Nervous that I may be underestimating a restaurant meal

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soccerkon26
soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
edited April 2015 in Food and Nutrition
Tomorrow I was planning on getting a really big taco salad from a hole in the wall place near where I live. I tried looking at other entries but they all widely range.

I also tried to add up everything myself with items that are already in the database, but I never know if what I am ordering has more calories or not.

I'm nervous that I'm wildly underestimating....and since I'm leaving for hawaii in less than a week I really don't want to consume very high over my calorie goal this week!

Any suggestions?

Replies

  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    My favorite part is the fried shell. Lol :) I don't want to get rid of it, so I was thinking about getting it with no cheese and rice so in case I am underestimating. (I'm estimating about 1,100 cals)
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  • CatHunterFit
    CatHunterFit Posts: 194 Member
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    Overestimate instead. Go with the highest cal version of the food that you can find on MFP. Some people also like to add in an extra measure of olive oil when tracking a takeaway too, to allow for extra oil used in restaurant/take away meals.
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    Furrycatpig wrote: »
    Overestimate instead. Go with the highest cal version of the food that you can find on MFP. Some people also like to add in an extra measure of olive oil when tracking a takeaway too, to allow for extra oil used in restaurant/take away meals.

    Yeah there's one taco salad shell that says 280 calories and another that says 430, so I'll go with the 430. And maybe some extra oil. Thank you!
  • dsalveson
    dsalveson Posts: 306 Member
    edited April 2015
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    If it were me I'd add up all the ingredients individually with a generous estimate on portions. It won't be exact but it should at least be in the ballpark. If I'm really concerned I underestimated, I'll also quick add extra calories (10-20% of the total) to be safe.

    In all honestly though even if you go over by 500 or even 1000 calories tomorrow it's going to make virtually no difference in the long run, assuming you go back to your normal eating the next day, so I wouldn't stress too much about it.
  • Out_of_Bubblegum
    Out_of_Bubblegum Posts: 2,220 Member
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    I'd go with a quick add 1000 cal for that... I'm judging by something similar that is served at el pollo loco:
    http://www.elpolloloco.com/our-food/#/menu-item/e71bfe0b-bc73-4910-9222-c75fdc84b3cb/Ultimate Double Chicken Avocado Tostada

    Which has 1030 cals.

    Love me a good taco salad.
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    bwmalone wrote: »
    I'd go with a quick add 1000 cal for that... I'm judging by something similar that is served at el pollo loco:
    http://www.elpolloloco.com/our-food/#/menu-item/e71bfe0b-bc73-4910-9222-c75fdc84b3cb/Ultimate Double Chicken Avocado Tostada

    Which has 1030 cals.

    Love me a good taco salad.


    Thank you I appreciate it! Sounds like my estimate is very close to that :)
  • rachael00679
    rachael00679 Posts: 186 Member
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    OMG...
    That looks .... awesome :p

    Sorry... absolutely nothing to add that is helpful. We have nothing like that in Australia...NOTHING *sobs*
  • olivia_june
    olivia_june Posts: 111 Member
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    Yeah I would guess around 1000 calories too...guac, bowl, cheese, meat....a cup of lean taco meat is approx 300 cal just on it's own, and the restaurant probably uses full fat. 30g of cheese is around 100 cal.
  • olivia_june
    olivia_june Posts: 111 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Keep in mind that a deficit of approx 3500 cal is one pound loss, so even if you overeat by a few hundred calories, it's not a huge deal. Try not to stress too much and remember that everything in the database is sort of a loose estimate anyway (food calories are notoriously underestimated and exercise calories are notoriously overestimated). It's pretty much impossible to get exact numbers unless you're sending your food to be tested in a lab, lol.

    Basically you get a very rough idea of how many calories you're consuming, so try not to live and die by the numbers in the database :)
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    Just a tortilla is 200 calories. Deep fry that sucker and you're looking at 300-400. So you're looking at at least 800, probably not more than 1100
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    rachael00679 wrote: »
    OMG...
    That looks .... awesome :p

    Sorry... absolutely nothing to add that is helpful. We have nothing like that in Australia...NOTHING *sobs*

    I'll mail you one ;) lol!!
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    olivia_june wrote: »
    Keep in mind that a deficit of approx 3500 cal is one pound loss, so even if you overeat by a few hundred calories, it's not a huge deal. Try not to stress too much and remember that everything in the database is sort of a loose estimate anyway (food calories are notoriously underestimated and exercise calories are notoriously overestimated). It's pretty much impossible to get exact numbers unless you're sending your food to be tested in a lab, lol.

    Basically you get a very rough idea of how many calories you're consuming, so try not to live and die by the numbers in the database :)

    Thanks so much, I appreciate it :)
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    galgenstrick wrote: »
    Just a tortilla is 200 calories. Deep fry that sucker and you're looking at 300-400. So you're looking at at least 800, probably not more than 1100

    Great!! Well, not great but you know what I mean haha :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,037 Member
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    On Saturday, we stopped by a bakery and I had a cauliflower and cheese pie and an apricot custard tart. This bakery does not list the calorie count for these items on their website, so I was on my own to guess what they might be.

    I found a cauliflower and cheese pie at another local bakery, entered it, and because I think the one I ate on Saturday was a little bit larger, I set the serving at 1.5 instead of 1.

    As for the tart, I found something comparable, and did the same thing ... set the serving at 1.5.
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    On Saturday, we stopped by a bakery and I had a cauliflower and cheese pie and an apricot custard tart. This bakery does not list the calorie count for these items on their website, so I was on my own to guess what they might be.

    I found a cauliflower and cheese pie at another local bakery, entered it, and because I think the one I ate on Saturday was a little bit larger, I set the serving at 1.5 instead of 1.

    As for the tart, I found something comparable, and did the same thing ... set the serving at 1.5.

    Great idea :) thank you!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,037 Member
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    rachael00679 wrote: »
    OMG...
    That looks .... awesome :p

    Sorry... absolutely nothing to add that is helpful. We have nothing like that in Australia...NOTHING *sobs*

    I know.

    I moved from Canada to Australia about 6 years ago.
    And there is a small list of foods I miss so much. Tacos and taco salads like that are on the list.
    So are perogies, dill pickle chips, lemon yogurt, Nanaimo bars, and these things: http://products.nestle.ca/en/brands/beverages/nestea/lemon.aspx

    I'm planning to visit Canada again in a couple months, and you'd better believe this whole diet thing will be OFF while I'm there. :smiley:
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
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    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    Tomorrow I was planning on getting a really big taco salad from a hole in the wall place near where I live. I tried looking at other entries but they all widely range.

    I also tried to add up everything myself with items that are already in the database, but I never know if what I am ordering has more calories or not.

    I'm nervous that I'm wildly underestimating....and since I'm leaving for hawaii in less than a week I really don't want to consume very high over my calorie goal this week!

    Any suggestions?

    Don't wig out about your scale weight after enjoying that enticing taco salad. Unless you're regularly eating a high sodium diet daily, I'm guessing that the amount of sodium in the taco salad may make you retain water for a few days. Nothing wrong with that at all - just don't want you to freak out after a great taco salad and in advance of a nice vacation!
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    Thanks :)
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
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    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    Furrycatpig wrote: »
    Overestimate instead. Go with the highest cal version of the food that you can find on MFP. Some people also like to add in an extra measure of olive oil when tracking a takeaway too, to allow for extra oil used in restaurant/take away meals.

    Yeah there's one taco salad shell that says 280 calories and another that says 430, so I'll go with the 430. And maybe some extra oil. Thank you!
    That salad is way more than 430 calories. THe shell alone is probably more than 430 calories.
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    evileen99 wrote: »
    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    Furrycatpig wrote: »
    Overestimate instead. Go with the highest cal version of the food that you can find on MFP. Some people also like to add in an extra measure of olive oil when tracking a takeaway too, to allow for extra oil used in restaurant/take away meals.

    Yeah there's one taco salad shell that says 280 calories and another that says 430, so I'll go with the 430. And maybe some extra oil. Thank you!
    That salad is way more than 430 calories. THe shell alone is probably more than 430 calories.

    You know that is exactly what I said, right?

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