How do you stay sane while dining out?

pancakerunner
pancakerunner Posts: 6,137 Member
edited November 27 in Food and Nutrition
Went out for lunch at a place near where I live and swear I'm losing my mind haha. I used to go to this place all the time growing up but haven't been for a while... ordered a Grilled Chicken Club and it was a lot bigger than I recall. Anyway, I ended up only eating half and didn't eat the bread. Also asked for the honey mustard aioli on the side and for the chicken to be prepared without oil. I tracked each ingredient separately and kind of just estimated... which is what stresses me out. It was basically just bacon, avocado, grilled chicken, lettuce and tomato.

I know I'm probably putting too much energy into this, but I'm just curious how you guys usually track while going out to eat? Because whatever approach you take it's not going to be 100% accurate. Maybe I should bring my food scale? (kidding)

Replies

  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    It can be frustrating! Save meals out for special occasions. Bank up a few extra calories. Eyeball it, don't go overboard. Don't stress, enjoy!
  • DoubleUbea
    DoubleUbea Posts: 1,115 Member
    You just have to take it as it is. I check to see if the place is in the database. I make wiser choices than I did before I over estimate the calories on what I chose. Sometimes you can get lucky and the menu will say "We start with 4oz of tender beef" or "A whole boneless skinless chicken breast."
    Go with it, enjoy your meal and don't let it get you too upset. If you go over one day but stay under your weekly calories you should be okay.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    If the restaurant has nutritional info I use it and plan what I will order to fit usually 400-600 calories. I drink unsweetend iced tea usually. A regular burger or grilled chicken sandwich usually fits those calories. I might get a small fry or a side salad with vinaigrette dressing.
    If there is no information I just find a similar item to log.
    I only eat out one meal a week. It isn't a big deal. If I ate out twice a day every day I'd stress about accuracy more.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I don't stress about eating out. I've been tracking for years I know where to shave calories eating out. Toasted bread with no butter, dressings on the side, no cheese or mayo or ask it on the side. I don't do it often enough to derail my progress even if I'm WAY off on guessing
  • FireOpalCO
    FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
    I guess and put a note on the day's food entries. If we went somewhere I really love that is a treat, I'm going to order what I want. I'm not going to be the girl forlornly looking at everyone else's insane pancakes at Snooze and pushing around my oatmeal.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    I hate going out :(
    if it's a planned splurge i timed, planned for and had input on restaurant so I like it - that's fine.

    work lunches at restaurants i hate with few options? Urgh. I ended up paying $15 for a garden salad with four shrimp (special order - they would not allow me to get the eggs from the other salad). And i HATE salads. just ick. But i say no so often I sometimes need to be a "team player" and go.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I don't eat out frequently enough for it to be a real problem. I guess looking at it as everyday/special occasion can help - if you treat every day as a special occasion, that's where you start getting into trouble. If you eat out every day, you need to eat "as if" you're eating at home/bringing food, yes. (And it's around that point eating out starts to be pointless, imo.)
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited August 2018
    It depends, if I know I've been going to restaurants a lot in the last few days and weeks, I tend to be cautious at restaurant or simply just do Intermittent Fasting so that I can eat those big meals at a restaurant. I usually eat lean proteins during the day and save all my fats and carbs for that outing....However with that said, it is rare.

    Most of the time, I usually go at a restaurant once in a blue moon and when I do, I just eat without thinking about my diet, I just enjoy my time and it hardly affects my weight goal long term.
  • Derpes
    Derpes Posts: 2,033 Member
    Sometimes you have to enjoy a night out and resume logging the next day.
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
    IHaveMyActTogether wrote: »
    It's only as hard as you make it.

    Example: They can't go out with friends because the drinking is too many calories.

    Never occurs to them to swap out the cocktails or beer for a low calorie drink.

    Example: They can't go out with friends because they spend too much time pouring over the menu and asking the server for 15 special requests to make their lowest calorie option even lower.

    That's just sucks the fun out of it.

    If you go to a restaurant, make the best choice you can enjoy. It doesn't have to be salad or fish because you are on a "diet."

    Then only eat half or less of it. Enjoy the rest for other meals.

    Go ahead and have dessert. Just make sure you share it, and you do most of the talking while they do most of the eating. Unless you do this every day, then maybe skip dessert. Be reasonable.

    Log it. Stop obsessing over the little calories here and there.

    If you are truly doing weight loss that will last, you have to get out of this perfectionistic mindset. Do you really have to stress yourself over whether that apple you ate is a large apple or a medium one?

    When the "old you" used to eat apple pie without a thought to portion size?


    Enjoy your life while you lose weight.


    This is great advice. I like to eat out and any plan that doesn't allow that is something I can't stick to. Remember that many people lose weight, but very few keep it off. IMO, planning for what you can handle long term is the most important thing. It does annoy me when restaurants don't have calorie info, but that doesn't stop me from going to those places if I really want to go.

    Sometimes, I look for what I think is the most reasonably calorie-friendly item that I'm going to still enjoy eating. Other times, I order exactly what I want and just remind myself to stop eating when I start to feel full. No need to stuff myself- that's not an enjoyable experience anyway. I estimate the calories based on other restaurants that do provide calorie info and have similar items. Often, even "junk" foods in normal portions can easily fit into a calorie day- it's the huge plates with several servings that get you.




  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    I agree with those who say enjoy it, make a sensible guesstimate based on something similar in the data base or aproximate deconstructions of the meal and move on.

    Avoiding second serves, entree, bread, high calorie drinks helps - unless you really want them of course. But easy to have an enjoyable normal - ie non diet looking - meal without them and without derailing your plan.

    When I go out, not everyone has desert anyway so is easy to skip it or just have a coffee without feeling odd one out.

    Or have a desert if you really want one.

    Looking at the weekly calories also helps - bank calories for the once a week eating out to be over the usual day's allowance.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    I've stopped stressing about eating out. I can always find something to eat, even if it means only eating a small part of a large entree, or combing two side dishes to make a meal.

    I used to get worried about the amount of oil and butter a restaurant adds. But then I realized, a restaurant wants their food to taste good, and using an excessive amount of grease is not going to make it taste good. In the long run, 100 extra calories of oil is nothing.

    However, I do avoid things that I can't easily take apart.

    I also have a mental list of foods from different cuisines that are safe choices.

    And, I don't usually eat from the plate that is served to me. I'll pick off what I want and put it onto a smaller salad or bread plate. The rest is eaten by others or taken home for later.
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    Most of the time, if I eat out, it's at lunchtime. I don't open the menu, but just order a salad with grilled chicken with the dressing on the side. If I don't look, I'm not tempted. No matter what other meal I am going out for, I will make a meal of side vegetables, or grilled chicken with a side of vegetables. Right now I have to be strict with myself. I remind myself it's about the company, not about the food.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited August 2018
    I like to eat out. My biggest problem has been in the past that I eat like I think I'm never going to eat that food/meal again in my life. I pig out. So I end up just picking a side salad with soup or a couple sides off a menu. I don't HAVE to have a huge burger or chicken sandwich or what have you. I know beforehand I will feel miserable afterward and regret it. I can fix those types of foods at home the way I know I need to eat it. I'll live while dining out for that hour and can eat something reasonable that will satisfy my need to eat in that moment. It's all in the mind really. If I don't keep that mindset though then I'll over do it.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    elsie6hickman wrote: »
    Most of the time, if I eat out, it's at lunchtime. I don't open the menu, but just order a salad with grilled chicken with the dressing on the side. If I don't look, I'm not tempted. No matter what other meal I am going out for, I will make a meal of side vegetables, or grilled chicken with a side of vegetables. Right now I have to be strict with myself. I remind myself it's about the company, not about the food.

    are you planning to eat out this way forever or just for a limited time until such time as you feel able to lessen your 'rules' ?

    Because yes I know most times eating out is about the company and the social aspect - but for me I do also enjoy the food.
    I enjoy eating foods I dont prepare at home and trying different foods etc - dining out is also 'about the food' for me

    and like everyone the dilemma is how to do that within the context of appropriate calorie intake

    I guess we all make compromises and deciding how to make this work long term is a constant balancing act.

    Which we all balance in our own way

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited August 2018
    Well we don't go out to eat very often. I have frittered away so much money in the past going out to eat all the time. Now we go out maybe 3-4 times a month and are a lot choosier about which restaurants we go to. Therefore- when we go out to eat, I order what the hell I want. I'm not going to pay a premium to go to a restaurant and then just order a salad with grilled chicken, or a plain grilled chicken with no oil, or whatever. With that said I think I eat pretty healthy the majority of the time because it's just how I eat, including while at restaurants. To get an idea of calories I would just look up a similar meal at a different restaurant.
  • tbright1965
    tbright1965 Posts: 852 Member
    I think most of the biggies have been mentioned.

    Just to recap, some of my strategies are:

    - Share a meal with my wife. One typical meal today is enough for two.
    - Get a carry out box and put 1/2 in before I start eating
    - Smart substitutions. Veggies for starches. Heck, I even get apple slices at Subway or McDonalds instead of fries or chips.
    - Plan ahead. If I know we are going out, I might have a lighter breakfast or lunch.
    - Work ahead. If I want to have a big breakfast, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy, maybe I'll go out and do 25 miles on my bicycle before I eat. Then I can enjoy it without guilt. Hello Bob Evans B&G, but only once a month or less frequently.
  • MADgical72
    MADgical72 Posts: 81 Member
    I scope out the menu and make the best choice before arriving. I also log in the whole day ahead of time, so I know how to adjust my meals. I want to enjoy a meal out, so I will adjust other meals accordingly.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,022 Member
    Plan in advance.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    I look up the menu in advance and plan. Save my calories for dinner. I log it in advance, then I know how many calories i have for the rest of the day. While i can't log 100% accurately from a restaurant, i have enough info to get pretty close.

    If i know i'm going to blow my calories i will work out in advance. In past i've done a 2000 cal burn bike ride, then gone out and eaten what i want.

    Went out with coworkers last night, had steak, fries, green beans, 2 beers, and came in just under my calorie goal. Nutritionally, it could have been a better day, but it was pretty decent.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
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    If the menu has calories listed or the restaurant has a nutrition database, yay!

    If not, I just do the best I can. Usually I log in similar menu items from a different restaurant.

    If I know I'm going out, I'll skimp on meals the rest of the day in order to budget in the extra calories.
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