Resturants that do not list calories

jessicalynch817
jessicalynch817 Posts: 34 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I need help!

Every Tuesday my dad likes to go to this little hole in the wall place for half price pizza. Now, I try to only go once a month because if I do not I feel guilty, however this place does not list the calories in their food. I was wondering if anybody else here has run into the same issue..

Do you just use a similar food from another resturant? For example this place serves square pizza, as does a popular chain called Ledo's (popular in MD/DC/VA) should I just use their calories?

Thanks in advanced for your help! Feel free to add me! :)
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Replies

  • Muana1005
    Muana1005 Posts: 172 Member
    Depends on the crust/toppings etc and how much you eat. A really thin based individual pizza (think Italy) tomato/mozzerella would have approx 600-700 cals.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,195 Member
    edited May 2017
    I would pick the pizza chain that is most similar and use their info. I live in a small town. We have about 12 restaurants. 6 are fast food chains and the others are mom & pop restaurants. I eat out once or twice a week. For the mom & pops I just use similar entries from chain restaurants. None of our pizza places are chains. For one I use Pizza Hut and the other I just use a New York style pizza entry. I have lost 70 pounds and am now in maintenance. As long as you are consistent it won't be a problem.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
    Yep, I would use Ledo's (love them) if visually the pizza slices seem about the same size.
  • jessicalynch817
    jessicalynch817 Posts: 34 Member
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    Depends on the crust/toppings etc and how much you eat. A really thin based individual pizza (think Italy) tomato/mozzerella would have approx 600-700 cals.

    I plan on just having plain cheese pizza to avoid extra calories from toppings. This pizza crust is pretty thin. Not sure of the type of cheese though.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    ditto - I try to find something similar - normally toppings/style of pizza works
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 994 Member
    Yes, I'll just ballpark it with another entry. :) Veggies make low-calorie pizza toppings, if you want variety.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    I like the pizza at a local pub. Thin crust pepperoni. I just use the Domino's equivalent at 1000 cals (I eat half that day and half the next) and call it good. I suspect the pub is a bit lower in cals than Dominos, but not enough to make a huge difference.
  • PrincessMel72
    PrincessMel72 Posts: 1,094 Member
    I always just grab an entry off another restaurant that has similar dishes. it's really the best you can do!
  • gamerbabe14
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
    Use this as an exercise for when you're in maintence. Make smart choices, have a side salad before the pizza and only have a couple slices. Or eat 4 slices, have a beer and work out a little more tomorrow or later on in the week. Either way, enjoy the evening out!
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    Same as others, I try to find something from a different restaurant.

    For example, in the case of pizza. I look at the size/weight of the [unknown calorie] pizza and think about how it compares to a slice of, say, Dominoes pizza. If the [unknown calorie] pizza is a large slice of Meatlovers, I will input 2 slices of Dominoes Meatlovers. It's not perfect but it's better than guessing!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    ditto - I try to find something similar - normally toppings/style of pizza works

    Yes, for pizza I'd do something similar. For some other things I will pick it apart and try and estimate and then add some extra butter.

    If you do it weekly I'd also maybe just log a set reasonable calorie amount for it and see how it goes and adjust if your losses seem off. I do a restaurant meal weekly and pretty much do that when I'm logging.
  • juliehmaui2016
    juliehmaui2016 Posts: 32 Member


    I plan on just having plain cheese pizza to avoid extra calories from toppings. This pizza crust is pretty thin. Not sure of the type of cheese though. [/quote]

    You could also ask what kind of cheese they use as well.

  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    Just a note on the plain cheese pizzas they sometimes put on extra cheese to make up for the fewer toppings, veggie pizzas with low cal veggies like peppers and mushrooms probably come in slightly lower on the ol' cals as they take up some of that cheese real estate. ;P

    As others have said just choose a similar restaurant (could maybe add an extra 10% calorie penalty to be safe), if it's a once a month deal and you're off a bit it shouldn't make that much of a dent on your progress. Enjoy. :)
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    Whenever I eat out, I overestimate calories rather than underestimate just to be on the safe side.
  • Muana1005
    Muana1005 Posts: 172 Member
    Are you in the States? If so I think it's best to over-estimate. Italian pizzas are often paper thin. Try 1000?
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    The people preparing your food aren't using scales and going by handfuls. Try and find a comparable and verified option first. You'll start to get a feel for this the more you log. I'll always enter in the worst case option when eating out or simply adding "1.2" for serving size.
  • jessicalynch817
    jessicalynch817 Posts: 34 Member
    annacole94 wrote: »
    Yes, I'll just ballpark it with another entry. :) Veggies make low-calorie pizza toppings, if you want variety.

    Very true! I might try that
  • jessicalynch817
    jessicalynch817 Posts: 34 Member
    gamerbabe14 wrote: »
    Use this as an exercise for when you're in maintence. Make smart choices, have a side salad before the pizza and only have a couple slices. Or eat 4 slices, have a beer and work out a little more tomorrow or later on in the week. Either way, enjoy the evening out!

    That's a good idea! See, my dad pays for me and he's very cheap, hence the half price pizza, lol but I guess I could offer to buy myself a salad!
  • jessicalynch817
    jessicalynch817 Posts: 34 Member
    animatorswearbras wrote: »
    Just a note on the plain cheese pizzas they sometimes put on extra cheese to make up for the fewer toppings, veggie pizzas with low cal veggies like peppers and mushrooms probably come in slightly lower on the ol' cals as they take up some of that cheese real estate. ;P

    As others have said just choose a similar restaurant (could maybe add an extra 10% calorie penalty to be safe), if it's a once a month deal and you're off a bit it shouldn't make that much of a dent on your progress. Enjoy. :)

    Ahhh I like the idea of adding 10% more. I need to remember that going over by 100-200 calories one day a month isn't the worst thing that could happen. Thank you! :)
  • jessicalynch817
    jessicalynch817 Posts: 34 Member
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    Are you in the States? If so I think it's best to over-estimate. Italian pizzas are often paper thin. Try 1000?

    Yes I am in the states. I'm confused what you mean by 1000 calories. Basically in a large pizza there are 24 square pieces of pizza. Probably about 2 inch squares. The place that serves pizza that's similar in size says each slice of cheese is 111 calories. Does that sound accurate!?
  • tigerblood6
    tigerblood6 Posts: 65 Member
    Mostly local food here doesnt have calorie stated on their food. I am from Malaysia
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    I don't go to restaurants that have calories listed because I don't like chains. Once you get used to logging accurately you can guesstimate well.

    Slices of pizza rarely ever have 111 calories. I log mine as 350+
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I just use a similar food from another restaurant.

    This ^
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    1) you could use the same item from another source
    2) you could estimate the major components of the food in question and log those. So for pizza--crust/bread, cheese, tomatoes, olive oil, sugar (sometimes added to sauce), vinegar (likewise), other toppings. Spices are usually low enough in calories compared to other components that you can neglect them.
  • jessicalynch817
    jessicalynch817 Posts: 34 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I don't go to restaurants that have calories listed because I don't like chains. Once you get used to logging accurately you can guesstimate well.

    Slices of pizza rarely ever have 111 calories. I log mine as 350+

    This pizza is like half the size of normal pizza because it is square, not like Pizza Hut or basically anywhere else. There is a chain restaurant around here that serves square pizza and they list it at 111 calories. I would say like 2 slices of their pizza would fit into one slice of Pizza Hut pizza.
  • nefeli89
    nefeli89 Posts: 3 Member
    I have this issue in my country, (Greece) I haven't seen any single restaurant so far, cheap or expensive, that lists the calories. It's frustrating! I use to log my food and Fitnesspal helps me to guess my calorie intake. I don't think I am always right, although I don't think I am too far up or far down from the actual calorie amount of each food.
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
    The city I live in has many "Mom and Pop"/local-indie restaurants and NONE of them have any nutrition information. I limit how often I go to these places because logging can be difficult/very inaccurate. I try to find something close on MFP and give some sort of estimate (I aim for the high side because I would rather overestimate than under).
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    jessicalynch817 wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I don't go to restaurants that have calories listed because I don't like chains. Once you get used to logging accurately you can guesstimate well.

    Slices of pizza rarely ever have 111 calories. I log mine as 350+

    This pizza is like half the size of normal pizza because it is square, not like Pizza Hut or basically anywhere else. There is a chain restaurant around here that serves square pizza and they list it at 111 calories. I would say like 2 slices of their pizza would fit into one slice of Pizza Hut pizza.

    Gotcha. Still. I bet just the crust is 100 calories.
  • Silinde
    Silinde Posts: 44 Member
    Where I live (BE), pizza in a take away or restaurant (I'm not talking about chains, those pizza's are probably made in a factory and distributed around) is made with a slice of dough, then tomato sauce, then cheese, then the toppings you asked for, then another layer of cheese and herbs. I've seen them being made lots of times. :)
    Cheese pizza would indeed contain even more cheese than the other kinds, because it's supposed to contain 4 different kinds of cheese of which one "fungus cheese" (sorry, English is not my mother tongue). Often the "fungus cheese" is left off and it's called "3-cheese" pizza. But it'll still contain 3 cups of extra cheese compared to normal pizza. Cheese and meat (salami, sausage, ...) make for most of the calories.
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