How do I chart nibbling and noshing?
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Larissa_NY wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Larissa_NY wrote: »Larissa_NY wrote: »You have to do what works for you, but at some point you might want to revisit this issue in the context of your relationship with food. I'm not sure what odds of success I'd give for a weight loss/maintenance plan that has to work around your unwillingness to stop putting unestimable numbers of calories in your mouth outside of mealtimes, whether you're hungry or not.
As an aside, the entire concept of Bites, Licks, and Nibbles genuinely makes me nauseated. It always puts me in mind of Ariana Grande in that donut shop licking a donut and then putting it back on the tray.
It's Bites, Licks, and Tastes. And if it's nauseating you, you aren't understanding what it means. It simply refers to anytime you taste something you're cooking, take a sample at the store, have a piece of cheese at a party.
No, I understand it perfectly well. I just think it's gross and I cannot fathom why anyone would do it. If I want to eat something, I eat a serving, at mealtime - I'm not going to lick it or take a bite out of it and then not eat it, for god's sake. And I'd no more eat a sample of some dusty food of dubious provenance off a tray at the grocery store than I would lick an ashtray.
You do taste your food while you are cooking it? How do you know how to season it?
Never been to a cocktail party where they have passed canapés or something like that? Those are small tastes that are hard to track. Not sure how that's radically different than a sweet old lady who cut up some chicken nuggets and put toothpicks in them for people to enjoy at the grocery store...
You do get that people aren't taking a bite and then putting an item back, right?
Sure, I taste food while I'm cooking, on rare occasions. I cook for myself. The calorie count of the recipe is not different depending on whether I eat a spoonful of sauce while I'm cooking or afterward. If it were, I'd never know and wouldn't care much, because I don't count calories.
And yes, I've been to canapé - passing cocktail parties. I don't eat the canapés. If I'm not hungry enough to eat a full meal, I'm not interested. Nobody is obligated to put food in their mouths every time they walk by it, just because it's there. I'm suggesting that maybe, if the goal is weight loss, that might be a good thing to get out of the habit of doing. I can't imagine anyone's life would be made materially worse by not eating processed breaded chicken product on a toothpick that's been sitting on a tray at the grocery store for three hours.
Life wouldn't be materially worse. But I can't see how it would be materially better to never nibble either. Cocktail parties are fun and I'd simply plan my calories to leave space for the food there. Not hard, not rocket science, and perfectly easy to maintain solid weight loss - as long as you have a decent method for counting the calories, and don't ignore them. It's a hindrance only if you don't log and track the calories. To each her own. I think a person who denounces all nibbling as gross and nauseating is just as likely to have an off relationship with food than someone who can't stop nibbling, FWIW though.
Exactly this.
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This is part of the lifestyle change that will come with successful weight management.
You don't have to stop all snacking or sampling - you just have to acknowledge it and work it into your caloric budget. Rght now you're clearly mindful of it by the fact you posted a question about how to track these. But i'm also guessing from the tone of your post that you're on the fence about whether it really matters.
It does matter. Our bodies log every calorie we eat, whether we acknowledge them or not. Folks have had some good suggestions here - scan bar codes on a phone app, over-estimate if you estimate, do NOT consider "friends' christmas cookies" to be equivalent to a taste while cooking....
I would add - don't shop on an empty stomach. Schedule your shopping trip for after a meal, so those snacks will be less tempting. Do the same any time you're likely to be confronted by snacks, hors d'ouvre, or other small bites you're going to struggle with.
As for tasting while you cook, if you are preparing to serve yourself a portion of whatever you're cooking, and you truly had just a sample to check seasoning or readiness, then roll that bite into your portion (or, if it's something very calorie dense, log your portion + whatever % serving size that sample bite was).0 -
You'll just need to guess and use the quick add option. At the same time, this really shouldn't be a habit if you're serious about losing weight. Those calories add up...
ETA: Others have mentioned that this needs to be sustainable and fit into your lifestyle, blah blah blah. Once you're in maintenance, then that's different - you will have more calories to work with since you will no longer be eating at a deficit. BUT, if you're losing weight, then the best idea is to just say no to these things. Otherwise you're not being serious and just fooling yourself.0 -
Larissa_NY wrote: »Larissa_NY wrote: »You have to do what works for you, but at some point you might want to revisit this issue in the context of your relationship with food. I'm not sure what odds of success I'd give for a weight loss/maintenance plan that has to work around your unwillingness to stop putting unestimable numbers of calories in your mouth outside of mealtimes, whether you're hungry or not.
As an aside, the entire concept of Bites, Licks, and Nibbles genuinely makes me nauseated. It always puts me in mind of Ariana Grande in that donut shop licking a donut and then putting it back on the tray.
It's Bites, Licks, and Tastes. And if it's nauseating you, you aren't understanding what it means. It simply refers to anytime you taste something you're cooking, take a sample at the store, have a piece of cheese at a party.
No, I understand it perfectly well. I just think it's gross and I cannot fathom why anyone would do it. If I want to eat something, I eat a serving, at mealtime - I'm not going to lick it or take a bite out of it and then not eat it, for god's sake. And I'd no more eat a sample of some dusty food of dubious provenance off a tray at the grocery store than I would lick an ashtray.
Seriously? You've never had a sample at Costo or in a grocery store? Or hors d'oevres at a cocktail party? I'd hardly compare any of those to "licking an ashtray." Wow.0 -
I don't enjoy small tastes or samples of things. Tasting something activates it for me and makes me feel sorry for myself that I don't get a proper portion. If I have one chip, I want to eat a whole bowl. If I don't have any chips, I am fine and can stand next to them all night while other people eat them.
I don't snack between meals either. I want a nice lump of something and I want to enjoy it. A stingy nibble is just a sort of torture - no thanks.
I don't taste food while I cook it. I taste it after I have dished it up and add a bit more salt or spice if it needs it. The idea of licking a spoon half way and then keeping on cooking with it is kinda disgusting to me.
I think we might all experience food differently when it comes to this. I get annoyed if I am at a party and someone is trying to force bites of different things on me. It would be difficult to be polite if it carried on (but I would be).
Others can do what they like. Its interesting to see that people either love or hate BLT's. I am in the hate group.
You don't have to reuse the spoon. I use little spoons for tasting, not the cooking spoon. I can't imagine making a new recipe and not tasting as I go.
I made cornbread tamale pie last night, just for me, which meant I could kick up the spices, and tasted it quite a bit to make sure it was at peak hotness.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Larissa_NY wrote: »You have to do what works for you, but at some point you might want to revisit this issue in the context of your relationship with food. I'm not sure what odds of success I'd give for a weight loss/maintenance plan that has to work around your unwillingness to stop putting unestimable numbers of calories in your mouth outside of mealtimes, whether you're hungry or not.
The most successful plans for weight loss and maintenance are the ones you can live with forever. I'm not sure what odds of success I would give one that isn't flexible enough to allow me to have a sample of frozen pizza or a cookie that someone else made without obsessing over the calorie content. Those are the kinds of situations that life is filled with, so having a plan to estimate a reasonable calorie amount while tracking, or knowing that those little things add up and finding a way to fit them into your day, is EXACTLY the kind of plan that would make an individual successful...
So much this. A life where I don't taste a bite of my husband's entree on date night or eat a strawberry at the Farmer's Market isn't what I'm planning to live, although it may work for some people. I don't think this means I have a problem with food. If anything. cutting out things that I enjoy to meet some arbitrary standard of tracking perfection would be FOR ME a problematic relationship with food. I'd be living as if my goal was perfect logging instead of using logging as a tool to meet my goals.0 -
Honestly, the more you log the better idea you will have about how many calories something has. I quick add calories (usually adding slightly more than I really think) and I call it even. Those calories DO ADD UP! I usually end up find it more of a hassle and skip the samples: I'm not REALLY going to buy it anyway, right?!?0
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HappyCampr1 wrote: »You'll just need to guess and use the quick add option. At the same time, this really shouldn't be a habit if you're serious about losing weight. Those calories add up...
ETA: Others have mentioned that this needs to be sustainable and fit into your lifestyle, blah blah blah. Once you're in maintenance, then that's different - you will have more calories to work with since you will no longer be eating at a deficit. BUT, if you're losing weight, then the best idea is to just say no to these things. Otherwise you're not being serious and just fooling yourself.
Of course the calories add up...that's why the logging of them.
As far as only doing this in maintenance, I believe the whole point of calorie counting is to learn how to accommodate whatever you plan to eat for the rest of your life. If I'm going to Starbuck's once a week, then I need to learn how to work that in. You don't wait until maintenance and then everything's ok, you can eat all the things.
I guess I wasn't serious about losing my weight and I fooled myself into a 75 pound weight loss and 16 months of maintenance.
Try to lighten up and live life. You can have a sample of something whenever you want...just account for it.
Agree.
Wow I never thought this would be such a polarizing question. I get that some people don't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out if these calories would impact their overall day so they skip it. I also get that some people don't care for the concept of eating food that has been sitting out or that someone else has touched/prepared. That's fine. But to say that people who take samples, eat from the passed appetizer tray, taste their food while cooking, etc are not taking their weight loss seriously or are setting themselves up for failure just flummoxes me.
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WinoGelato wrote: »But to say that people who take samples, eat from the passed appetizer tray, taste their food while cooking, etc are not taking their weight loss seriously or are setting themselves up for failure just flummoxes me.
It was also suggested that these people have a questionable relationship with food. Which I find incredible.
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vivmom2014 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »But to say that people who take samples, eat from the passed appetizer tray, taste their food while cooking, etc are not taking their weight loss seriously or are setting themselves up for failure just flummoxes me.
It was also suggested that these people have a questionable relationship with food. Which I find incredible.
Right, exactly!0 -
HappyCampr1 wrote: »You'll just need to guess and use the quick add option. At the same time, this really shouldn't be a habit if you're serious about losing weight. Those calories add up...
ETA: Others have mentioned that this needs to be sustainable and fit into your lifestyle, blah blah blah. Once you're in maintenance, then that's different - you will have more calories to work with since you will no longer be eating at a deficit. BUT, if you're losing weight, then the best idea is to just say no to these things. Otherwise you're not being serious and just fooling yourself.
Of course the calories add up...that's why the logging of them.
As far as only doing this in maintenance, I believe the whole point of calorie counting is to learn how to accommodate whatever you plan to eat for the rest of your life. If I'm going to Starbuck's once a week, then I need to learn how to work that in. You don't wait until maintenance and then everything's ok, you can eat all the things.
I guess I wasn't serious about losing my weight and I fooled myself into a 75 pound weight loss and 16 months of maintenance.
Try to lighten up and live life. You can have a sample of something whenever you want...just account for it.
Chances are, sampling whatever the OP wanted, whenever, played a very large role in getting the OP to this place where they now need to lose weight. Good for you that you lost 75 pounds and have maintained for 16 months while eating whatever you want, whenever. You must be such a special snowflake.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »HappyCampr1 wrote: »You'll just need to guess and use the quick add option. At the same time, this really shouldn't be a habit if you're serious about losing weight. Those calories add up...
ETA: Others have mentioned that this needs to be sustainable and fit into your lifestyle, blah blah blah. Once you're in maintenance, then that's different - you will have more calories to work with since you will no longer be eating at a deficit. BUT, if you're losing weight, then the best idea is to just say no to these things. Otherwise you're not being serious and just fooling yourself.
Of course the calories add up...that's why the logging of them.
As far as only doing this in maintenance, I believe the whole point of calorie counting is to learn how to accommodate whatever you plan to eat for the rest of your life. If I'm going to Starbuck's once a week, then I need to learn how to work that in. You don't wait until maintenance and then everything's ok, you can eat all the things.
I guess I wasn't serious about losing my weight and I fooled myself into a 75 pound weight loss and 16 months of maintenance.
Try to lighten up and live life. You can have a sample of something whenever you want...just account for it.
Agree.
Wow I never thought this would be such a polarizing question. I get that some people don't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out if these calories would impact their overall day so they skip it. I also get that some people don't care for the concept of eating food that has been sitting out or that someone else has touched/prepared. That's fine. But to say that people who take samples, eat from the passed appetizer tray, taste their food while cooking, etc are not taking their weight loss seriously or are setting themselves up for failure just flummoxes me.
If someone is constantly nibbling, trying samples, etc. and HAS NO IDEA how to account for them, as is the case with the OP, then yes, they are setting themselves up for failure. It's really that simple. Clearly you and others are able to know exactly how many calories are in every single morsel of food that you did not prepare yourself or have not read a label. You must be clairvoyant. Wish I could be you.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »HappyCampr1 wrote: »You'll just need to guess and use the quick add option. At the same time, this really shouldn't be a habit if you're serious about losing weight. Those calories add up...
ETA: Others have mentioned that this needs to be sustainable and fit into your lifestyle, blah blah blah. Once you're in maintenance, then that's different - you will have more calories to work with since you will no longer be eating at a deficit. BUT, if you're losing weight, then the best idea is to just say no to these things. Otherwise you're not being serious and just fooling yourself.
Of course the calories add up...that's why the logging of them.
As far as only doing this in maintenance, I believe the whole point of calorie counting is to learn how to accommodate whatever you plan to eat for the rest of your life. If I'm going to Starbuck's once a week, then I need to learn how to work that in. You don't wait until maintenance and then everything's ok, you can eat all the things.
I guess I wasn't serious about losing my weight and I fooled myself into a 75 pound weight loss and 16 months of maintenance.
Try to lighten up and live life. You can have a sample of something whenever you want...just account for it.
Agree.
Wow I never thought this would be such a polarizing question. I get that some people don't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out if these calories would impact their overall day so they skip it. I also get that some people don't care for the concept of eating food that has been sitting out or that someone else has touched/prepared. That's fine. But to say that people who take samples, eat from the passed appetizer tray, taste their food while cooking, etc are not taking their weight loss seriously or are setting themselves up for failure just flummoxes me.
If someone is constantly nibbling, trying samples, etc. and HAS NO IDEA how to account for them, as is the case with the OP, then yes, they are setting themselves up for failure. It's really that simple. Clearly you and others are able to know exactly how many calories are in every single morsel of food that you did not prepare yourself or have not read a label. You must be clairvoyant. Wish I could be you.
I don't think there's any reason to be hostile to other posters who are trying to help in this thread. The point is that while the OP may not know right now how many calories are in some of those BLTs, there are ways to figure that out and account for them. And if they fit into a person's daily calorie goal, the person is not going to fail. It's about learning how to be successful when something comes up that you're not sure about, like this situation. Instead of just continuing without knowing, the OP came here and asked, and people gave suggestions for figuring out the answer.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »HappyCampr1 wrote: »You'll just need to guess and use the quick add option. At the same time, this really shouldn't be a habit if you're serious about losing weight. Those calories add up...
ETA: Others have mentioned that this needs to be sustainable and fit into your lifestyle, blah blah blah. Once you're in maintenance, then that's different - you will have more calories to work with since you will no longer be eating at a deficit. BUT, if you're losing weight, then the best idea is to just say no to these things. Otherwise you're not being serious and just fooling yourself.
Of course the calories add up...that's why the logging of them.
As far as only doing this in maintenance, I believe the whole point of calorie counting is to learn how to accommodate whatever you plan to eat for the rest of your life. If I'm going to Starbuck's once a week, then I need to learn how to work that in. You don't wait until maintenance and then everything's ok, you can eat all the things.
I guess I wasn't serious about losing my weight and I fooled myself into a 75 pound weight loss and 16 months of maintenance.
Try to lighten up and live life. You can have a sample of something whenever you want...just account for it.
Agree.
Wow I never thought this would be such a polarizing question. I get that some people don't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out if these calories would impact their overall day so they skip it. I also get that some people don't care for the concept of eating food that has been sitting out or that someone else has touched/prepared. That's fine. But to say that people who take samples, eat from the passed appetizer tray, taste their food while cooking, etc are not taking their weight loss seriously or are setting themselves up for failure just flummoxes me.
If someone is constantly nibbling, trying samples, etc. and HAS NO IDEA how to account for them, as is the case with the OP, then yes, they are setting themselves up for failure. It's really that simple. Clearly you and others are able to know exactly how many calories are in every single morsel of food that you did not prepare yourself or have not read a label. You must be clairvoyant. Wish I could be you.
I certainly didn't get from OPs post that this was a constant issue. More like a, "hey when these opportunities arise, what does everyone else do".
Part of being successful in weight loss and maintenance is having enough common sense to factor in a reasonable estimate of calories to account for these unforeseen or uncontrolled situations.
I actually don't know how many calories are in every morsel of food that I eat, because I have a social life. I eat in restaurants, I eat food that others prepare, I know there is a margin of error even in foods that I prepare for myself.
It didn't take clairvoyance for me to lose the weight I needed to and successfully maintain it for several months so far. It took common sense, a basic understanding of my numbers and variability, and a flexible attitude about the process.
I'm not really sure what provoked such a negative response to the OPs question or people's responses but I think perhaps it is you who should evaluate if you have a healthy outlook on this whole weight loss thing...
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I came from a family who BLTed all day every day, I think it contributed to a lot of my issues with food. Sometimes when I was a kid we didn't eat dinner because the whole family had been grazing all day and no one was hungry.
Now I try really hard not to do it, but if I do I make sure it is something I know I'll be able to count, such as 3 M&Ms or 5 almonds, then I just add them in as snacks. The one thing I don't worry about is a taste of a sauce while cooking, it just seems to silly for me to worry about.0
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