Dining out
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ellipsisbla
Posts: 16 Member
Hi guys! So I usually stick to my diet Sunday through to Thursday, and dine out every weekend (Friday & Saturday) with my family. The problem is it's almost impossible to track calories while dining out so I just set it as 700-1000 calories exceeded. However I'm afraid I'm under/over estimating. I usually eat a large defecit during the weekdays to compensate but I'm just not confident whether I'm still losing weight (calorie defecit) overall. Anybody has the same problem? Any solutions? Thank you in advance for your help?
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Replies
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When I started tracking I was eating out a lot, and I still go out for dinner about once a week and for drink a couple of times a week. It is definitely tricky to track restaurant food, but it will get easier as time goes on. I've gotten a lot better with estimating, although I always aim for too high rather than too low. Really the only solution is to keep tracking and weighting yourself, and adjust as necessary. You'll know that you're in a deficit over the course of the week if you are losing weight, although depending on your rate of loss you might want to track monthly. So for example my current average goal is 2000 calories, which is about a 500 calorie deficit. Five days a week I eat at closer to a 1000 deficit, one day I usually don't have any deficit, and then one day I go over anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand. Since I'm watching monthly trends, I can tell I'm on track because I'm losing roughly a couple of pounds a month. Just be patient, watch your numbers, and adjust your eating habits slowly and comfortably (my "all out" nights are becoming much more conservative on average, which is awesome!).2
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I notice a lot of restaurants now have a section of lower calorie options which is nice to get an idea . Otherwise mfp has many chains / restaurant foods you can log . The other night I ate at oreganos just typed in "oreganos bbq chicken pizza " added amount I ate ..then added the type of salad I ate . It might not be exact , usually always more than you think but at least it's an ok estimate .1
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I don't know where you are going or what you are ordering but I can tell you that most "normal" entrees at a restaurant are around 1,000 calories. Add a side and beverages and you are over that. I think 700 calories for restaurant dining is definite under estimate. Not that you can't GET something in that range but it's tough. Most places that do offer things in a normal caloric range are advertising it.3
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »When I started tracking I was eating out a lot, and I still go out for dinner about once a week and for drink a couple of times a week. It is definitely tricky to track restaurant food, but it will get easier as time goes on. I've gotten a lot better with estimating, although I always aim for too high rather than too low. Really the only solution is to keep tracking and weighting yourself, and adjust as necessary. You'll know that you're in a deficit over the course of the week if you are losing weight, although depending on your rate of loss you might want to track monthly. So for example my current average goal is 2000 calories, which is about a 500 calorie deficit. Five days a week I eat at closer to a 1000 deficit, one day I usually don't have any deficit, and then one day I go over anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand. Since I'm watching monthly trends, I can tell I'm on track because I'm losing roughly a couple of pounds a month. Just be patient, watch your numbers, and adjust your eating habits slowly and comfortably (my "all out" nights are becoming much more conservative on average, which is awesome!).
Ah this is a good idea
For the past few weeks of this pattern, I am still able to lose about 0.4kg per week. Will continue tracking! Thanks for the suggestion! 1 -
I notice a lot of restaurants now have a section of lower calorie options which is nice to get an idea . Otherwise mfp has many chains / restaurant foods you can log . The other night I ate at oreganos just typed in "oreganos bbq chicken pizza " added amount I ate ..then added the type of salad I ate . It might not be exact , usually always more than you think but at least it's an ok estimate .
A little difficult to track amounts cus we always share our meals haha but thanks!
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I don't know where you are going or what you are ordering but I can tell you that most "normal" entrees at a restaurant are around 1,000 calories. Add a side and beverages and you are over that. I think 700 calories for restaurant dining is definite under estimate. Not that you can't GET something in that range but it's tough. Most places that do offer things in a normal caloric range are advertising it.
I meant 700-1000 calories exceeding calorie goal, not an estimate for a meal haha but thanks! I usually eat 200 calories in the morning so that I have 1000 to spare at night, after which I add an additional 1000 excess, amounting to a total of 2000 calories logged in.0 -
ellipsisbla wrote: »Hi guys! So I usually stick to my diet Sunday through to Thursday, and dine out every weekend (Friday & Saturday) with my family. The problem is it's almost impossible to track calories while dining out so I just set it as 700-1000 calories exceeded. However I'm afraid I'm under/over estimating. I usually eat a large defecit during the weekdays to compensate but I'm just not confident whether I'm still losing weight (calorie defecit) overall. Anybody has the same problem? Any solutions? Thank you in advance for your help?
The scale will tell you, surely?2 -
If it's a regular occurrence, you can see if you are over or under estimating by the effect on your weight loss. Are you losing slower or faster than expected? If not, no worries. If yes, adjust your estimates. If you're being accurate with the rest of your week, that should work.1
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ellipsisbla wrote: »Ah this is a good idea For the past few weeks of this pattern, I am still able to lose about 0.4kg per week. Will continue tracking! Thanks for the suggestion!
It sounds like you're doing great! I'm a big fan of the slow and steady approach, since that way I can gradually get used to the changes I'm making and (hopefully) those will be second-nature by the time I get to maintenance. I figure that if it takes me six months to lose 20 lbs but I've kept it off five years from now, I'm better off than if I lose 20 lbs in two months and gain it back in a year.0 -
It's better to overestimate than to underestimate when eating out.
A good way to eat out without tracking calories is to get half your plate filled with vegetables, quarter protein, and quarter carbs. As well as a big salad with dressing on the side to keep you full.0 -
Are you losing weight at the rate you would expect? If yes, then your guesses are likely fine. If no, adjust up or down until you are losing at the rate you would expect.1
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I think you're on the right track. Unless you get lucky and go to a restaurant that has calorie counts or dishes that are easy to figure out (for example, sushi) it's pretty impossible to accurately count at restaurants. I'll sometimes try to guesstimate the calories in each dish based on the ingredients but will more often than not write off any restaurant meal (app + dinner, before drinks/dessert) as 1000+ calories and do my best to 'save' calories for the meal over the course of the week prior (or after).
Let your results tell you if you're on track.0
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