Help me eat a hamburger!

Joyounette · June 2012

Hello everyone!

I have been eating "clean" for about 2 weeks, and tomorrow is a stressful day for me (results of a big exam coming up) so I've decided to treat myself with a hamburger and fries. I will eat it at what I think is a regular american diner (well it's in Paris, but it's called Breakfast in America so I'm guessing it must be a regular american diner). It will be a regular burger with vegetables and ketchup. I don't know if I can fit it in my daily calorie allowance if I exercise a little, but if this has to be my "cheat meal" I want to know how much calories I will be eating so I can balance it out the following days.

I've been searching the internet for approx 3 days to know how much calories I will be having but I don't get one reliable answer. According to the answers I find a hamburger can be anywhere between 250 and 750 cals and a regular serving of fries between 400 and 600. Their burgers are a regular size. In your opinion how much calories will I be having?

I'm really dying to eat this hamburger, I'm so stressed out right now but I don't want to stop logging or log something wrong and eat too many or too few calories throughout the day.

Thank you!

Jumpinsticks · June 2012

It really does depend on the burger. Size of the burger, and type of meat they use in the burger all matter, as does the bun.

If you want to know beforehand, call the place and ask. If they don't know, then ask what kind of meat they use and what the fat content is, and how much their meat weighs before cooking, and if they put anything else in the burger, other than the meat.

Yes, it's complicated, but if you want to know the answers, you got to ask the questions.
As for the fries... Well... Regular order is another thing that's depending on what size the fries are, and what that place considers a 'regular order' because a 'regular order' at a fast food place, and a sit down restaurant are different in size... Better to ask them how many ounces their fries are.
While you're asking the questions, ask what kind of bun it is, and how big it is too.

Once you get those answers it should be a simple task to look it up, because then you have the quality and type of everything to get specific calorie counts.

IveLanded · June 2012

I'd assume they are using a non-lean ground beef and that's it's probably around 1/3lb. I'd look up an 80/20 ground beef for about 1/3 lb. The bun I bet would be around 200 calories. Mayo is about 100 calories per tablespoon, and I'd guess they use 2 per burger. If you get cheese then that would be another 100ish. The rest of the stuff on the burger (tomato, mustard, etc) I'd estimate to be about 50.

So, without the burger itself, you're up to 400ish????

My experience has been that a "serving" of fries averages about 300 calories, and since they are so fatty I tend to estimate up rather than down if I have to guess.

That would be my best guesses if it were me in your situation.

spikefoot · June 2012

Just eat the hamburger and never look back!!!!!! Forget the calories too and just estimate.

This seems like an important goal for you and I am of the belief that weight loss is primarily a mental battle. A guilty conscience is only going to hinder your future progress. Clear your mind and if you can 100% genuinely justify it to yourself AND is what you need to do in order to sustain the long haul, then I would eat the biggest most satisfying burger you can find.

You are allowed to enjoy food... just make sure that the rewards don't come every week or something. Use this to mark a new phase in your long term goals of improving your health.

Disclaimer: If this is similar to telling a recovering alcoholic to just have one drink then disregard all my advice

InTenn · June 2012

As someone upthread noted, a lot of the calories are in stuff other than that meat pattie. If you have the option, avoid mayo and cheese. Mustard, onion, ketchup, tomato, pickle are all okay.

If the bun is big, take the top one off and eat with a fork. Again, if that is an option.

Only eat half of your fries. Consider dumping water on the balance or give them to someone else. Fries are really really bad, and if you can stick with a half order, it makes a big difference.

Fried onion rings, if available should be avoided. Maybe one if you feel the need badly enough.

As you can tell, my solution to a lot of these challenges is to remove what you can of the worst offenders, then only eat half of the bad stuff you can't really remove (or that you just really like). I manage to get a burger and fries from time to time. One isn't the end of the world. As spikefoot said, enjoy it, just be practical and cut out the things that aren't a major deal to you.

Joyounette · June 2012

Thank you for all your helpful advices

I think I'd be embarrassed to call the place and ask. It's a bit childish know but I already get a bit embarrassed when I weigh my food in front of my friends, and I feel that counting calories is only a concern I can share with people on MFP, other people usually tend to think I have an eating disorder or something, and it's not like I care what people think, but it's unpleasant.

I agree with you Spikefoot, and one of the major things I've learned by counting calories is that I can enjoy any type of food if I just be reasonable enough not to eat 10 doughnuts everyday. But the thing is, even if it's gonna be a cheat day, I want to still count my calories and hold myself accountable for what I eat, and know approximatively how much I've gone over my allowed calories. And if I exercise tomorrow and eat a light dinner maybe it won't even have to be a "cheat day"

So let's say the beef patty (80/20 , 1/3 lbs) is a bit less than 400 calories, the bun is 200, if I only have vegetables and ketchup the burger will be around 600 cals. The fries are probably the food I love the most and I eat the less because it's so bad, so if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna eat all of them, so let's say I might overestimate but it's 400 - 500 cals so the whole lunch should be around 1100 cals. If I have a long good workout that day I can still get 800 cals throughout the day other than that and be on a deficit. Wooh, Amazing. I CAN have my burger and eat it too

therealangd · June 2012

I'd go with 1100 calories as you've calculated.

TGKvr · June 2012

I recently went out for a burger (Red Robin, 1/3 lb w/mushrooms & onion strings) and sweet potato fries. Total calorie count for the meal? About 1200. Seriously.
I searched the database for popular brands of burgers to get a general estimate, and it was all around 1000 calories without any sides.

HOWEVER, I have been eating really well and it was the first time I'd been there so I was sure as hell not going to try a burger place for the first time without a burger! It's not a big deal, and I don't even feel bad about it as I've since made it up through diet & exercise. For me, personally, I am not the type to ban myself from foods I enjoy - I just cut back and make sure I make smart decisions the majority of the time. So far it seems to be working for me.

Help me eat a hamburger!

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