Hi there,

This is always a tricky one as all restaurants and takeaways will use different quantities and ingredients - even in the same a dish with the same name! So unfortunately it is impossible for us to give you an exact figure, but we can suggest a 'best guess'.

For something like Chicken & Mushroom in Oyster Sauce, I would estimate 450 calories and 18g fat. For the Mixed Veg Foo Yung, around 400 calories and 10g fat. I would stress that these are best guesses because it obviously depends on the portion size. But my advice is always to err on the side of caution and over estimate.

Another tip is to always choose boiled rice over egg fried. A foil carton of boiled rice contains around 350 calories / 1.8g fat. Go for egg fried rice and you're looking at 600 calories /  10.4g fat! 

General advice for dealing with takeaway and restaurant food is to obviously check our Eating Out section first and select the nearest dishes to those that you ate. If they are not listed, then search for a supermarket ready meal (choose the 'Best' variety) and then double the figure as restaurant and takeaway foods are generally much bigger portions.

What I find helpful to keep in mind when eating Chinese and Indian food are the following figures:

A typical Chinese meal of sweet and sour chicken, egg fried rice and vegetable spring rolls contains around 1,400 calories and 60g of fat!

And an average Indian takeaway of chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and a plain naan contains around 1,350 calories and 55g of fat! (It's easy to see why living off too many takeaways piles on the pounds!)

So a general estimate for 650 main / 550 rice / 200 side is probably not too far wide of the mark. Of course the simplest way to reduce the calorie count and still enjoy, is just to halve your portion size!

It is really good that you are filling in your food diary so meticulously!  We know that this is the best route to losing weight, so keep it up. As long as you put an estimate in, it will keep you on track.

Good luck!