Navigating Restaurant Food While Tracking Macros
By far, one of the most common questions we get is, “Shebnation®, how do I track my macros when I am eating out?”. While we always advise limiting outside food during the weight loss phase, with moderation it can be done. However, it takes pre-planning and a strategy! Comb the menu before you go out and log what you plan to eat for that meal- go in with a plan, stick to it, and enjoy your breakfast lunch or dinner!!!!!!
SAVE SOME SPACE FOR YOUR RESTAURANT MEAL
We guarantee a restaurant meal will pack more carbohydrates and fats than if you tried to recreate the same dish at home. Restaurants cook with more fats and oils — they make use of brining, basting and marinating all along the preparation process.
There are a few things that you can do to increase accuracy with your macros at restaurants.
Practice intermittent fasting. Skipping breakfast and eating lighter throughout the day can help you stay on track with your macro goals as you save for a meal that will likely be higher in carbohydrates and fats.
Account for extra fats and oils in your restaurant meal by pre-logging fat macros in your diary ahead of time. Consider adding 1 tsp. To 1 tbsp. of butter or oil ,depending on what you plan to eat.
Save about a third of your calories for your restaurant meal, primarily from carbohydrate and fat macros. Depending on how much you’d like to splurge and what you order, be prepared to “spend” anywhere between one third and one half (or more) of your calories on your restaurant meal.
Emphasize protein and non-starchy vegetables in the meals you eat throughout the day leading up to your restaurant meal. Chances are, the restaurant meal will be much higher in carbs and fats than a home-prepared meal.
CHOOSE A RESTAURANT THAT HAS NUTRITION INFORMATION ONLINE
This is a pretty comprehensive for chain restaurants. So if you are dining out at a chain, go ahead and use that website to PRE-LOG your meal and eat “around” it for the rest of the day. If you are eating at a single owner ethnic or Ma and Pa type place, then you can pick something similar from a chain that publishes their nutrition info.
ATTEMPT TO ESTIMATE YOUR MEAL BY USING A SIMILAR MENU + NUTRITION INFORMATION FROM ANOTHER RESTAURANT
AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PRE-LOG IT!
The idea is to get close. By prioritizing protein, padding some extra macros in the diary, intermittent fasting and picking a macro manipulatable option, you will be in the ballpark of your macro goals.
Here are some guides to common ethnic cuisines you could use as placeholders:
Indian (this took me 2 hours to find so USE IT)
Deep Dish Pizza & Thin Crust Pizza
If you know the macros and cannot find it in Cronometer, then use “quick add carbohydrate”, “quick add protein” and “quick add fat” to take up the macro real estate and follow it up with a note to your coach that explains the entry (I.E. I ate Indian food and used the Tiffin nutritionals to log the space).
SELECT A MEAL THAT YOU CAN GUESSTIMATE THE MACROS
Depending on how strict you are to your macro goals,, it’s going to be essential that you pick meals you can easily identify the ingredients to log appropriately. Below are some examples of tougher-to-track (especially if you’re not the one preparing the dish) and easier-to-track meals.
Examples of “tougher-to-track” meals
Pasta dishes with meat, cheese, sauces
Burritos with a lot of ingredients, cheese, sauces
Soups, chili
Mayo-based chicken salad, tuna salad
Breaded and deep fried options, e.g. onion rings, chicken tenders, fish, chips
Examples of “easier-to-track” meals
Salads, dressing on the side, grilled or raw proteins
Wraps or burgers or sandwiches with sauce on the side, grilled or raw proteins
Standard American dinner with a choice of protein + vegetable + grain or starchy vegetable
Fajitas or tacos where you can easily identify the ingredients
Breakfast options, e.g. omelets, breakfast meat, toast