Date night
samo220
Posts: 10 Member
Hi everyone, I'm new to MFP (first week) and still want to have dates with my wife.
In the past we've usually gone out and ordered what we wanted to eat, that's changing now and I wanted to know what people do for their date nights (or just eating out if not a date).
I know everyone is different, but what do you usually do?
Do you look for a reduced calorie section in the menu, research a restaurant that has an acceptable menu, special order, don't eat out, pack food to take, don't look at calorie/macros while out? Anything else?
In the past we've usually gone out and ordered what we wanted to eat, that's changing now and I wanted to know what people do for their date nights (or just eating out if not a date).
I know everyone is different, but what do you usually do?
Do you look for a reduced calorie section in the menu, research a restaurant that has an acceptable menu, special order, don't eat out, pack food to take, don't look at calorie/macros while out? Anything else?
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Replies
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We will go out to drink a light beer and shoot pool. Dinning out got boring since it was always salad or grilled chicken. I hate to pay $40 for that. Restaurants don't really cater to dieters.
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My wife and I have a handful of restaurants we enjoy for date night that are local, so no nutritional info...these nights are precious to us, so we do pretty much what we like...in the grand scheme of things it isn't a big deal.
We have a much easier time getting my mom or step mom to watch the kids for a morning/afternoon date for which we usually go for a long bike ride, hike, or rock climbing and then to lunch...with the activity we've done, we're not too worried about what we order.
ETA: I will often compensate for a date day or night by having a small breakfast or skipping it altogether or a meager lunch or something like that. The last date night we had, we were going to one of our favorite local steak houses and I knew I'd be getting the 18 oz rib eye...I skipped breakfast and had a decent lunch...we drove the car to my mom's house to drop the kids and brought the bikes with us...left my wife's car at my mom's and took the scenic 20 mile route home on the bikes...showered up and hit the steak house in my car...got on the bikes and road to my mom's the following morning to pick up the car and the kids.4 -
Eat at home, then go to a movie, putt-putt, weak in the park, comedy club (limit alcohol) or save the money you'd spend going out for all those new clothes you'll need, and get a Redbox!1
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I look at the menu/nutrition in advance and pre log what I want.
^ You don't have to be doomed to eat chicken or salad. (although I generally enjoy chicken AND salad. Even when I wasn't trying to lose weight I would get chicken from Olive Garden and loved their salad.)
Some strategies I use for a higher calorie day-
-Just have a "maintenance day". One day of eating that's not in a deficit won't slow you down all that much. It's still better than a surplus.
-"Bank" calories. Eat say, 200 calories less a few days out of the week, and add them to your goal on the day you want to go out. (Or the reverse, if you DID go significantly over, you could eat a bit less the following days. Though I find it easier to save them ahead of time.)1 -
Here are a few things I usually do when I know I'm going to eat out at a restaurant:
-Check the restaurant's website to see if they have nutrition information posted online. This info can help you made a choice. You can find something close to your calorie goal or you can pick something you really want and have an idea of how much over your goal it might be. Remember that the nutrition info posted is an estimate. You can also check the MFP food database to see if there are any entries there for the restaurant, again knowing that it is an estimate
-My boyfriend and I like to workout together. We might make plans to run or workout together if we know we are going to eat out later. Exercise calories give you a little extra cushion
-If you have any restaurants relatively close, walk to dinner. We have a few places that we like to walk to that are within 1.5 miles. Several options are less than half a mile. We get in a nice little walk and then enjoy our meal.
-Look at your intake under the weekly option. When you click on the nutrition button on the app, you can change the view from day to week. This tells you over the past week how many calories you are averaging. It's a good reminder that if you go over a little one day that it is not the end of the world
-Enjoy your date and enjoy your dinner!
Other suggestions I've heard are to box up half of your main dish once it arrives or to split a main course with your date. I usually scope out the menu ahead of time if available, and then plan accordingly. Sometimes that means eating lighter earlier in the day, making sure I hit the gym that day or the next to get a few extra calories back, etc.
I have continued to eat at restaurants since I started MFP. You can definitely work in meals out. I know that if I order a pasta with a white sauce that it'll have lots of calories. That does not mean I can't ever eat it, I just make sure I plan ahead to incorporate in into my calories.2 -
Japanese Food!! I always go on dates to a Japanese restaurant because there are alot of low fat, healthy options. Also, some Mexican dishes can be OK, such as fajitas or rice & beans..even chips & salsa not that bad if you pre-log it in your daily calories. Also, exercising to offset any possible water weight gain is always good to do the next day!! Anything Grilled at restaurants is a good choice...stay away from cream sauces or stir frys as they can have alot of oil....but again, enjoy yourself and just log your calories, you'll be fine!!2
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the weathers nice i packed my girlfriend and me a nice picnic the one time we had a day off together and we went to the park took a long walk had a picnic. was fun. But yeah normally i just try to move more during my week eat less and/or decide on something thats a reasonable mix of yum and calories/nutrition. I try to make my dates involve walks wherever possible its pleasant walking with others1
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My regular eating habit is a protein shake preworkout and a LARGE dinner....fits in great for "date night". We're actually more likely to go out on a weekend day and do fun outdoorsy things with a large meal afterward.1
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At a restaurant I get grilled meat and salad. I often ask for two salads instead of a salad and side. If I get a side dish it is usually a sweet potato, plain.
If we're going out for a special occasion (e.g., birthday) I don't pay attention to calories/macros. That's only a few times a year. We go out at least once a week so I usually don't treat them as special occasions.1 -
My husband and I try and go on dates that aren't food centered. So we will go for hikes, putt putt golfing, bowling, etc. We are only allowed 2 restaurant dates a month, and usually we try and do only one...these are usually our cheat meals. If we want to do a date night where we are eating dinner we will look up a new recipe to try together, then go for a walk around town (we sometimes grab coffee or an ice cream).
Get creative! Date nights are great, but they don't have to be centered around food...and if it is a dinner date, there are a lot of ways to fit that in!1 -
Hi everyone, I'm new to MFP (first week) and still want to have dates with my wife.
In the past we've usually gone out and ordered what we wanted to eat, that's changing now and I wanted to know what people do for their date nights (or just eating out if not a date).
I know everyone is different, but what do you usually do?
Do you look for a reduced calorie section in the menu, research a restaurant that has an acceptable menu, special order, don't eat out, pack food to take, don't look at calorie/macros while out? Anything else?
[1] Get a box at the begining of the meal.
[2] Steak typically doesn't have hidden calories (restaurants don't need to cover any flavorless-ness with added quantities of sauces/oils/etc. If you know the size and cut (usually listed on the menu), you can pretty accurately estimate calories.
[3] Salad = ????? (seriously, there are so many added calorie-dense stuff on a typical restaurant salad, that you'll be lucky to estimate it within 500 calories).
[4] Flavored with sugar (as in teriyaki sauce) will normally be way less calories than flavored with fat (as in a cream sauce). (as in fish or chicken).
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We have an early/light dinner with the kids, then take a sunset walk to one of several local places with outdoor seating, and order a drink or two and a shared appetizer. Last week, there was ice cream.
Sometimes I end up over my deficit goal, but am usually still under maintenance.1 -
When we go to a restaurant for date night, there are a handful of places that we really like, and none have calories posted. I do one of two things:
1) eat below my goal for a day or two so I've "banked" some extra calories; or
2) order very sensibly - a grilled fish entree or shrimp will often be the most delicious thing on the menu anyway. We can order a dessert to split and I'll just have one or two bites because I'm usually full by then, and I can get one cocktail (vodka/soda - just under 100 calories, assuming a 1.5 oz. pour).
Our FAVORITE date night is really a full-day thing - it's a pretty long jeep ride to a local rum distillery for a pit stop and then on to a hole-in-the-wall oyster spot. Oysters are quite low-calorie and there's room for a couple of rum and diet cokes.
Just remembered - we're both sports fans, so a "date night" might be a baseball game. I suppose a lot of people consume a lot of calories at a baseball game, but I actually don't. One standard hot dog is around 400 calories and I don't like beer, anyway.2 -
If I am planning on eating out, I typically budget a few extra calories from lunch and/or the day before and just use a little discretion. It isn't really that hard, especially for men. You can eat out and pretty good without consuming a *kitten* ton of calories.2
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If I have time to plan it, I plan on getting about 600 calories at the restaurant. If I don't have time to plan it, I get a side salad, no dressing. I also avoid the bread and croutons.1
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To be honest I bank my calories and go all out. I don't order every single induglent or deep fried item on the menu, maybe only have one light appetizer and one dessert but I don't "diet" on date night. My calorie intake is pretty high though and date nights are only once a month, if at that.1
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we are going out this Saturday with some friends from out of town. haven't seen them in months. i will eat anything i want and not count calories. i will also drink margartias, too. if it is less frequent than once per month, i won't log.1
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I love steak and I usually get a plain baked sweet potato or broccoli with it.2
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Just don't eat or drink anything with sugar or starch. A big fat juicy steak with the veggies on the side but swap the baked or mashed potatoes out for Caesar salad with bacon instead of croutons. If you have a cocktail, have hard liquor mixed with Diet soda. LCHF is the best way to lose and keep it off. Watch Dr. Fung on youtube. I have been doing this with amazing results.6
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Just don't eat or drink anything with sugar or starch. A big fat juicy steak with the veggies on the side but swap the baked or mashed potatoes out for Caesar salad with bacon instead of croutons. If you have a cocktail, have hard liquor mixed with Diet soda. LCHF is the best way to lose and keep it off. Watch Dr. Fung on youtube. I have been doing this with amazing results.
lol no...cesar salad with bacon is beter thn a baked potato? thats kind of funny, I work in a restaurant i know EXACTLY how wrong that is the dressing we use alone is 180 calories per tbl spoon the bacon is completely redic and our crutons are actually a healthy option XD3 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »Just don't eat or drink anything with sugar or starch. A big fat juicy steak with the veggies on the side but swap the baked or mashed potatoes out for Caesar salad with bacon instead of croutons. If you have a cocktail, have hard liquor mixed with Diet soda. LCHF is the best way to lose and keep it off. Watch Dr. Fung on youtube. I have been doing this with amazing results.
lol no...cesar salad with bacon is beter thn a baked potato? thats kind of funny, I work in a restaurant i know EXACTLY how wrong that is the dressing we use alone is 180 calories per tbl spoon the bacon is completely redic and our crutons are actually a healthy option XD
i agree. a baked potato plain is far superior to a fully loaded Caesar salad, far less calories, fat, etc.
potatoes are actually a healthy food.0 -
If I go out to eat I find the healthiest item on the menu and try to eat the healthiest parts of that. Like if we go out for Mexican, I avoid chips and order a fajita but just eat what's on the skillet without the rice/beans/tortilla. For most date night's we go out to a bar and play pool. I'll have 1 vodka tonic and he drinks whatever he wants and I drive home Lol. Its not bad, we still have a good time without taking me off track:)0
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Right now I'm maintaining for a week or two, but when I'm actively cutting I do the following things, sometimes just one, sometimes a combo:
* Save up some calories during the week and the day before date night and then order something *reasonable* but that I really want.
* Bring a tupperware and immediately put half of my food in it to take home
* If I get a salad I ask for the dressing on the side instead of mixed in so I can be sure what I'm getting (I love salad, so that's sometimes what I honestly want)
* I'm more a food person than a beverage person so I just drink water
* Date night is usually Saturday so I try to get in some extra exercise on the weekends0 -
Depends on your goals! I get a kick out of Carter Good's "Eat this not that" Series:
Date night for us vary between staying in and cooking healthfully (more common, weekly), eating steaks or goal-oriented choices out (monthly), or what we did last night: a prix fixe at a local restaurant with a full wine + food pairing (once a quarter-ish).
What good is "dieting" if you doing get to enjoy yourself occasionally with the person you love.
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