I'm planning to count calories in maintenance, but I eat out a lot with my family. I've avoided it while dieting but the time will come when I won't be willing or able to avoid it.
What do you do when you can't calculate calories for a meal? Do you apply a general count from a calorie book, try to break down ingredients and add them up, just estimate?
I try to go places that have posted nutritional information, and then I make my selection before I go and never even look at the menu. I have become more assertive about picking places: used to be I'd play the "Oh, anywhere is fine, where do YOU want to go?" game (you know, when everyone says that three times), but now I am pretty quick to list three places where I don't mind eating. I pick based on health, not what I feel like. I don't even ask myself what I feel like. (The answer is "cheese enchiladas")
If that doesn't work, I avoid the things that are really hard to estimate: anything breaded and fried (temp of the oil can double the calories without changing the taste), anything with dressing (25% more dressing on a salad can add 200-300 extra calories, and you'd never notice), anything with any sort of cream or cheese sauce. These are the sorts of meals that can have 2000 calories without you realizing it.
After that, I try to just go with a "best match". For example, a bowl of (non-starchy) vegetable soup or clear broth soup is pretty consistent, so I use the one I already have (soup is an often overlooked but very calorie-efficient choice when eating out). This is probably sloppy, but I often use my pre-loaded "Chipotle lean bowl" (600 calories) or my "Chipotle burrido" (1000ish calories) as stand-ins: the first for a generic healthy restaurant meal and the second for a heavier restaurant meal, though not a crazy one (it's got a lot more fat in it). This Thanksgiving I will probably just put it "Two Chipotle burridos" rather than try to figure out how much of each of a dozen small things I tried added up to.
Really, though, this is why monitoring and adjusting never ends. Come up with some system. If your weight starts creeping up while you are maintaining, consider you may be overestimating.
If you're not going out to eat very frequently, I wouldn't be too worried about being really accurate and counting everything. Due to financial constraints I don't go out to eat very frequently, but when I do, I tend to just bank a huge amount of calories for it (e.g., 1000 - 1500 cals for the meal), and then don't worry over it Particularly if you're trying to count calories retrospectively, it kind of doesn't matter how many calories you've had if you've already eaten them! Obviously this would be a problem if you were eating out all the time, but if I'm going out and don't know what I'll eat until I get there, then I tend not to worry about being super accurate when logging my calories when I get home.
Having said that, I do like to be consistent in maintaining my habit of writing down food, so I do try to log foods that I have eaten even if it's not possible to be very accurate. In any case, my main rule is to always overestimate the calories, rather than underestimate!
If it's possible to break down the meal into components (e.g., a burger, a bun, a slice of cheese, some fries, mayonnaise, etc) then I would look up the calories for those components on the internet (I use MyPlate on the LiveStrong website), but if it's something where it's difficult to break it down (e.g., some sort of pasta sauce, a stew, etc), then I would just look up calorie counts for those sorts of meals and choose the highest!
I do what Shmead does. I look up calories from where we are going and I actually pick 2 different things I would order. I learned to do this after going to a place or two and ordering something only to be told "oh we are out" or to find it's not listed on the menu!
I generally do grilled foods with lots of greens. Now and then I'll splurge and have a bit of something like mashed potatoes, etc, BUT then after that I make sure the next day or two to have clean eating
I carry a pocket calorie book that has restaurant and fast food listings. I have taken a highlighter and marked items I know I can eat. For places that do not have the info available, I use another restaurant's entry if it seems to be close enough. I tend to stay away from mixed foods and opt for meals that I can easily count and work for my diet, like eggs and bacon. I can't go wrong with simplicity!
I rarely go to restaurants, so I don't get too worked up if the count is off. What I DO NOT DO is pretend that the calories aren't too bad, and order what tempts me. I take eating out seriously and if I cannot find something to eat that I feel is ok on my plan, I will opt for a simple side salad and bowl of soup, or like I said, eggs and bacon. The ala carte menu usually has something I can eat.
Most dieters dread buffets, but they usually work for me, as I will head straight for the roasted meats and salad. Another thing I do is take photo's of a meal out as I like to post them to my blog AND it helps me remember what portion size it was when I enter it into my nutritional program.
I always try to know where I'm going to be going when I eat out, so that I can look up nutritional information before I go, and base my order off of that. If the nutritional information is not listed, I use the information from a similar restaurant (for example, if I go to a local diner that doesn't have the info, I use the info from Denny's or Sherry's).
If that doesn't work, I agree with having a meal you can break down into individual pieces, or just finding a similar food item on whatever you use to count calories and go with the highest amount. Whenever I go out to eat, I tend to plan the whole day around that and eat less at other meals if needed, or eat less on other days to cycle the calories. If you eat out a lot, though, you should really be careful of portions and making sure you don't overeat.
I do exactly what Shmead does. It makes my meal more enjoyable. I eat out and travel frequently. Planning is essential to my success, as it is in other areas of my life which are important to me.
A lot of the calorie counting websites have phone apps that go with them. I use the Livestrong one, the app and the internet version "talk" to each other, so no matter which i use, the information is up to date. I can usually find the restaurant options that way.
Also, if i know that I will be eating out, I will do the same as the above and scope out the information beforehand. Panera Bread now lists their calories on their menus.
When you can't count calories?
