How do you deal with unmeasured food?

leanitup123
leanitup123 Posts: 489 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I typically overestimate. For example, I am at a BBQ so obviously can't bring a food scale to weigh out proper servings. Just had what I believe to be one serving of fresh shrimp, bu entered 1.5 servings just to be safe. What do you do when you're in these situations?
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Replies

  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    Try to keep track in my head, and write it later, but don't worry too much, because I know it won't even bee close.
  • ninka_polish
    ninka_polish Posts: 48 Member
    I'm pretty accurate there. If it's a serving of fresh shrimp then I count the shrimps and add them. If one tablesooon is 15ml then I can measure how much milk I put in the tea usually 3-4 tablespoons. Steak, sausages it's all in the diary and if you bought them packaged you can use the code. I think when you measure a lot at home with the scales then with time your estimation outside will improve. Mine does and it's week 4 and I have a better understanding of the weight of the food I eat. Going a little bit higher than Lowe is a good idea till you get confident. I do that too. :) nice question by the way:)
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
    Sometimes I log it, sometimes I take a guess and try to overestimate as well.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    I guess. If you weigh regularly you get a pretty decent idea of what portions look like. For things like salad dressings and calorie dense condiments I overestimate just a bit, but more like 1.1 servings or so. I do the same thing at restaurants. I generally chalk up the day as a wash and don't worry about (but so log), and try to be as accurate as possible in my usual logging.
  • Colt1835
    Colt1835 Posts: 447 Member
    I take my scale sometimes. Other times I just go wild.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Best I can, I guess. I check the MFP database and where there's a range of options, I try to aim for high average (unless I know that I'm at a restaurant that has unusually large or small portion sizes). I eyeball. And I try to make sure I get some exercise and/or eat lighter for my other meals to give myself a bit of a cushion.

    I don't usually eat out more often than once a month, so in my case, I'm aware that one high-calorie meal is unlikely to do much damage, but I try to avoid the obvious calorie bombs.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    I assume that food I didn't prepare has more oil or butter than it would if I made it, so I usually bump up my guesses for those ingredients. Otherwise, I just do the best I can.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    grmrsan wrote: »
    Try to keep track in my head, and write it later, but don't worry too much, because I know it won't even bee close.

    This is what I do as well.
  • Aerona85
    Aerona85 Posts: 159 Member
    It gets a lot easier to estimate the more that you weigh stuff at home. I'm getting pretty good at grabbing 1 oz of tortilla chips, 14 grams of butter, etc. I make it into a game for myself.
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    When in doubt, I too overestimate just to be 'safe'.
  • WendyLeigh1119
    WendyLeigh1119 Posts: 495 Member
    It's called "*kitten* it, I'll worry about it Wednesday"..

    Just log a mass calorie amount that brings you to 0 or "over" with a note for yourself and forget about it. I probably drank 1200 calories before noon. Let alone the food and candy. Ahhh... the 4th.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    grmrsan wrote: »
    Try to keep track in my head, and write it later, but don't worry too much, because I know it won't even bee close.

    You can always take a photo which can help a forgetful memory like mine. So many take food photos that most would assume it was for Facebook rather than MFP.
  • newlark01
    newlark01 Posts: 474 Member
    I just estimate aiming for slightly over what I actually think it is - I type in a description and look for something that sounds roughly the right weight/cals - at home I weigh everything so I am getting a better feel for portion size and what cals different things will have. Overall I think I'm probably not that far out over a week! I'd rather use an estimate then at least I have the nutritional info - it is accounted for even if I go over on the day (in practice I try to do some exercise to earn some extra calories to stay under).
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    edited July 2017
    does the logging change what your going to eat? most likely at an event like this.. not. you're not really seeing the calories you're putting on your plate. F'it. don't worry about it. if its not accurate, whats the bother..its just a guess anyways. go back to your regular logging the next meal or the next day.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,135 Member
    I don't estimate and I don't log party, gathering, or restaurant food (unless in this case, the information is in their website and/or MFP database).
    For me is not worthy the trouble because I know that the estimation is not going to be accurate anyway. And my food scale never leaves my kitchen counter.
  • Sassafras106
    Sassafras106 Posts: 73 Member
    Sometimes I just take all my exercise calories and leftover calories from my deficit and quick add them all in for the day.... it works just fine as long as you're active and don't do it five, six days in a row or something silly like that.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Actually, it can. If I plan on having a certain amount, even if it's an estimate, it helps me plan out the rest of my meals, figure out whether to exercise a bit more, etc. It's still guesswork, but I'd rather narrow the guesswork range so that I don't over-inflate calories to the point where I think a hamburger bun is 300 calories or underestimate a scoop of potato salad at 50.

    If I have $10 in my pocket and I'm trying to figure out where to go for lunch, it's helpful to know that I'll have enough in my budget for a couple of slices of pizza, but I'd be stuck washing dishes at an upscale restaurant. I may not know the cost of my meal in advance, but checking out the prices ahead of time gives me an idea of what to expect.
  • fanoflasvegas
    fanoflasvegas Posts: 5 Member
    Most restaurants have nutritional (calorie) values on their websites. That's how I estimate my calories when I eat out.
  • AgentFlex
    AgentFlex Posts: 211 Member
    I usually just eat the unmeasured food without an ounce of guilt.

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