Calorie Counting not an exact science
Calorie counting is certainly not an exact science (unless you make your own food and use proper portion sizes), especially when many Americans eat the vast majority of their meals outside of the home. The bottom line is that you have very little control over variations in restaurant portion size and ingredient discretion of the chef/cook. Even if you use a diet log app, you are bound to end up with numbers that just don’t add up correctly (unless the restaurant is a chain with over 20 locations and is standardized with regard to ingredients and portion size).
So if you eat out at restaurants often and you are using a diet app, choose the highest caloric values for the foods that you have to choose from or else suffer the frustration and confusion of not losing weight when the numbers just don’t add up! (ex: mashed Potatoes at a fancy restaurant are exponentially higher in fat and calories than mashed potatoes that you make from scratch using healthy ingredients at home!)
Cheers
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