Can't find the Nutritional Value while eating out?

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rikisue206
rikisue206 Posts: 99 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been really good about not eating out because of the added hassle in finding the nutritional information for the meal that I am eating. However, my husband thought it would be good to go out for once. I still had 1300 CAL that I could use for the day and thought I should be ok. So, my worst night mare came true and I could not locate any information for the restaurant. I love this restaurant and once in a great while I want to be able to par-take in the wonderful food that they make. I ultimately found and used the highest calorie item that was similar to what I was eating in the MFP database. I also had 4 cups of water with it and ate small portions, but I still went over my calorie intake for the day. What do you do if you can not find any nutritional information? Any help would be great! This topic is really stressing me out!

Replies

  • Alacey88
    Alacey88 Posts: 487 Member
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    I would get what you want and when you order, ask for a box right away....
    So when you get your meal and your box, just cut every thing in half
    Put one half in the box to eat on another day
    Enjoy your one half of the meal... :)

    Hope this helps.

    At least you enjoy a meal that you like but only eat half of the calories that is for one serving....
  • zohars
    zohars Posts: 29
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    Since averages are what matter, if I'm done eating for the day, I just will quick-add roughly how many calories I think I might have eaten, and just get back on track tomorrow. Since you're probably running at least a deficit of 500 calories each day, even if you went 1000 over what MFP said to eat when you ate out, that would only take one day of sticking to your diet to overcome.
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
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    Have you ever tried eating half of your meal? Most dining places serve you more than you should have at a meal. The more they give you the better deal that you think you are getting and that way, you'll always come back. Only eat half and take the other half home with you. That makes two meals.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
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    I find my best estimate or enter in the ingredients separately if the dish is simple enough.

    For example, my favorite local place (that's terrible for me!) has half pound burgers on buttered buns. I'll enter it as a 1/2 pound angus chuck, a large buttered hambuger bun, 2 slices of swiss cheese, and whatever else I put on it. They also have amazing chipotle cream cheese which I found a grocery store version of in the database and I just overestimated the amount of that.
  • MonolithTMA
    MonolithTMA Posts: 62 Member
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    I usually do the same thing you did. If I can't find the amount, I ask for a nutritional menu, sometimes they have one, sometimes not. We went out tonight, it wasn't planned, and I went over my daily calories. I really like restaurants that list lower calorie items on their menu. Chili's and IHOP are good about that. Tonight nothing low cal appealed to me, and there really weren't any decent low cal options.
  • lizrangel76
    lizrangel76 Posts: 34
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    If it's not showing up on MFP, I usually go with whatever is closest. It seems to be working out for me. Good Luck.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    I just take a stab at it and try to control how MUCH I eat -- although restaurant food is famously "high" in calories its only partially due to ingredients and partially due to the large portions.

    A pizza from California Pizza Kitchen may have 1000 calories but if you only eat half of that its not that bad.
  • BRANDYLYNETTE
    BRANDYLYNETTE Posts: 192 Member
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    am a waitress at Bob Evans. Just a FYI....we have one book....a VERY THICK book behind the counter that has all the fat grams and calories of each dinner. Just ask to see it....

    Most of their dinners are also on MFP as well.

    If this restaurant has a huge book with nutritional information....possibly other restaurants will have the same thing....even if it is not advertised. : )

    : ) )
  • Missashley9
    Missashley9 Posts: 29
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    I absolutely agree with the "get the box & immediately cut your meal in half" post. My doctor told me this long ago.... Have what you want if that is what you are craving, but only eat half. Want that burger & fries? Go ahead-- but cut the burger in half & only eat half the fries. Craving chocolate cake? Go for it-- but only half of it. If having the other half around is too tempting..... throw it out. Eventually you will either: A-- Learn to supress the tempation & save the other half for the next day; or B-- Stop buying that stuff all together b/c you're tired of wasting food & money by throwing it out! I have been trying to enforce this method on myself for a while. It's a struggle at first, but it is getting easier. (I have half a Chipotle burrito bowl in the fridge right now!)
  • rikisue206
    rikisue206 Posts: 99 Member
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    It happened to be a chinese resturant and we all know that if you go to two different Chinese resturants and order the same meal, it will be completely different at both places...I am a little bit OCD and always take my measuring cup with me lol. That way I can eat a cup or a half cup of what ever it is. I only ate a 4th of the meal, but still feel a little sad about it.

    Thank you for the advice! I do have anywhere from a 300 to 600 defficit a day, so I guess I am ahead for the week! I will start all over tomorrow! :happy:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    So, your very worst nightmare is not knowing exactly how many calories are on a plate when you are enjoying a night out with your lovely husband??? And when you have 1300 calories available to eat anyway? I only wish this was the biggest thing I had to worry about :smile:

    It's easy to get really focussed on needing to lose weight and sticking to your goal but I also think it's important to put it into perspective. It's just one day, your obviously don't do this very often, so if you go over a few calories today, then you just need to make sure that you go back to regular healthy eating tomorrow.

    It sounds to me as though you did exactly the right thing - you thought about what to eat, you logged an estimate from the MFP database, you drank lots of water - sounds like a perfect night out to me.
    So, stop panicking, make sure you enjoy these times out with your husband and be kinder to yourself!!

    Edited to add: leave your measuring cup at home, eating out is part of life and learning to make sensible choices is a life skill that you have to learn. Is it fair to force your obsession on everyone else at the table??
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    Mmmmmm chipotle burrito bowl..... I had one of those the other day. Ate the whole damn thing - didn't let myself get guac or cheese though otherwise it would have been out of the question.
  • WitherAway
    WitherAway Posts: 13 Member
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    I eat half, and save the other half for the next day. I try to match it up as close as I can... and not worry about it. My old worse habit was to "get my moneys worth"... So now if I want something sweet... I buy one (not a 6 pack) If someone brings in those trigger foods... I'll put them in the garbage and poor liquid soap detergent or vinegar on it before I'm tempted to go "rescue it".
  • liveforfit
    liveforfit Posts: 39
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    I do what you do and I just estimate it! I'm always too shy to ask about the nutritional value and end up looking it up online, but usually I can't find it, so I'll make sure to start asking now, at least for the peace of mind.

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