Where is the best calorie database?

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Elizabethhollmann
Elizabethhollmann Posts: 16
in Food and Nutrition
I eat at local places that don't have nutrition information available so sometimes it's semi difficult to track the calories. Anyone else having this problem? How do you guys track the calories from local places?

I live in Milwaukee, so it's not the fittest city. I get strange looks when asking for nutrition information sometimes haha... too much beer here...

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  • JoshGouvisis
    JoshGouvisis Posts: 98 Member
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    Google! Find the main website and view their items online. They have all the nutritional values listed. Most of the food in "My Foods, Recent Foods, or My Meals" were manually added in by me. Some things i eat, i have found in the database, but also found the ingredient measures half right, or half wrong. So i added the correct ones, so they were available in my lists! Takes a little bit of time, but tis worth it!
  • Lisa_222
    Lisa_222 Posts: 301 Member
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    Yep, google them, or see if the restaurant has a web site. Best thing to do when eating out, however, is ask for all sauces on the side. I find that this is where the bulk of your extra eating out calories come from.
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
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    You can always write down the ingredients (for example, 4 oz. chicken, 1/4 cup carrots, etc.) and add up the calories for an estimate after. Most restaurants add a lot of high calorie sauces and extra sodium though so it makes it practically impossible to get an accurate count. Your best bet is to skip the sauces if you want to get an fairly accurate calorie count.

    Honestly, this is why I don't eat out when I'm counting calories. It's way too difficult to know exactly what you're getting and I just feel like I'm lying to myself.
  • bhalter
    bhalter Posts: 582 Member
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    Most restaurants have nutrition guides posted, or I Google it. I recently discovered this site: http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/

    It would pull up some restaurants in your area and give you the top healthy choices at each place, the nutrition stats, and what substitutions to make. My fiancee and I are going on a double date tonight with another couple and I used it today to figure out what to eat - very helpful!
  • missjoci
    missjoci Posts: 412 Member
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    If you can't find the information on their website, such as at smaller independent restaurants, you can estimate or look up something similar. Sometimes google will be your best friend to find similar places with those foods. I found that besides fat secret, and Self.com sometimes have things I can't find on here. As I do often, I just list specific ingredients separately. That way you aren't guessing.
  • Elizabethhollmann
    Elizabethhollmann Posts: 16
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    Thanks guys! This was very helpful!

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