Logging Food While Traveling

I usually use similar entries from large chain restaurants. While I don’t tend to eat at those places, I figure they’re probably close enough when it comes down to it. And as noted above, you get better at estimating after you’ve been tracking for a while. That’s the method I’ve used through weight loss and years of maintenance.

COGypsy wrote: »

I usually use similar entries from large chain restaurants. While I don’t tend to eat at those places, I figure they’re probably close enough when it comes down to it. And as noted above, you get better at estimating after you’ve been tracking for a while. That’s the method I’ve used through weight loss and years of maintenance.

This is what I do too.

I don't travel super frequently, at least not to exotic locations - usually it's to see family and eating homemade food, just not prepared by me. Still, though, even if imprecise I've been able to be close enough to stay on track. As summer approaches there will be a lot of barbecues and other similar events. When travelling, or if a lot of events are bunched together, I try to stick to foods I know are lower calorie or will be more flexible with necessary guesswork. Filling up on veggies is an option (and there's always a lot left. )

I do allow occasional indulgences, though. If you're going to be taking a trip for pleasure, I'd treat it like a diet break, enjoy yourself (eat relatively close to maintenance or even over, though don't eat yourself sick) and then get back to it when you're home. As others have mentioned, if you travel regularly for work or some other purpose it might work better to get good at picking out healthier choices and sticking to them - lean meats, lots of veggies; figuring out what you can buy or carry with you that will fit into your goals, etc.

I try to Google the menu in advance, and choose what appears to be the healthiest option.

If it’s a fairly common dish, I’ll eyeball the size and find the most caloric version listed anywhere in MFP and choose that one, so I give myself a little wiggle room.

If it’s a coffee or chai type drink, I choose the equivalent Starbucks entry because those are the highest calorie drinks out there.

I travel in Germany quite often and eat at the bakeries there. I’ll usually choose an Aldi or Lidl equivalent, because they are all pretty similar there.

I had a Thai noodle salad today at a local restaurant. I eyeballed and entered the ingredients and saved them as a “meal”. That way I can just retrieve it next time I eat there without having to estimate and enter next time.

Some large chains actually enter their nutrition. I love Mellow Mushroom because not only do their menus have nutrition listed, they also take the time to update the nutritional every year or two on heir menus and on MFP. Kudos, guys!!!!!!

You’d be surprised. Even the smoothie bar at my yoga studio had someone sit down and enter their offerings on MFP. I was deliriously grateful and thanked them profusely for doing it. I also learned my favorite Warrior Bowl was several hundred calories less than I’d loosely estimated when I first started MFP, which makes it an acceptable treat once in a while.

However I do log when I travel and I log everything to the best of my ability. That way, I know I was 35,000 calories or so over goal (😬) my last trip (no time and no place to cook, German home delivery sucks eggs, so Milka chocolate bars and quick laugenecke sandwiches were on the menu) and I know to the calorie how long and how much effort it took to get that travel blip back off again.

You have options --- if you don't travel a lot (like...do you mean you're on vacation..?) then I wouldn't really worry too much about it.

Typically I just try to look at comparable dishes from restaurants and see what the calorie range seems like and choose one in the middle (maybe cheat a bit higher if you like).