Please help me figure out what to log

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his_kid1
his_kid1 Posts: 177 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I never just eat out without trying to figure out what to eat first, but today we started off in one direction and then dh really wanted to go get Indian food. I thought I could look things up once we got there while I was trying to decide, but then they only had the buffet open. I don't even know what a lot of this stuff was. Some wasn't even labelled. Goodness knows what I ate, because I have no idea (trying hard not to think about that too much, lol). So now what do I do? Do I just kind of have a reasonable-ish dinner and not worry about logging lunch? I did have 2 pieces of some sort of bread, but I don't know what kind. A tad bit annoyed at how it worked out, but you know what? Life happens. I'm not here for a short diet, this is my life now. I do the best I can.

So... what would you do?

Replies

  • PinkEarthMama
    PinkEarthMama Posts: 987 Member
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    The bread is Naan.

    I'd give up logging lunch, have a reasonable dinner, and start up again with logging tomorrow.
  • msteaplease
    msteaplease Posts: 32 Member
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    The bread is Naan.

    I'd give up logging lunch, have a reasonable dinner, and start up again with logging tomorrow.

    ^^^
    this

    It was just one meal. Move on .. It's awesome that your concerned about what everything was, but I don't think you'll figure it out at this point. Life happens, and its okay! (as long as you enjoyed it!!)
  • JimandLin
    JimandLin Posts: 76 Member
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    same here, I would just start logging tomorrow.
  • Jennifer_b
    Jennifer_b Posts: 8
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    that happened with my dinner last night. i know we can't always find our foods or have an idea of the true cals but if you know you made good chooses on food and did not leave feeling soooo stuffed you were gonna be sick i would skip the log, eat a good dinner knowing you went over so don't over do dinner and start again tomorrow. it is life after all. make sure to do some extra exercise as well.
  • Hungry_Tuna
    Hungry_Tuna Posts: 361 Member
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    I had Indian last night too and I know I was way off on my logging. The point is, I logged everything I ate beforehand and enjoyed dinner. Because I don't eat out often, I didn't sweat it.

    You'll be ok as long as you're not eating out all the time. Live a little and get back to your healthful, mindful eating the next day. (or next meal). :flowerforyou:
  • Gwenski
    Gwenski Posts: 348 Member
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    Hi there! Oh man, buffets are difficult! I don't think there's a whole lot you can do when you don't know what the stuff was, how it was prepared etc.
    I would have a reasonable dinner. Did you feel incredibly full when you were done lunch? or did you feel like you ate a small amount? That will guide you a bit. Sometimes a change in foods is very good. In any case, one meal is not going to undo you totally.
    Enjoy your dinner!
  • Mom2M_and_O
    Mom2M_and_O Posts: 214
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    The bread is Naan.

    I'd give up logging lunch, have a reasonable dinner, and start up again with logging tomorrow.

    This is a good suggestion! I did the Indian buffet once and someone here suggested quick adding 800 calories and moving on. But the suggestion above is good. Make yourself an omelette or something that will be 200-300 calories and start over tomorrow. Today will not derail you regardless of how much you took in.
  • dianeinthemuk
    dianeinthemuk Posts: 12 Member
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    Don't worry about it and certainly don't beat yourself up. The bread was most likely nan, and the other stuff in a buffet is often vegetable primarily. I might guestimate 500 calories for lunch and call it good. Have a good, yummy, healthy dinner and have a great day!
  • snkoyle15
    snkoyle15 Posts: 102
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    thats pretty much the boat im in. we want to try a new pizza/pasta buffet for dinner, but have no idea what the calories are in any of the stuff and i have no idea what im going to be eating. so i think i may just skip the logging for dinner and start back up tomorrow.
  • artist_one
    artist_one Posts: 1 Member
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    Portion Control
    2 pieces of Naan sounds wonderful
    make sure to keep it less than a cup of rice
    lots of salad ;) keep your metabolism working
    quick add the calories--based on estimate
    and yes eat a sensible dinner..
    Salad is always a safe choice ;)
  • DinaRobin
    DinaRobin Posts: 61 Member
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    I did something similar last week and ate a buffet plate of varied party food. I logged it as generic Christmas plate at 1000 calories, ate a 300 calorie dinner and didn't worry too much. Days like these are always going to come along, we can't avoid them for ever, so no point dwelling.
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
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    If I go to a buffet I created a custom food called "UnGodly amount of food" with 200 carbs, 200 protein, 50 fat and 2000 calories. Way easier than logging every bite, and probably not that far off. I like my buffets a little too much, so I don't go often :laugh:
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    I've found that the caloric value of restaurant food is high across the board, whether you are eating American, Chineese, Thai, etc. I'm not sure about Indian, but suspect it would be similar. If you order an entree that comes with sides (or a combo meal) you are usually consuming in the neighborhood of 1000 - 1500 calories. I usually split the difference and log 1250 calories (using the quick add calories button).

    If you upsize a combo meal, get a double cheese burger instead of a single - I would add 250 calories to that baseline. If you go back for a few extra bites from the buffet, the same thing would probably be appropriate. If you go back for a second full plate, it could even be appropriate to double the baseline.

    Also, if i go somewhere that doesn't have nutritional data, I'll try to think of a chain restaurant that has a similar item and use the nutritional value of the other brand as an approximation.

    Don't let this get you down! Just enjoy the delicious lunch you had and start fresh right now!
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
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    I won't eat anything that I don't know what it is. That's my new policy... Might want to consider adapting it for the future.

    Also, I take a picture of my meal with my cellphone so that I can see how much and what I ate later on, and try to enter it as accurate as I can. This would have helped you, probably, as others here could help identify based on the picture.
  • sweetNsassy2584
    sweetNsassy2584 Posts: 515 Member
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    Read up on what you're eating and which option is best. I LOVE indian food and eat it all the time. I just get dishes that are healthier or work it in to my daily calories.
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    If I go to a buffet I created a custom food called "UnGodly amount of food" with 200 carbs, 200 protein, 50 fat and 2000 calories. Way easier than logging every bite, and probably not that far off. I like my buffets a little too much, so I don't go often :laugh:

    That's awesome! :laugh:
  • his_kid1
    his_kid1 Posts: 177 Member
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    OK, yeah, that's kind of what I thought. I don't THINK the bread was naan. At least not like any naan I've ever had before. Who knows, though. I definitely plan to look up good Indian food choices, but this was an unusual move in terms of choosing on the spur of the moment.

    I'm not going to beat myself up, nor will I dwell on it. I do and will have MUCH bigger issues to deal with on my road to getting healthy. I just really wanted to see how others might deal with it. I have learned a lot from this board by seeing how other people deal with the things that come up, and have applied many of them to myself.

    Thanks for your advice! After breakfast, I have over 1600 cal left for the day, so if I don't have a whopping dinner, I should be fine. Even if I was a little over, I think that it would only be the second time I'd been over since the first of the year. Hardly a trend, lol.
  • msespresso
    msespresso Posts: 153 Member
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    The database probably has a generic 'indian buffet' food in the list... I'd just add that, and if you think the calories are too low, add one or 2 other dishes you ate (that you know what they were- like rice or butter chicken).

    It's what I had to do last time I had Chinese food... just plugged in 'chinese buffet' and guesstimated the calories.

    It may not be fully accurate, and I wouldn't worry too much about it, but it's nice to have something in your log to look back on and see what you ate, even if the calories aren't quite right.

    On a side note... I'm jealous, I love Indian food! ;)
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
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    I see that msespresso beat me to it . . . but there is a database entry for "Generic - Indian Food." Estimating the volume you ate and entering that would be grossly inaccurate, but no more inaccurate than entering nothing.
    Generic - Indian Food

    1/4 cup serving

    Calories 150
    Total Fat 7 g
    Saturated 1 g
    Polyunsaturated 0 g
    Monounsaturated 0 g
    Trans 0 g
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    Sodium 490 mg
    Potassium 0 mg
    Total Carbs 17 g
    Dietary Fiber 4 g
    Sugars 2 g
    Protein 5 g

    Vitamin A 0%
    Calcium 4%
    Vitamin C 0%
    Iron 10%

    Even if you knew the name of each dish and the exact amount you ate . . . it would be no more than an estimate since different cooks are going to use different amounts of fat, for example.
  • his_kid1
    his_kid1 Posts: 177 Member
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    Thanks! It NEVER would have occurred to me to try that one. These boards are really helpful. :)

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