Logging unknown calories

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Thin4payton
Thin4payton Posts: 234 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How do you log something you have no idea what the calories or nutrition information is? I will admit I had a lunch that I probably shouldn't have, but I still want to log it. So what do you do?

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  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Thin4payton wrote: »
    How do you log something you have no idea what the calories or nutrition information is? I will admit I had a lunch that I probably shouldn't have, but I still want to log it. So what do you do?

    Is it like something at a chain restaurant? There is lots of chain info here. Just look for something similar.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Yeah, what was the thing? Maybe we can find the log for you, and then tell you precisely HOW we found it so you can use the same search method in the future.

    ETA: It's similar to the difference in results you might get if you search "Peyton Manning" instead of "Peyton Manning, State Farm insurance, agent". We can probably help get you to the latter if we know the food.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    If there is no nutrition info available, I find the best thing to do is find something very similar to what I ate, I always go for the highest calorie and gauge what the servings are and make sure I enter that servings as close to what I actually ate.

    If all else fails, I log quick calories and make a note in the note section what I ate for future reference.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    When I eat something I don't know, I usually try to mentally decompose it (i.e. what do I think I would need to cook something similar) and log as many of the individual ingredients as I can.

    Then I add an extra serving of oil on top of it to be on the safe side.
  • cass0314
    cass0314 Posts: 39 Member
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    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    When I eat something I don't know, I usually try to mentally decompose it (i.e. what do I think I would need to cook something similar) and log as many of the individual ingredients as I can.

    Then I add an extra serving of oil on top of it to be on the safe side.

    Totally agree! Break it down into sections. Was it a burger? Start with the buns. What kind of cheese? What toppings? About how many tablespoons of each condiment? What was the size of the patty? Breaking down what you ate into its ingredients and working to approximate servings is your best bet IF you can't find an entry on the restaurant's website or on the MFP log database somewhere.

  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,224 Member
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    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    When I eat something I don't know, I usually try to mentally decompose it (i.e. what do I think I would need to cook something similar) and log as many of the individual ingredients as I can.

    Then I add an extra serving of oil on top of it to be on the safe side.

    That is exactly what I do too. The smaller the pieces, the smaller the error.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Just take your best guess. Add the closest thing you can find, or "take it apart" like people have described here. Either way, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    +1500 calories for each unknown meal.

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