Takeaways/eating out

As you get more experience logging foods at home, you'll get better at this automagically, so a little patience with yourself at first is helpful. (If you accidently go over, just get back on track, and pick something different next time. Don't try to "make up for it". The excess calories are just a drop in the ocean, when it comes to the whole of your life. No point in making it a drama. Just enjoy the food, learn from the logging, and go on without self-recrimination.

It helps, if you know you're going out and know where, to check out the menu online in advance and plan ahead. (Just reading a complicated menu and deciding in the moment makes it harder to make informed choices.)

If you want a richer dish, and you know that ahead, you can plan for it: Drop a few calories (not lots, maybe 50-100 for a few days) in advance, to add some extra wiggle room, or eat lightly the day of and get a little more movement into that day. If it's spur of the moment, ask for a box and box up half right at the start, to take home for a later meal.

Realize that in many restaurants, you can order things in a way that's not exactly as it appears on the menu: Without a sauce, maybe broiled or grilled or instead of fried, dressings/toppings on the side, etc. Lots of places will accommodate you, if you ask politely, though not everywhere. (You can call ahead and ask, if you've planned ahead.) Some places will let you order a plate of (say) each of their vegetable side dishes, plus a some meat, cottage cheese, or hard-boiled egg, if they have those things.

I've been vegetarian for 45+ years, and so far I've never gone hungry in a restaurant, even the most meat-centric ones. I just ask politely. In the case of trying to reduce calories, you can say something like "I'm on a special diet where I need to reduce the fat and sugar levels: Is there any way you can (grill the fish instead of fry it), or do you have some other lower fat option?" or whatever. You don't have to say "I'm on a diet", if you don't want to (note that I'm not suggesting you should claim health conditions you don't actually have).

Personally, I did fine if I "banked" some calories ahead of time when I could, then (essentially) filled that calorie hole with the special meal. If I had an unexpected over-goal day, trying to "make up for it" by cutting afterward was more likely to backfire, by setting up a "deprivation than overeat" cycle. YMMV.

Best wishes!

My husband and I have decided to go out and buy a take-out meal once a week. I appreciate that I don't have to cook or wash dishes that day! And we are supporting our local restaurants which many are struggling to stay open during this economy.

I do well just eating half of whatever I order and taking leftovers home for the next day. I try to find something that I know I can guess or estimate the calorie count if they do not actually post the calories.