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    Accuracy of counting cals?

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    • Posts: 6 Member
      Nursie863 wrote: »
      Lol, anyone feel their blood pressure raising slightly while reading this thread? Geez! Hakuna matata folks!

      Lol right!?
      Geez. I just wanted some tips about a little matter. Maybe they just need to eat something.... :P
    • Posts: 66 Member
      Unless one plans to weigh every bite of food they eat for the rest of their lives, one has to figure out how to eyeball portions and eat without the weighing.

      Kalikel, your message was clear. I don't know why people are taking that as OCD behavior because it isn't. Wanting an element of accuracy and control does not automatically indicate OCD. Many people don't understand the true definition of OCD. "OMG, I am so OCD, I cleaned my ENTIRE house today!" No. You are neat, not OCD. OCD behavior is debilitating.

      I interpreted it as weighing is a good crutch to learning appropriate sizes since many of us have always been taught the wrong interpretations of portions. But eventually, weighing becomes tedious and you need to work smarter, not harder. Up until this point you should have an idea of appropriate sizes and should move on from that. Or try to move on from that. We are reteaching ourselves how to eat healthy and constantly needing a scale is counterproductive to everyday life. We will not always have a scale and we need to learn how to do without.

      Don't get me wrong, I am not saying to get rid of it all together. Quality control is ideal. Periodically, reminding yourself what true portions look like will be advantageous.
    • Posts: 3,599 Member
      Kalikel wrote: »
      show previous quotes
      Unless one plans to weigh every bite of food they eat for the rest of their lives, one has to figure out how to eyeball portions and eat without the weighing. The closer to my goal I get, the more I practice eyeballing my portions. When I'm at 20 pounds to go, I'm going to log each week as it ends, to see how I'm doing, I already log when the day is done and am doing well that way. Soon, I'm going to go two days. Then three.

      When I'm done, I plan to just be able to lead my life without weighing my food before I eat it.

      If I weighed everything until I hit my goal, then what? Start learning how to eyeball when I'm done, I guess. I'd just rather learn now,

      There are different ways of looking at it. That's mine. Yours is a valid choice and I'm not slamming it. Many paths lead to the same place. :)

      Kalikel, the problem with telling her not to weigh and to compare it to you someday not weighing your food ignores the fact that by weighing your food now, you are learning the true sizes of portions, which will allow you to stop weighing at some point. If the OP doesn't weigh her foods for a while, she won't have that basis to go forward from.
    • Posts: 66 Member
      edited July 2015
      misterfish77 wrote: »
      How do you know you're counting the calories accurately? I mean I make the majority of my own meals but I'm not entirely sure I'm adding the cals in correctly at all...I believe this is the depressing part of my app experience is not really knowing how much I'm inputting or outputting.
      Does anyone have any advice or tips on this matter?
      Much appreciated. Thank you.

      I also vote with getting a scale. It's really quite quick and painless. I don't know about you but one of my biggest weaknesses in this journey is that I know WHAT to eat, but when it comes to HOW MUCH then I flounder. I grew up in the south, so my portions were generous and the plates were Texas-sized.

      ALSO, I find a lot of things don't quite match up when I use the barcode scanner so be sure to compare the result to the packaging before logging. I find foods sometimes with a difference of 100 cals, and you don't want to over- or underestimate.

    • Posts: 9,603 Member
      edited July 2015
      blankiefinder wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Kalikel, the problem with telling her not to weigh and to compare it to you someday not weighing your food ignores the fact that by weighing your food now, you are learning the true sizes of portions, which will allow you to stop weighing at some point. If the OP doesn't weigh her foods for a while, she won't have that basis to go forward from.

      I suggested weighing for better accuracy. I don't think anyone suggested not weighing. Not everyone wants to weigh and it can be done without weighing, but if you want a more accurate estimate, weighing is a good idea, like I said. :)

      You can learn a lot from weighing, too, like how many calories are in that bit of butter.

      Other people might suggest (or demand) that when I say weighing will help you get a better estimate, it means, "You shouldn't weigh food because that makes you OCD and you can't succeed at weight loss by weighing!" But what it actually means is that it will help you get a better estimate.

      There is a flip side, though. Not everyone wants to weigh their food, even at first. Some think it is way too obsessive for them. I get that. I, myself, weigh the food but am working on not having to do it. I think that it's even more important for me to work on this as I get closer to finishing weight loss so that when I hit my goal, I'm on target with my habits. I'm not going to weigh food when I'm done (except for recipes) so the time to work on it is before I finish.

      So, I leave room for the fact that not everyone wants to weigh because I get it and know it is not the One True Way to weight loss.

      Please don't make the mistake of thinking that what other people have created in their minds as what I *must have meant* is what I actually said.
    • Posts: 9,603 Member
      ndj1979 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      next time, just don't associate use of food scale with OCD behavior and you won't have this problem.
      And what problem would that be?
    • Posts: 3 Member
      edited July 2015
      I'm with Kalikel here. People need to chill out. He wasn't criticizing anyone, just being realistic and offered his opinion.

      I love the part where someone accuses you of being passive aggressive, but is very aggressive himself. Makes sense.
    • Posts: 10,477 Member
      Kalikel wrote: »
      There is a flip side, though. Not everyone wants to weigh their food, even at first.

      Agreed, a friend does low carb without weighing or counting anything. She would do a different plan if she had to do those things. Yes, she probably has a good handle on sensible portion sizes, but that isn't rocket science.

      Not everyone's a human calorimeter regulating intake to <0.05%
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