Skinny People - What are your portion sizes like when eating out?

Ok, I'm not super skinny but not overweight. Just normal. I don't eat out unless I'm on vacation. Simples. I bring my own food to work if I'm not working in home office, and I cook my own dinner using fresh produce. I might cook a fake-away every now and then, however it doesn't really fill me a lot, thus I don't really do it a lot. I might do a burger with tsatsiki, pickled gerkins, some spices and other veg, and something on the side to get up to my calorie goal and to be fuller longer. Just a burger would not fill me. Probably the same with a taco (never did one). I did have some kind of fake-away today: shawarma meat marinated in my own spice mix, with tsatsiki, lettuce, bell pepper and onion in a protein wrap. I had two of those for about 520 calories. This was ok.

In contrast to the above, when I eat out I EAT. Hence one of the reasons I don't eat out! lol (The other being the price of trying to feed a large family, when I can make a homemade meal for 6 for the same price as dining out for 1.)

I should clarify that the entree I eat large portions (5-6 tacos, to use the OP example) but I tend to only nibble at the sides (fries, baked potato), barely eating half (often less). Exception for veggies, those I eat all of.

normal BMI here.

I ate dinner out last night. I budgeted 800 calories for dinner via a “quick add”, and planned my day around it, doing a lighter breakfast, cutting out a snack.

Before I went, I pulled up the menu online. Everything was fried or heavily sauced with fried stuff on the side. Uh oh.

So I immediately went to the salad section. Two of the three salads had heavy dressings incorporated, along with fried things on top.

They did, however, have a house salad with pickled vegetables, tomatoes and feta and the option to add grilled chicken or shrimp.

I like a walloping lot of protein so I opened for the grilled chicken, but planned on adding my usual “restaurant uses 1 ounce of olive oil.”

Joy of joys, it was just a plain, lightly seasoned grilled chicken breast. No oil.

I had a huge plate of greens and a chicken breast and calculated it came out well under 500 calories.

I went home and enjoyed that snack I’d cut out.

Most Mexican restaurants offer a “chicken super burrito”. If I remember correctly, it comes out at about 500-580 calories. I’ve done the math and that is correct, especially if I shove the dollop of sour cream to one side.

Salsa is extremely low calorie. You could literally drink the bowl for maybe 50 calories. We either ask the waitress not to bring us chips, or tell her up front “don’t bring more when these are gone”, or, ask if we can have bell pepper strips to dip instead of chips. They have these on hand so it’s usually not a problem.

Every couple of weeks we give the dog a ride to CookOut and have dinner on the patio. He gets a burger to himself. This is a BIG DEAL in the world of dog.

I learned that onion rings, while fried, are about half the calories of French fries. (“Dry” style breaded onion rings, not the wet oily batter kind.) I happen to loooooove onion rings. So I get a cookout tray with a Big double Burger and double onion rings for (again, speaking from memory) 780 calories.

We do it so often, it’s saved as a “meal” in my app so I can post it at the click of a button.

Our local pizza place does an authentic Italian focaccia pizza. Homemade dough, homemade sauce, and homemade mozarella. Every Thursday after our evening workouts (yoga for me, aquafit for him) I stop on the way home and buy a single (but generous) square for each of us. He has a small salad ready by the time I’ve walked it home. Under 500 calories, including the salad.

There’s delicious, filling, “budget” items out there- if you take the time to look for them.

Or, you can go in without a plan, blow several days deficit in a single sitting, and beat yourself up afterwards, and moan “I can’t do this! I’m doomed to be overweight!”

We’ve all done this.

It’s up to you if you let your inner child rule.

And BTW, I dislike the term “skinny” as much as I dislike “fat” I’ve been both and been made fun of for being both I can still hear my aunt in my head, loudly screeching “Hey, Skinny Minnie!” Later it became “Haha! What happened to Skinny Minnie?” I swear the Simpsons based Nelson’s laugh on my aunt.

You’d go to lunch with me and assume I am “lucky” and had good genes. You’d have no idea about the calorie counting and the exercise and the just plain mindfulness. Don’t ever make assumptions about where those people at lunch have come from before you ever met them, or wonder what “skinny people like them” eat.

You watch what you eat. If you watch what others eat, you’ll make yourself crazy. I eat a ton at bunco every month and get the side eye, especially from the Ozempic crew. They have no idea I “banked” calories for the event. All they see is me happily stuffing my face. I can tell you to within 50 calories of what I ate

I am sincerely grateful for this app and the folks on this board. Use it as meant, and you, too, can be getting the side eye from friends and strangers 😘

I am not skinny. Am within upper end of healthy BMI range on 23 - 24.

however my father who is now aged 85 has been beanpole skinny all his life - when we eat out he eats regular portions and sometimes dessert.

but eats small breakfast, small lunch, doesn't add sugar to tea or coffee, doesn't eat dessert at hhome and is active. Always played sports and did running and DIY home projects and gardening and walked to the bus stop and up the flights of stairs at work etc etc.

in retirement still spends most o his time outdoors, very rarely has tv on before dinner, does, gardening, walking groups, playing lawn bowls.