Eating out should be fun, but if you try to log meals, it can also feel a little scary. Menus are long, nutrition information is not always clear, and parts rarely look like those at home. The good news: With a few smart strategies from expert dietitians you can log restaurant meals with confidence, no stress required.
Below, MyFitnessPal dietitians share their best tips to make tracking restaurant meals easier. Plus, you find out ways to use MyFitnessPal tools to simplify the process.
1. Check the menu before you go
“Tracking will be a breeze if your chosen restaurant is a chain of 20 or more placements as they are obliged to the law to provide caloric and nutrition information,” says Katherine Basbaum, RD. Even if nutrition info is not available, she suggests checking the “Sides” menu before you go. Options such as a side salad, baked potato or steamed vegetables can be exchanged for richer components and make the log easier.
Denise Hernandez, MS, RD, LD, also recommends sticking to well -known dishes whenever possible. “Look for regular meals like spaghetti with meat sauce. This makes it more likely to find a match in the database. Meals that are not mixed dishes, such as salmon with rice and broccoli, are easier to log because each part is separated.”
2. Use visual signals to estimate parts
Restaurant records can be large, but you can still log exactly by using your hands as a built -in portion guide. “Palm for protein, fist for carbohydrates and two couped hands for vegetables,” says Daisy Mercer, RD. She notes that this method works well because not all restaurants use standard plates.
If the serving is huge, Mercer recommends braking, eating carefully and boxing it extra. When you log later, adjust the part to what you actually ate. “If you ate half of the potatoes served, you can reflect it in your log,” she says.
About the experts
Daisy Mercer, Rd, is a food data curator at MyFitnessPal. She trained with her bachelors of food science and dietetics from Colorado State University and completed her dietary internship at VA San Diego Healthcare System.
Denise Hernandez, Rdis a food data curator on MyFitnessPal. Denise ended his master’s degree in Nutrition from Texas Woman’s University. Her focus areas include adults and childhood weight management, women’s nutrition and chronic disease management.
Katherine Basbaum, Ms, Rd is a food data curator on MyFitnessPal. She received her candidates in Nutrition Communication from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University and completed her dietary internship at UVA Health, where she also works as a nutrition adviser for cardiology patients.
3. Make simple swaps when ordering
Ordering strategically lites not only a meal, but also makes tracking more straightforward. “Fresh and simple is the way to go,” says Katherine Basbaum, Rd. “A baked potato or steamed rice is easier to log than scalloped potatoes or a cream -based soup.”
She advises to look for menu conditions like steamed, toasted, baked, or Seared – These typically indicate fewer added fats and simpler preparation. On the other hand words that creamy, fried, breaded, or The butter Signals a more calorie -tight meal than you may have planned.
Hidden extras can be especially sneaky. “Fish is often a fantastic choice, but if it has become butter -bite, it is richer than it looks,” notes Basbaum. When in doubt, ask how a bowl is cooked so you can log it more precisely.
4. Take advantage of logging tools
Sometimes the biggest barrier to log restaurant meals is the time it takes. This is where MyFitnessPal tools can help.
“Meal scanning can be the easiest to use in a restaurant as it is a quick picture,” says Mercer. You can use it to log instantly or save the image as a reference if you prefer to enter details later.
The barcode scanner is useful for bottle drinks, packed sauces or grab-and-go sites, while voting logging makes it easy to catch your order in real time. If you are a being of habit, it means to save your favorite restaurant meals that you only have to log them once. “It’s the same idea as creating and saving a favorite recipe in the app,” Basbaum explains. “It’s at hand for next time.”
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5. Handle buffets and shared plates with flexibility
Meals and buffets in family style can be difficult, but there are still ways to stay on track. Denise Hernandez, MS, RD, LD, recommends using the sheet method for buffets: Fill half of your plate with vegetables, a neighborhood of protein and the last quarter of carbohydrates.
When you log, you can either create a custom meal with ingredients or choose a generic version in the database and adjust the part. MyFitnessPal tools can make it even smoother. “Use meal scan to take a photo of your record for an estimate, or try vocal log by saying each item and the approximate part,” Hernandez suggests.
For meals with listed nutrition facts, Quick ADD can be a useful shortcut. Enter the calorie content and macro information directly for a more accurate log.
6. Not after perfection
Even the most experienced trackers can’t log restaurant meals with 100% consistency – and that’s okay. “It’s important to remember that we don’t have to be perfect for seeing results,” says Denise Hernandez, MS, RD, LD. “We generally do not eat every day, so having a meal that is not logged exactly will not derail your journey.”
Eating out is also about joy and connection. “The key is to balance the frequency of eating out with your goals,” adds Hernandez. By using the tips above, you come close enough for consistency. And consistency means more than precision!
The lower line
Restaurant meals don’t have to throw off your logging line. With a little planning, a few smart ordering choices and help from MyFitnessPal’s features, you can enjoy your meal and still feel good about staying on track. As Basbaum puts it, start with simple, fresh foods and logs what you can put into control so you can enjoy both your meal and your progress.
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