TRACKING A MEAL OUT
quick tips to help your meal out align with your
nutrition goals
As we transition back into this new normal, we may be eager to get back to supporting our favorite restaurants. If you’re tracking your macros, you have the flexibility to enjoy a meal out when you want one without fear that it will compromise your goals. Eating out will always be an estimation, but there are a few easy strategies you can utilize to make sure your meal out aligns with your nutrition goals.
BEFORE YOU ORDER
1 | LOOK UP THE MENU
Almost every restaurant has a full menu available online - if there isn’t one on the restaurant’s website, then you can probably find it on Yelp or a similar site! Find a few options that look good to you.
2 | CHOOSE YOUR MEAL
From those options, choose a dish focused around lean protein and veggies.
Lean proteins: Chicken breast, fish, shrimp, turkey, sirloin steak, pork tenderloin
Veggies: Side salads, steamed garden veggies, fresh vegetables, sautéed sides, broth-based vegetable soups
It may not be your top choices, but chances are you can still find an appealing dish that both fits your appetite and your nutrition goals.
3 | PRE-LOG IT
Pre-logging is our absolute favorite tip for successful macro tracking. Even if you’re just estimating, pre-logging your meal allows you to set a placeholder for your meal. You can always go in and adjust later.
TIP: When tracking a meal out, we suggest factoring in an extra tablespoon of olive oil. Restaurants are usually more generous with the cooking oil than we are at home and this is a good way to account for those extra calories.
4 | PLAN AHEAD
Now that you’ve pre-logged your meal out, plan out the rest of your day backwards. Fill in the gaps in your day with your normal foods/snacks to accommodate that meal. This may require you to adjust your normal meals to be higher in protein or lower in fat and carbs. To do this, try to plan your meals around high volume foods.
Even when a restaurant has nutrition info online, logging a meal out always carries a margin of error. The good news? Every meal you track does not need to be perfect. Estimating on occasion is just fine, and there is a world of difference between taking a few minutes to create a game plan ahead of time so that you can be as accurate as possible with your estimation and just. throwing in the towel because you won’t be perfect
If you eat meals out multiple times a week, progress may move a little slower than you’d like. But if eating out is an important or unavoidable part of your lifestyle, know that it’s possible to do while tracking your macros or just working on creating better eating habits.
A FEW OTHER TIPS FOR ESTIMATING:
1 | TAKE A PICTURE
Snap a photo of your meal (make sure there’s a fork or something in there for scale) and log it later on. Having your face in your phone while out for a meal with friends or family is less than ideal, so take a picture and adjust your MFP entry once you’re back home later on, referring to the photo to remember all that you ate.
2 | CHOOSE HONEST ENTRIES
Doing your best to be honest about the entries that you’re choosing in MFP. It’s easy to choose the one that looks the most favorable or has the lowest amount of calories. But at the end of the day, you’re only hurting yourself and your progress by doing it this way. If you’re not sure, look for verified entries (with the green check mark) or look up nutrition information online and see what matches best.
3 | USE VOLUME MEASUREMENTS
Logging using food weight is always more accurate, but it can be harder to estimate the weight of your food when you’re not near a scale. Instead of logging the weight of your food, try logging volume measurements (½ cup cooked rice, 1 cup brussel sprouts, 2T teriyaki sauce, etc.) Using the palm of your hand to estimate portion sizes can be a helpful way to estimate volume measurements. You may even take a photo with your hand next to the plate for estimating purposes.
For more in depth guidance on managing tracking while enjoying a meal out, grab our FREE Macro-Friendly Eating Out guide here. It’s full of tips on how to navigate a menu, how to best track when estimating, and a cheat sheet for what to order at different restaurants.