[Serbrider]

Ok... so... during the summer I am going to be spending six weeks in Serbia with my family.

I want to continue calorie counting... but how do you calorie count at restaurants that have no nutritional info? Or with meals that friends there feed us?

I don't want to be rude and take a book around with me EVERYWHERE I go... but I do want to continue calorie counting. Should I just stick with small portions and have it be kind of a day by day trial and error thing? Or... what?

Just any thoughts and ideas from people who live/have been in Europe while calorie counting...

[bronzeager]

I don't know much about Serbian food, more Greek. And it may be that you don't want to stress out about your food while you're on vacation, especially if it's going to be a problem culturally. But in the summer I bet there will be a lot of nice vegetables and fruits, and healthy traditional foods. If you can maximize those and minimize the higher calorie things (fats, cheeses, pastries) that will help you control calories without being really detailed in your recording. Where I live none of the restaurants are chains or post calories anywhere, so that's what I do when I go out, and after the meal I do a rough estimate based on the size of the portions. It's really handy to have a visual idea of portion sizes in general for this reason.

You could try learning portion sizes for common types of food, like bread, poultry, beef, pork, cheese before you go, and use it to help keep general track over the day. One portion of cheese is an inch cube or Kraft singles type slice, for instance, and you could count about 120 cal. (Some cheese will be a bit lower calorie, some higher but in the long run it will work out to the average.) One tablespoon (half a golf ball) of a cream or butter-based sauce, figure 80 cal. One cup of rice or pasta (that's a tennis ball) = 200 cal. One portion of chicken = a deck of cards = roughly 100 cal. (Technically 86 cal, but I prefer to do my addition with round numbers, and it takes account of the oil probably used in cooking, smaller/bigger etc.)

Here are some handy sites for doing portion visual estimates:
Visual cues for portion control
WebMD cutout wallet guide to portions
You could write out a little sheet based on one of these, with general calorie equivalents, that would fit in your purse, and you'd probably learn them pretty fast.

Or if you don't want to carry a notebook or book but still want to keep a detailed record, do you have a phone or electronic device that you could put a calorie counting app on? There are some that come with a database so you can use them offline (like LoseIt, which I use).

Something else to practice beforehand: if your relatives are anything like mine, you might spend days going from house to house being offered a series of pastries and cakes, and not wanting to give offense by saying no. ("I'm on a diet" is not an acceptable excuse in some families.) You could try saying "That looks so good, but I'm so full from Auntie Bertha's and Cousin Fred's cake," or say "I'm just going to try a small piece." and then quietly leave the plate in a corner when you get distracted playing with the toddler cousins.

Have fun and good luck!

ETA: Just found this Mayo Clinic slide show that includes pictures of portion sizes with calories: Mayo Clinic

[Serbrider]

Thanks!

[bronzeager]

It's the leaving cake behind that's really hard for me. Take cake AND NOT EAT IT??? But thin people totally do this all the time. That's what makes them different from me, and that's why this takes work.

[Serbrider]

The biggest issue is what is an isn't considered rude and correct over there.

We like to make fun because they always say "sedi, jedi"

Or... "sit, eat"

And that really is what they say. And it's cakes, pastries, meats, cookies, and more... and this isn't even the meal... but simply the snack they take out to you while you're spending ten minutes visiting at their house because you had to ask for a cup of sugar.

Being a good host is everythingthere. I don't want to have to be rude and disrespectful and decline the food they offer or not finish it. Though I will have to do it... *sigh*

[bronzeager]

One of my favorite memories from archaeological work in Greece is of doing survey work in a very rural area where there were a lot of houses of yiayias (grandma ladies). A grandma who saw our team walking past her house tried to get us to stop -- she was the third one that day and our boss gritted his teeth and said "We are not stopping again, we need to get something done before the end of the day" -- and she CHASED US DOWN one by one with a plate of cookies saying "Eat, eat! Is good! I made! Is good!"

That's why taking something, eating a bite or two, and then mushing up the rest and "forgetting" to finish it while you carry on lively conversation can sometimes be more polite. Plus if you do finish it they'll offer you more. If it looks like they think you "don't like it," ask them for the recipe! That will distract them.

In Greece you can sometimes also get away with refusing by saying you are fasting, because there are all sorts of complicated Orthodox fast days during the year and only the most religious people can keep track of all of them. This is usually what I tell my vegetarian students to do when they are offered meat in a home situation. Probably won't work with your family, of course, unless you want them to think you've had a very sudden attack of piety.

[sacha]

Wow, Serbia. Have to admit, that's going to be quite difficult (I know the food can be similar to Hungarian, which I am used too). I would suggest practicing eyeballing portions (ie. palm-sized amount of pork or whatever) and keeping an approximate tally (as bronzeager indicated).

It will be an exercise of self-control, especially because the concept of turning away sweets is pretty unheard of. That being said, you need to stick to your guns and say "one piece of X" or whatever you decide is right. In Eastern Europe, food is often fatty and unhealthy (full fat pork, lard, maybe a steamed cabbage if you're lucky), but people don't eat the same amounts like they would over here in North America. It's all about balance...