How to count when you can't count
 

I was out at a wedding shower 4 hours away yesterday and that put me in a little bit of a position when it comes to my calorie counts. I ate a really healthy breakfast before the drive down but 4 hours away and me not really knowing the hostess I didn't want to bring anything special for me to eat. The party lasted about 2 hours and included a sit down meal and I had a 3 inch square of cheesy lasagna, a 2 square inch piece of garlic bread and a small salad with some kind of italian dressing but I don't know what kind.

I mean I can guess the cake and bread pretty well but the lasagna was really cheesy and the salad is entirely dependent on the dressing so I have no clue on the rest of it. What do you do if you really have no idea? I'm about ready just to write off the whole day with "I did my best" but this is going to be a real issue for me next month as I've got the bachelor party, another shower and the wedding yet to go!

If it is really important to you to get this information, contact the hostess. Tell her how you felt about the meal (loved it, etc.) and ask her what it was.

sounds like you kept your portions in control, so that is good. you said you ate a healthy breakfast, so it sounds like you couldn't have gone over too much. Just use good judgment and when in doubt keep the portions small!

What I do is just get as close as I can. For the lasagna, I'd probably look on The Daily Plate at a bunch of different lasagnas and then pick one to use the calorie count of. I would give an honest estimate of how much dressing I thought I ingested. Like you say, you can come pretty close on the bread and the cake.

It's not perfection, but it will at least give you a number if (like me) you feel it's important to log your food every day. It looks like you've already been extremely successful at losing so you're obviously being really careful and attentive whenever you can. I am early enough in the game that I can afford to be a little "estimate-y" from time to time, so I try not to worry too much about situations such as you describe. It's important to be accurate most of the time, but it's also important to enjoy life and sometimes that means a piece of really cheesy lasagna. :)

Originally Posted by Windchime:
What I do is just get as close as I can. For the lasagna, I'd probably look on The Daily Plate at a bunch of different lasagnas and then pick one to use the calorie count of. I would give an honest estimate of how much dressing I thought I ingested. Like you say, you can come pretty close on the bread and the cake.

This is exactly what I do. I just pick something that seems reasonable or a little high. Then I do an extra hour or the bike at some point to be safe.