Food Journaling question

I found myself in a little cafe yesterday for lunch and it seemed that my best option was a yogurt and granola type of thing. When it came to writing it down in my Fitness Pal, I realized I didn't know how  much yogurt was in it, how much granola, etc. I know it fit in my sleeve, I know it wasn't sweetened yogurt or granola but what it was I really don't have a clue.

Because I couldn't figure out how to count it I skipped journalling for the rest of the day which is not a good outcome. What strategies are you using to journal unknown foods like that?

I guess. It may not be 100% accurate, but I figure it's better than nothing. Frequently MFP will return several options with different calorie counts for whatever I searched for. I look at what the average calories are and pick one of those. For the first couple of months post surgery, I carried a tiny little food scale in my purse. I was traveling and found myself having to eat out more often. I relied on the scale since I wasn't healed enough nor confident enough to know when I was satisfied. 

I tend to err on the cautious side and over estimate. I've had the same dilemma and assumed full fat yogurt and picked a higher fat granola option from the MFP list. I may not know exact grams or ounces but I use a cup size as my baseline and go from there. Could the yogurt fit in my coffee cup? More? Less? And for the granola assume at least 1/3 cup or so and find the MFP food that best matches.

A mini scale also works if you can figure out how to weigh the food subtracting dish weight or by deconstructing the meal without creating a mess.

I would enter anyhting close.  Not journaling is a bad habit.  I journal everything literally that goes in my mouth.  The lack of discipline is what got me here in the first place so I'm trying to correct that.  I've lost 135# and I'm 11.8# from goal and I cannot imgine not journaling forever. 

Use your best judgement.  Look at all the options that MFP gives you when you type in what you eat.  Read the nutritional content because sometimes they won't list anything but calories (members enter the information and it's not always accurate).

It's better to approximate than to ignore, at least in my opinion.  

SparkPeople, even though it's cumbersome to use, lists all kinds of foods plus nutrition information. Estimate the amount of yogurt and granola you ate (perhaps err a bit on the generous side), and you will find a variety of choices. Pick the one closest to what you ate, enter the amount, and you'll get the calorie count plus protein and other nutrients.

psychoticparrot

I'd put something in it anyway, if the cafe is a national chain maybe putting in the name followed by what you ate might be listed in mfp, otherwise I'd overestimate, like putting in the whole cup of yogurt, 1/2 cup granola, etc.