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My Fitness Pal when in restaurants

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    #32
    eviltimeban
    Registered Users Posts: 5,087 ✭✭✭eviltimeban


    Also helps with drinking - shows the amount of calories per glass of wine, beer, etc.


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    #33
    Thoie
    Registered Users Posts: 6,344 ✭✭✭Thoie


    Alf Veedersane wrote: »
    Ultimately, it's to try make you more accountable...more mindful of what you're eating. It gives you a better appreciation of what's in what you're eating.

    So you log the food(s) you suspect are hampering you and see the calorie count and you realise they weren't worth it and next time you make a smarter decision. You don't need to be paragon of 'clean eating' but it helps inform you so you can make smarter decisions more often.

    I found it also helped in the evening when I wanted a snack/treat. I'd add it to the app before eating it, and see if I was still happy with my "numbers" for the day. If I was, I'd eat it, if I wasn't, I'd delete it and have a glass of water. If I was still actually hungry after the water, I'd reconsider.


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    #34
    MarkY91
    Registered Users Posts: 7,067 ✭✭✭MarkY91


    Thoie wrote: »
    I found it also helped in the evening when I wanted a snack/treat. I'd add it to the app before eating it, and see if I was still happy with my "numbers" for the day. If I was, I'd eat it, if I wasn't, I'd delete it and have a glass of water. If I was still actually hungry after the water, I'd reconsider.

    Regarding snacks. I just checked the calories for them big cookies in the bakery section. About 460 calories!!!!!! They're amazing but considering I could make a meal out of 500 calories and be full for a few hours as opposed to eating the cookie and not really feeling full. It's madness.

    This app is a wide awakening!


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    #35
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,166 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    MarkY91 wrote: »
    How many kg should icaim to lose per week? .5? .25? Nothing drastic like you said.

    Same height, similar age, 81KG. Going from 106 to 90 wil be a lot easier than 90 to 80 and 80-75 is where itll become tough.

    KG/week should be very manageable slowing down as you get closer to a target weight.


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    #36
    Thoie
    Registered Users Posts: 6,344 ✭✭✭Thoie


    MarkY91 wrote: »
    Regarding snacks. I just checked the calories for them big cookies in the bakery section. About 460 calories!!!!!! They're amazing but considering I could make a meal out of 500 calories and be full for a few hours as opposed to eating the cookie and not really feeling full. It's madness.

    This app is a wide awakening!

    Yup, that's what my friend found too - he literally just had no idea how calorie laden a lot of "unfilling" things were.

    As we start moving into winter, take a look at making your own soups. I generally make a big batch each weekend, and freeze it in individual portions. I make different flavours each weekend, so there's always a choice. I portion them out before freezing, and save the recipe in MFP, so it's an easy "go to" for lazy nights.

    The important thing to remember is that you're making a lifestyle change, not going on a crash diet. Whatever you do needs to be sustainable long term. You're still going to want "treats" from time to time, the trick is to find nice treats that are 50 calories instead of 500 :) For example, if you're an icecream fan, Aldi does "mini cornettos" that are about 56 calories each.


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    #37
    silverharp
    Registered Users Posts: 17,849 ✭✭✭✭silverharp


    MarkY91 wrote: »
    Yeah good idea. We would often go to a restaurant in town and I like the burrito and chips. I should swap the chips for salad as the burrito itself is a meal in itself (Luigi Malone's, temple bar)

    worth swapping out chips for sure especially as they are likely cooked in crappy vegetable oils to boot which you have no real control over. also if having 2 courses go for a starter over a dessert and chances are you havnt done too much damage

    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



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    #38
    MarkY91
    Registered Users Posts: 7,067 ✭✭✭MarkY91


    silverharp wrote: »
    worth swapping out chips for sure especially as they are likely cooked in crappy vegetable oils to boot which you have no real control over. also if having 2 courses go for a starter over a dessert and chances are you havnt done too much damage

    Thanks for the tip. I'm a fan of starters more than dessert so I'll keep that in mind.


    I hope this thread helps other people as much as if did me. I wasn't even sure if I would get many replies but the advice has been plentiful


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    #39
    DontThankMe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 732 ✭✭✭DontThankMe


    Hey OP was in a similar position as yourself at the start of the year. I've lost about 2 stone, I still have a little bit more to go but, I'm very happy with where I am right now . I track almost everything I eat on a daily basis. I would suggest meal prepping for during the week like another poster suggested. I would cook enough food for 3 lunches during the week over the weekend then put them into MFP it helps me stay on track and know the macros & calories for each meal. It also means that I'll know how many calories I'll left over for snacks & dinners . Have you thought about intermittent fasting? I know it's not for everyone but it has been very useful for me I haven't eaten breakfast for the last 6 months just usually have lunch & dinner and sometimes a snack in the evening usually cereal (which I know is empty calories but usually under 400 calories). Also if you're going to be losing weight make sure that you're drinking plenty of water. People often mistake thirst for hunger I try to drink 3 litres a day as I always have a bottle of water with me all day it helps control me appetite too. Finally when your tracking you're gonna have **** days where you might eat 1000 calories over your allowance, don't get discouraged by it just get straight back on track the next day. Don't use it as an excuse to go off track for the next couple of days for example eating like a pig on a Friday and then saying **** it I'll get back on track Monday and eat like **** for the whole weekend.
    Best of luck OP it's all about changing your mindset & lifestyle once you do that your body will change too.


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    #40
    Faith
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Re: toast, it could easily run to 400 calories. I have Tesco Super Seeded bread, which is 126 calories a slice (with loads of fiber, so I prefer it to a nutritionally empty, but lower calorie, slice of plain white bread).

    Two slices = 252 kcals

    For butter, eviltimeban quoted a value for 1 teaspoon, which is 5 grams. Even with my best scraping efforts, 5 grams wouldn’t cover a slice of toast properly. I think 10 grams per slice is a reasonable estimate for my tastes, so 20 grams of butter = 148 calories.

    Total for two slices of seeded whole grain bread and 20 grams of butter = exactly 400 kcals :)

    Sounds like you could save 100 kcals if you use white sliced pan, but I imagine you’d get hungry a lot quicker so it kind of defeats the purpose, in my eyes.


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    #41
    Macy0161
    Registered Users Posts: 9,294 ✭✭✭Macy0161


    I personally prefer using the scales rather than other measurements at home. Don't forget the "recipe" option in myfitnesspal - it's great if you're doing meals for more than you, or batch cooking. And if you do a recipe again, you can edit an existing recipe rather than go through the whole process again (it's also good for giving you the ingredients if you can't put your hand on the recipe!). There's also the "meal" option which you can save individual items and add them in one go - handy for at home, but also if you have default takeaway/ pub grub options.

    Personally, I do track when I'm eating out or having takeaway. It doesn't necessarily inform my choices (if I'm cheating, I'm cheating), but I'd still rather have some idea. But it's always going to be a guestimate compared to being in control of what is going into the pot, and the portions coming out. The portions tend to be massive in takeaways, which is something to watch perhaps more so than the ingredients (easily double the rice, for example, I'd have if I was cooking at home which I generally aim for 75g dry weight).

    Also, watch for dressings on salads - the salad option might not necessarily be that massively better than the chips in calorie terms (if you've had enough veg elsewhere).
    Thoie wrote: »
    I found it also helped in the evening when I wanted a snack/treat. I'd add it to the app before eating it, and see if I was still happy with my "numbers" for the day. If I was, I'd eat it, if I wasn't, I'd delete it and have a glass of water. If I was still actually hungry after the water, I'd reconsider.
    I do the same, only with an apple. If an apple doesn't satisfy me, then I might look at something else. I also have a few fruit loafs I make, such as this one https://www.foodforfitness.co.uk/recipes/protein-banana-bread/ which take the edge off.


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