Tracking food when eating out

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calicobonny
calicobonny Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
One of my major problems with keeping up with my food diary is when I eat out at places that don't have nutritional information listed. Sometimes I can find something like it online and use that information, but a lot of time that doesn't work. How do people keep track of restaurant items?

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  • melissa0001
    melissa0001 Posts: 313 Member
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    I use similar items from the database. If all else fails use the quick added calorie option with you best guess to calories
  • IMYarnCraz33
    IMYarnCraz33 Posts: 1,016 Member
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    MFP has some restaurant foods in their database.
    If you haven't looked already you may find what you're looking for there. :smile:
  • maemiller
    maemiller Posts: 439 Member
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    I use calorieking.com and it lists meals/foods from different restaurants. If i cant find something, i use something similar and use the higher caloric amount
  • swaymyway
    swaymyway Posts: 428 Member
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    Yeah it's a pain, I tend to just find something similar from the database and always assume it's higher than my guess - for example I ate a bacon and cheese burger at Old Orleans on Tuesday so I just searched for one on here and used the highest cal one I could find.

    It's impossible to log it accurately so you just have to sort of guess but not cheat yourself and go for the lowest similar option..as lets be honest most food from elsewhere is going to be higher cal than what we make at home.
  • kellyscomeback
    kellyscomeback Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I downloaded a free app called Nutrition Database and it lists the nutrition values of most chain restaurants.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    i generally work out double and count anything from a restaurant to be 600-1000 calories..and i get a doggie bag ahead of time and portion off half to eat the next day or give away lol
  • determined3138
    determined3138 Posts: 43
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    Dottie's Weight Loss Zone is a good resource - http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html#C
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
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    I've stopped going to places that don't list nutritional information anywhere to find or I will only order something like grilled chicken that's pretty common unless I'm prepared to be over calories for the day.
  • Pynkklady
    Pynkklady Posts: 51 Member
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    Prior to using MFP, I would google the restaurant's nutritional information prior to going, so I knew ahead of time what I could order that would fit into my program. If I couldn't find it online, I asked at the restaurant. Sometimes they have print outs available. Otherwise, I tried to pick what seemed to be the healthiest option, then google that and see if I could get the nutritional values from another restaurant. I've been pretty successful at finding most items in the MFP database or via google.
  • beach_chelle
    beach_chelle Posts: 221
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    I have the same exact problem since all the resturants where I live aren't chains. I usually look for similar items in the database and use those, guessing with my best judgement. Sometimes it is tricky and I usually try to over estimate then under estimate.
  • calicobonny
    calicobonny Posts: 8
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    Thanks for all the tips! I will get as close as I can to an appropriate calorie count. It would be nice if all restaurants had nutritional information. It makes it easier not to eat too much once you see how many calories things have.

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