We went out to a new place to eat last night (Pei Wei) at the spur-of-the-moment. I was flustered, starving, and since we had to order before we sat down I felt rushed. I thought I could splurge a little and order sweet & sour chicken (one of the only things on the menu that I knew I would enjoy), as it's something I haven't even touched in well over a year. And after we sat down and waited for our food, I looked up the calorie count for that specific restaurant online. Woah, only 440 calories for the serving (not including the brown rice)? I can totally do that! My only real concern was knowing that it had more sugar than what I'm used to having, but once again, I haven't had this stuff in well over a year and thought it would be ok to splurge. I'm pregnant, I'm starving, and I really want to enjoy myself, right?
So I finished my plate. And after I got home, I started to wonder if it was possible that the plate had two servings since it seemed like an awful lot of food for only 440 calories. Several non-official websites claimed that it was two servings a plate, and the actual site itself didn't state what a serving size was. So yeah, it looks like my main entree was 880 calories. And I'm still not even sure if it was one or two servings of the rice. To be fair, empty plates are handed out with the entrees so everyone at the table can share, but each plate did come off as one serving.
I'm not freaking out or anything as I'm going back to a normal routine today, but I'm incredibly annoyed that the official website doesn't clarify serving sizes . . . I would think the average person reading the chart would assume it is one per plate. And in the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal I went overboard yesterday (in addition to the Chinese dinner I also had a huge lunch), it's just that I realize I can't keep letting this happen, shrug it off, or make excuses if I want to stay on track with everything. I definitely want a healthy gain for the pregnancy, and to get right back on track when it's over so I can reach my goals and be a healthy, active mom.
Its just one day, and not enough calories to even make up an entire pound (3500calories). Just take it easy for the next few days and eat a bit low to compensate. Honestly, I'd be more worried about salt bloat since chinese food tends to have tons of sodium. Like you said, it was splurge that is not typical for the last year.
I too hate it when I feel like I've been taken by nutrition facts. Pei Wei should put their serving sizes on their nutrition facts. All restaurants should. Portion distortion is a pain in the butt as it is these days.
Almost all the restaurants in the area here are locally own which means they have zero nutrition info available. It's incredibly frustrating but something you deal with. I find the times when I go out with my best friend and we go eat to just suck up the loss and appreciate whatever gain may come as a token of the fun I had the night before.
What else can ya do right?
However, on a more sensible note I have never actually had a gain from eating out with my friends every once in a while-even when I do really badly-no matter how anticipated it may be. Just goes to show I suppose.
I fear restaurants. There's just too much grey area! Fortunately, my kids keep me from going out, a 5 year old with ASD and a 3 year old, the stress of going out is not worth it. Secretly I'm grateful thought
If I'm going out to eat, especially to a new place (this is happening A LOT now because of the wedding and the shopping trips surrounding it), if I'm splurging a little, I look up the nutritional info online, and if it's not available, I try to guess the ingredients etc, and look them up individually on my tracker, then I add 200 calories to it. I eyeball a serving size as best I can.
I'm a HUGE fan of making sure nutritional information is available in all restaurants. I don't think it's going to detract sales at all (that's a big fear here), but knowing what your "splurge" translates to is good for everyone, not just dieters.
I have a mini-anxiety attack every time I go out to eat with my husband (usually once a week). If I can't get the exact nutritional value, I stick to the 1/2 plate rule. I try to get a steamed veggie if I can and order the least unhealthy looking sandwhich on the menu and only eat half of it.
But if it was only one day, I wouldn't worry too much - I think it's good to splurge a little every once in awhile.
Last edited by punkrocksong; 05-28-2013 at 06:33 AM.
Also, I really wish ALL packaging said how many calories were in the total package. I'm tired of seeing 2.5 servings or approximately 2 servings on packages. Just tell me the total for the package.
I absolutely feel your pain. I eat out in restaurants constantly-- often in ones where there is no nutritional info available. I'm always guesstimating, and frankly, no matter how careful I am, I always lose better when I'm cooking for myself-- on the other hand, one restaurant meal per week of any kind does not seem to affect my weight loss.
Once again, I do realize it was just one day and thus have managed to keep things in perspective. But it was so frustrating to sort of re-experience the awkward sensation I used to carry of feeling completely out of control. These kinds of issues used to happen much more often and I'd simply get overwhelmed and give up instead of getting myself right back on track.
Even though I don't actively count calories, I do stay on top of being "calorie aware" to help ensure I don't accidentally eat 1000+ calories in a single setting. And I take pride in being particularly careful about restaurant meals by skipping appetizers and desserts, staying away from creamy sauces and anything deep-fried, substituting fresh and/or steamed veggies for fries, eating small portions and taking the rest home, etc. I eat out once a week with my weight loss group, and several times a week at various places with my husband. I've got nearly all the menus down in my head about what is "safe" for me to order, but do occasionally get thrown for a loop when eating someplace new and unplanned. I think I typically roll with the punches and can guestimate just fine, but this particular case caught me off-guard when I was especially hungry and unfamiliar with the menu. And once I looked up the nutrition on my phone through their official site while waiting for my order, everything looked better than I expected and I let go of all concern. And once doubt crept in after the meal, I looked up the serving size on my PC through various websites and felt I'd been lied to by the restaurant.
And that's what's getting me more than anything else. I'm not against a splurge now & then and it really is no big deal I ate an extra 500-1000 calories in one day, but I'd really like to know what I'm getting into before starting in on a splurge. I especially hate having to be so damned avid about what I eat. It's mostly routine these days and is basically an autopilot thing for me now, but I don't like these doubtful, obsessive moments that occasionally creep in and throw me off from feeling in control.
Oh well . . . I'll know next time and plan accordingly. Thanks again everyone!
Last edited by Elladorine; 05-29-2013 at 11:22 AM.
I should have known better.
