Eating Out

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jshbryan
jshbryan Posts: 29
in Food and Nutrition
I know you are not suppose to eat out and try and be successful at dieting at the same time, but I travel for work a ton, weekly as a matter of fact.

How do you know what the heck you are eating. For instance, tonight it is raining here and I didn't feel like going out. So, I ate in the dining area here at the hotel. They had free swedish meatballs, green beans and mashed potatos.

How in the world do you log that in to your food diary. There are so many brands of all of these and they vary dramatically across brands as it relates to the nutritional info. Same goes for restaurants that do not publish the NV data for their foods.

How do you guys handle this situation?

Replies

  • poseyj88
    poseyj88 Posts: 140 Member
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    I usually look at all of the different options that MFP has in the database and pick one of the ones on the higher end. Not the highest necessarily, but above average. That way I'm at least tracking something that might be remotely close and I'm not worried about going over that day. Besides, restaurant foods rarely are as nutritionally sounds as meals cooked at home.

    And I think it's completely possible to eat out and still be on a diet. You just have to do it smartly. Look ahead at the menu and nutritional information if it's available, swap out sides of potatoes for steamed veggies, and opt for water with dinner instead of soda.

    Good luck!
  • jml107
    jml107 Posts: 27
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    Whenever I know I am going to go out for dinner I look up the nutritional info on the web. Many chain restaurants have their menus posted with nutritional values for most dishes. If you can't find out info then just eat a smaller portion.
  • fraiseroja
    fraiseroja Posts: 215 Member
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    If you are going to eat out, try to eat somwhere you can access nutritional info. If not, I try to match it to something I know. For example, for the local wing place here I use Buffalo Wild Wings info and today I ate lunch at a golf course. The meal that came with my game was a cheeseburger and onion rings. I matched the onion rings to burger king small and matched the burger to a sonic burger. I have eaten both of those and they seem to match. You probably can't be exact but try to be and try to avoid places where you can't get the info. Can you make/pack your own?
  • mcpenni
    mcpenni Posts: 12 Member
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    I have the same issue as you do and I agree with what everyone else said. Guess and err on the high side and/or just avoid somethings period.
  • jshbryan
    jshbryan Posts: 29
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    Kind of what I figured the answer would be. I travel to very remote ares mainly (that is where my customers are) and the majority of those eating establishments are mom and pop homestyle type places. Not any nutritional info from these folks lol.
  • taberube
    taberube Posts: 11 Member
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    I find the worst offender (brand) for calories and use that. The tendancy is to underestimate the number of cals you eat out, so this is a safe bet. It works for me.
  • coloradocami
    coloradocami Posts: 368 Member
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    You have to still live you life and eating out is part of our busy lives and something I really enjoy. I keep a copy of “Eat This Not That” in my car so I can refer to it when I’m out and about. It helps me make better choices.
    If I can’t find the notational information from a restaurant, I just guess-estimate from a similar restaurant (most chains post on their website).
  • Blueberry09
    Blueberry09 Posts: 821 Member
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    I was in New York on vacation recently and some of the chain restaurants had the calorie count listed on the Menu. It sure helped me to stay away from some of my first choices once I saw exactly how many calories they contained. Even Yankee Stadium had calorie counts listed on their menu boards - I was very impressed!

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