What do you log if you have no idea the calories?
daterxies
Posts: 17 Member
Went out with coworkers today.. got a grilled chicken sandwich from a local pub and a handful of fries. Since I don't carry a food scale going to work and no nutrition information what should I do in this scenario?
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Replies
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Find a grilled chicken sandwich in the database. Log it. Guess how many fries you had - log it. You won't be 100% accurate all the time.6
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Should I go with the one with highest calories? Or a middle area..0
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Just take the best guess you can. Log something from a chain restaurant you've been to that has a similar item and listed calories. Or another thing I do when I can't think of an equivalent meal is just to log the components. For example, log a chicken breast, a slice of cheese, 1tbsp of mayo/mustard whatever, a bun. You'll just have to estimate the weights and volumes, but you get better at doing that after logging consistently for a while4
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For a Pub grilled chicken sandwich... the Bun is usually larger so in the range of 250-280 cal's, the chicken is usually 6-8 ounces (around 200 cal's) and grilled with oil or butter (prob additional 60-80 cal's), was there bbq sauce, mayonnaise or any other sauce/condiment (add accordingly)? last but not least any lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle? calories from those will be minimal. For fries, don't underestimate how many are in a "handful", when guesstimating your entry lean to the higher side of things.3
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I always guess. Having cooked in restaurants while I was in college, I am pretty good at eyeballing.
Another option is to find an analogue in a similar restaurant. Chili's Grilled chicken sandwich, for example, is listed as 700 calories as served NOT including the fries. This is probably reasonably close.0 -
I'd pick a chain restaurant with a similar sandwich. Or calculate based on a recipe you would make at home, but then add about 20-40% more calories.
For french fries, I usually pick a fast food restaurant, then try to compare the amount of fries I ate with one of their sizes - usually a medium.0 -
if I can't find something similar in the database, or if there is too big of a range in calories (a chicken sandwich from one place is 300 calories, and a chicken sandwich from another place is 800 calories, for example), I log the components. I have to do this a lot when I go out because our city is full of non-chain, independent, foodie lover-style restaurants. Most of these businesses do not post their nutrition info online, so I just have to do my best. I just went out for lunch today, in fact. I ordered half of an Italian sandwich and a cup of soup. I ended up logging every component of the sandwich. When I really have to pay attention to all of the ingredients so I can log them, I think it helps me eat more slowly - so that is a bonus.0
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I get as close as I can like, instead of "grilled chicken sandwich" I'll try to find "grilled chicken sandwich with pretzel bun" and then pick one to the high side0
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Great.. I'll log individual parts then. I know when you think pub you think big but it was actually kind of small and on a regular sized bun. Wasn't worth the 11 bucks
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Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.1 -
Well by now I have a good idea of how many calories are in a bun or a piece of chicken depending on the size, plus whatever toppings and if it looks like they added butter/oil or not. I add it up in my head then pick an entry that is close to that.
I pretty much do that with everything now, but I've eaten in places that give nutrition info and cooked a bunch of thing, so usually I have an idea of how many calories are in what I'm ordering. If not, I pick something on the high side too.0 -
Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.
I'm going with what everyone else said, not this. You may find avoiding social situations where people go out to eat okay to avoid, but many of us want to keep a decent social life and be able to enjoy the occasional meal. I wouldn't want to avoid social situations at restaurants my whole life.
You just need to eat sensible portions and aim for healthier alternatives at restaurants.0 -
When I eat out I try to log the dish I had from that restraunt or the closet thing to what I had0
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RosieRose7673 wrote: »Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.
I'm going with what everyone else said, not this. You may find avoiding social situations where people go out to eat okay to avoid, but many of us want to keep a decent social life and be able to enjoy the occasional meal. I wouldn't want to avoid social situations at restaurants my whole life.
You just need to eat sensible portions and aim for healthier alternatives at restaurants.
I don't advocate avoiding spending time with your friends, but I would advocate that eating what you can't measure and making a habit of it is not productive to maintaining your health.
Your friends, if they are indeed true friends, will understand if you don't order what they're having.
And then still multiply your estimate by 1.5 at the end of the day. It's the safest way to guess at what you haven't measured, particularly if you aren't practiced at it.0 -
RosieRose7673 wrote: »Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.
I'm going with what everyone else said, not this. You may find avoiding social situations where people go out to eat okay to avoid, but many of us want to keep a decent social life and be able to enjoy the occasional meal. I wouldn't want to avoid social situations at restaurants my whole life.
You just need to eat sensible portions and aim for healthier alternatives at restaurants.
I don't advocate avoiding spending time with your friends, but I would advocate that eating what you can't measure and making a habit of it is not productive to maintaining your health.
Your friends, if they are indeed true friends, will understand if you don't order what they're having.
And then still multiply your estimate by 1.5 at the end of the day. It's the safest way to guess at what you haven't measured, particularly if you aren't practiced at it.
I'm not saying I order what my friends eat. I order what I enjoy and what I know to be a healthier option and limit my portions. That's all.
Btw, I've never weighed anything in my life. I never intend on doing so. So I guess eating food that I can't measure doesn't stress me out.
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RosieRose7673 wrote: »RosieRose7673 wrote: »Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.
I'm going with what everyone else said, not this. You may find avoiding social situations where people go out to eat okay to avoid, but many of us want to keep a decent social life and be able to enjoy the occasional meal. I wouldn't want to avoid social situations at restaurants my whole life.
You just need to eat sensible portions and aim for healthier alternatives at restaurants.
I don't advocate avoiding spending time with your friends, but I would advocate that eating what you can't measure and making a habit of it is not productive to maintaining your health.
Your friends, if they are indeed true friends, will understand if you don't order what they're having.
And then still multiply your estimate by 1.5 at the end of the day. It's the safest way to guess at what you haven't measured, particularly if you aren't practiced at it.
I'm not saying I order what my friends eat. I order what I enjoy and what I know to be a healthier option and limit my portions. That's all.
Btw, I've never weighed anything in my life. I never intend on doing so. So I guess eating food that I can't measure doesn't stress me out.
I'm not sure I understand what compelled you to make the original comment, then. This whole thread was about what a person who is interested in tracking calories should track.0 -
RosieRose7673 wrote: »RosieRose7673 wrote: »Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.
I'm going with what everyone else said, not this. You may find avoiding social situations where people go out to eat okay to avoid, but many of us want to keep a decent social life and be able to enjoy the occasional meal. I wouldn't want to avoid social situations at restaurants my whole life.
You just need to eat sensible portions and aim for healthier alternatives at restaurants.
I don't advocate avoiding spending time with your friends, but I would advocate that eating what you can't measure and making a habit of it is not productive to maintaining your health.
Your friends, if they are indeed true friends, will understand if you don't order what they're having.
And then still multiply your estimate by 1.5 at the end of the day. It's the safest way to guess at what you haven't measured, particularly if you aren't practiced at it.
I'm not saying I order what my friends eat. I order what I enjoy and what I know to be a healthier option and limit my portions. That's all.
Btw, I've never weighed anything in my life. I never intend on doing so. So I guess eating food that I can't measure doesn't stress me out.
I'm not sure I understand what compelled you to make the original comment, then. This whole thread was about what a person who is interested in tracking calories should track.
I track calories. I said I don't WEIGH (i.e. food scale) food. I do the good old guesstimating my calories. Hasn't failed me yet.
I was compelled to comment because I agree with what a majority of people are saying. Log the closest item from a chain restaurant, etc.
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RosieRose7673 wrote: »RosieRose7673 wrote: »RosieRose7673 wrote: »Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.
I'm going with what everyone else said, not this. You may find avoiding social situations where people go out to eat okay to avoid, but many of us want to keep a decent social life and be able to enjoy the occasional meal. I wouldn't want to avoid social situations at restaurants my whole life.
You just need to eat sensible portions and aim for healthier alternatives at restaurants.
I don't advocate avoiding spending time with your friends, but I would advocate that eating what you can't measure and making a habit of it is not productive to maintaining your health.
Your friends, if they are indeed true friends, will understand if you don't order what they're having.
And then still multiply your estimate by 1.5 at the end of the day. It's the safest way to guess at what you haven't measured, particularly if you aren't practiced at it.
I'm not saying I order what my friends eat. I order what I enjoy and what I know to be a healthier option and limit my portions. That's all.
Btw, I've never weighed anything in my life. I never intend on doing so. So I guess eating food that I can't measure doesn't stress me out.
I'm not sure I understand what compelled you to make the original comment, then. This whole thread was about what a person who is interested in tracking calories should track.
I track calories. I said I don't WEIGH (i.e. food scale) food. I do the good old guesstimating my calories. Hasn't failed me yet.
I was compelled to comment because I agree with what a majority of people are saying. Log the closest item from a chain restaurant, etc.
I don't think the suggestion to estimate high when you can't know is against what the majority have said. Guesstimation has worked for you, but it's something that some people need to practice and that others will never master. I think it's fair to say many people on this site are here because their instinct and intuition about proper portion sizes didn't serve them as well, historically, as yours has served you.
And in my case, overestimating hasn't failed me.1 -
When I really have no idea, I say it's 1000 calories and call it a day. If I went over that, it's probably not by much, and if I went under, bonus.
Having said that, for most restaurant meals I'll do a good-faith-effort kind of search of the database, and look for consensus. If a typical bowl of ramen is ~ 500 calories, but there are a couple entries for 250 and one for 800, I'll pick one of the 500-ish entries.
I do hate not knowing for real, though.0 -
RosieRose7673 wrote: »RosieRose7673 wrote: »RosieRose7673 wrote: »Knowing my past self, as well as knowing how easy it is to underestimate, I just simply don't eat in those situations. Yes, it's awkward, but avoiding situations like these is part of turning over a new healthy lifestyle.
If you find that you truly have no choice, or if you buckle and give in to social pressure, take the highest estimate you think is reasonable... and then multiply it by 1.5. So, if you think you ate 700 calories, log it as 1050 and you'll probably be closer to the truth. Most people are highly prone to underestimation, and particularly those of us who have found ourselves overweight. We carry (or carried) the evidence on our bodies daily.
I'm going with what everyone else said, not this. You may find avoiding social situations where people go out to eat okay to avoid, but many of us want to keep a decent social life and be able to enjoy the occasional meal. I wouldn't want to avoid social situations at restaurants my whole life.
You just need to eat sensible portions and aim for healthier alternatives at restaurants.
I don't advocate avoiding spending time with your friends, but I would advocate that eating what you can't measure and making a habit of it is not productive to maintaining your health.
Your friends, if they are indeed true friends, will understand if you don't order what they're having.
And then still multiply your estimate by 1.5 at the end of the day. It's the safest way to guess at what you haven't measured, particularly if you aren't practiced at it.
I'm not saying I order what my friends eat. I order what I enjoy and what I know to be a healthier option and limit my portions. That's all.
Btw, I've never weighed anything in my life. I never intend on doing so. So I guess eating food that I can't measure doesn't stress me out.
I'm not sure I understand what compelled you to make the original comment, then. This whole thread was about what a person who is interested in tracking calories should track.
I track calories. I said I don't WEIGH (i.e. food scale) food. I do the good old guesstimating my calories. Hasn't failed me yet.
I was compelled to comment because I agree with what a majority of people are saying. Log the closest item from a chain restaurant, etc.
I don't think the suggestion to estimate high when you can't know is against what the majority have said. Guesstimation has worked for you, but it's something that some people need to practice and that others will never master. I think it's fair to say many people on this site are here because their instinct and intuition about proper portion sizes didn't serve them as well, historically, as yours has served you.
And in my case, overestimating hasn't failed me.
I didn't say that the guessing on the high side is a bad idea. If you recall my first comment, I just said avoiding those situations all together doesn't seem to realistic. That's all.0 -
I will guesstimate based on the components, then I'll quick add 100 to 200 depending on the meal.0
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I guess the best I can. It's tough though I don't like being accurate.0
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Check out the pub's Nutritional value of their menu. If they don't have one break down the recipe... Guesstimate on oz of Chicken, was it boiled, baked or fried? Bun, what kind? Sauces or veggies, how much? That would be pretty accurate. Don't lie to yourself ... always better to overestimate than underestimate.0
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