overestimate the meal, try not to get too full, drink lots of extra water, and have an extra work out. That said, I limit meals I don't cook myself to once a month, if that. It's really helped the pounds fly off.

    Heh - I would eat in China Town daily if I could, so I limit myself to once a week. It's my cheat day!

  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    fzermer wrote: »
    I will probably just call the meal 1000 cals and be done with it.

    A 1000 calories of what is essentially chinese fast food is a depressingly small amount of food.

    I'd consider using a bigger number...

    I never eat Chinese fast food, especially buffet's. These are full meals, usually 3-5 entree's shared with the whole table.
  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    Five Guys bacon cheeseburger is 920 calories. A 1,000 will just leave confused and then coming back and saying "I weigh everything and am not losing"

    Maybe so, but I am loosing weight.
  • Sunhee123
    Sunhee123 Posts: 22 Member
    FoCoAlphaNerd wrote: »
    I tend to just search for the dish then always use the highest calorie version I can find. That way, I figure I most likely won't be under. Unless you really beat some people to a few dishes, you could always just take the serving size and divide it by the number of people at the table. That is what I always used to do with blender drinks when I still drank.

    I like this idea, it's doable!!!
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
    edited February 2015
    I try to go to restaurants that have nutrition info or that have foods that are simple enough to estimate. Otherwise, I just don't even try. For example, today I had nachos at a local bar that is totally unique to my area. I wouldn't even know how to find an estimate so I didn't think it was worth it. There are different sizes, different toppings, etc. There was just no way.

    I agree with the sentiment of others though - once a week seems like kind of a lot to be doing that. You could be negating much of your deficit every week and not even know. That's just a choice you have to make. I personally try to go out only once or twice a month, and if I do go out more than that I try to get a salad or something that's easier to track/not as at risk of being sneakily high calorie. Unfortunately, there's really no way to estimate, & trying to estimate is how many of us got to the place of needing to lose weight!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    daw0518 wrote: »
    I try to go to restaurants that have nutrition info or that have foods that are simple enough to estimate. Otherwise, I just don't even try. For example, today I had nachos at a local bar that is totally unique to my area. I wouldn't even know how to find an estimate so I didn't think it was worth it. There are different sizes, different toppings, etc. There was just no way.

    You must live near a lot of chains then? I can't think of a single restaurant I would choose to eat dinner at that would have the nutritional info listed.
  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    OK folks, I just chose all the foods from the db and added to my "Dinner" total, being liberal with the serving sizes. The total came to 1047 calories, bringing my daily total to 243 over target.
  • eileensofianmushinfine
    eileensofianmushinfine Posts: 303 Member
    fzermer wrote: »
    OK folks, I just chose all the foods from the db and added to my "Dinner" total, being liberal with the serving sizes. The total came to 1047 calories, bringing my daily total to 243 over target.

    only being 243 over and having dinner out....for me (and only me), I'd call that a win!

  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    for only once a week, i'd probably just skip logging, but that's just me.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Look for like items in the database and always guesstimate up. After you do this for awhile, it gets pretty easy to grasp portion sizes.
    This. Losing weight can often be more of an art than a science.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited February 2015
    I go out to non-chain restaurants (much more worth it, IMO) at least once a week and it's just not possible to estimate and the log something like it never works for me, as sizes are too different and the specific meal is never that similar anyway. You can do the try to reconstruct method--I always add in a bunch of extra butter--or just put in 1000 (or more if that seems more reasonable). If I have something simple (like meat and sides), I'm more likely to try to reconstruct, if I do something like several dishes shared with a table (as described), I just don't bother, but do a rough estimate and try to make sure I got a good bit of exercise that day, ideally. ;-) Anyway, I have lost fine doing this.

    I don't skip logging it since I figure a rough estimate of my weekly calories is better anyway, for comparison purposes.
  • Train4Foodz
    Train4Foodz Posts: 4,298 Member
    If I know that I'm having a 'treat' and I'm really not sure of the portion sizes at the place im going or of any of the nutritional info then I tend to go along the lines of some of the above replies.
    I log to the highest value and then quick add calories to around 200 or so to be sure I'm not under-logging.
    It's relatively easy at chain places because the nutritional info is listed but as has already been stated, 1000 calories will get you very very little at these places!

    If you know you are going to be eating out and you know that the place you are going is going to have a high calorie count, I would suggest planning your day around it.. Maybe have a smaller breakfast and drink plenty water.

    Most importantly, one day in a week/fortnight/month if done in 'moderation' isn't gonna destroy a healthy lifestyle. Enjoy the food and move on the next day.

    I find that across the course of a week, an 'over day' usually ends up having little impact and balances out nicely.

    All the best,

    Adam
  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    Update: my actual overage today was 298...Not much difference than the 243 I had posted but I want to be accurate.
    Anyway, thanks to everyone for all of the tips!
  • lulufee317537
    lulufee317537 Posts: 50 Member
    In my experience, restaurant calories are up to twice as much as the dish would have if you made it yourself. Even from a place like Laughing Planet, the Soylent green bowl with pesto has like 690 calories!
    Imagine less healthy places and how much calorie inflation is going on!
  • fzermer
    fzermer Posts: 229 Member
    lulufee317537 wrote: »
    In my experience, restaurant calories are up to twice as much as the dish would have if you made it yourself. Even from a place like Laughing Planet, the Soylent green bowl with pesto has like 690 calories!
    Imagine less healthy places and how much calorie inflation is going on!

    Agreed, lulufee. Which brings me back to my original question...!
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
    There is absolutely no way to know since quantities will vary, sometimes adding hundreds of cals to a meal.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories