Is my calorie counting correct or am I way off?

johnjameson2011

Hi guys,
Not sure if this is the right forum but it seemed as good a starting point as any.
My stats.
Age: 28
Height 5'6
Weight: 9 stone or around 126 lbs

Go to the gym maybe 4 days a week,spent about 1hour to 1 and a half there,what I do ranges from general weights to hiit.
Went on to website to work out my basic calorie needs.
According to it with no exercise it would be - 1798.5
With light exercise - 2060.8(I think this is my category)
Moderate activity - 2323

So I downloaded the myfitness pal app to keep track of my calories and meals,so just started
Right now I'm doing the eat whatever I want in an 8 hour span but thats subject to change,just trying it out.

Anyway food diary just for today

Meal 1:
Chicken Multigrain Wrap
Contents:
Multigrain wrap
Half a Chicken breast fillet
Half a Carrot
Iceburg Lettuce

I tried to scan in the foods use the barcode scanner but the only thing it recognised was the chicken breast fillet which was 120 cals,everything else just estimated from the internet so

Multigrain wrap 190 cals
Half Chicken breast fillet 60 cals
Half Carrot 30cal
Iceburg Lettuce 0 cals

Sub Total 1= 280

Meal 2:
Green beans
Peas
Broccoli
Carrot
Chicken breast fillet

Had some trouble scanning these in so just weighed everything and looked them up on the internet.All were frozen bar the carrot

Green beans 2/3oz = 35cals
Peas 3/4oz = 92cals
Broccoli 4oz = 40cals
Carrot 4oz = 60 cal
Chicken breast fillet = 120cals

Sub Total 2= 347

Fluid wise I have about
Arrabawn Milk(was able to scan it in,2litres) - 130x2=260
Whey Protein shake =94
Water(1 litre)= 0

Sub Total 3= 354

Total Cals = 981

Anyway thats just what I ate today,not everyday but it is a base meal for 3 out the 7 days days,other days another meal of porridge plus flaxseed might be their along with some fruit,meal 2 might be pasta + mince or a stew or steak plus the veg,etc.
But for most days thats the base meal,now surely I've some really bad calculations here cause I appear to be way off my calories count??
Like my diet hasn't changed that much over the year,my weight has pretty remained steady throughout,I don't feel hungry or tired during the day but the numbers don't add up I guess?

abatonfan

The most accurate way to count calories is by weighing your food (if it's a solid. If it's a liquid, use liquid measuring cups or measuring spoons) and choosing accurate MFP entries. "1/2 chicken breast" is not accurate, while 145g of "chicken, breast meat only, broilers or fryers, cooked, grilled" is more accurate. As a rule of thumb, visualizing is less accurate than measuring volume of an item, which is less accurate than weighing the item itself.

I'll use a snack example: apple slices and peanut butter. I could log the following after visualizing portions:
1 "small" apple - 77 Calories
2"Tbsp" peanut butter - 188 Calories
Total: 265 Calories

If I weigh out my portion, I might find the following:
210g apple, raw, with skin - 109 Calories
45g peanut butter, smooth style, with salt -265 Calories
Total: 374 Calories

That's a 109 Calorie difference between visualizing and weighing for one snack. If I visualize my portions for the rest of my meals/snacks, I can very easily wipe out my Calorie deficit (or consume at a calorie surplus), though I might only be logging what I think is 900 Calories.

Derf_Smeggle

+1 to @abatonfan posting

Additionally, at 5'6" and 126 pounds you're probably not going to have much weight to lose... Unless you are trying to gain lean muscle mass. Then you probably need a slightly different eating habit plan.

Derf_Smeggle

johnjameson2011 wrote: »

Hi guys,
<snip>
Arrabawn Milk(was able to scan it in,2litres) - 130x2=260

<snip>

Also, this can't be accurate. 2 litres of milk? Even their Skim Milk is 34 kcal per 100mL. 2 litres would end up being at minimum 680 kcal.

Source: Arraban Skim Milk Nutrition - Company Website

cafeaulait7

Are you really a 28-yo male trying to weigh 112 lbs? Your profile ticker says you are trying to lose weight, not gain? Because I'm a 134-lb woman your same height. It's possible that you are eating that little if all that is correct. You are already quite, quite thin (and maybe don't know it?).

misskarne

Young man already at the low end of healthy weight range looking to become underweight and eating 900 calories a day.

Yeah, NO. Please get professional help.

cafeaulait7

I'm worried about you, so I checked in again and your profile says 0 lbs to lose That sounds much better! I think if you have a little pad of fat here or there that weightlifting is the best way to 'burn' that off. And the best way to do that is to eat a bit more than maintenance and follow a good lifting program. And eat more protein still (because your calories will be higher too). Do a 'clean bulk'. Even a mini bulk if you are scared of eating much. As long as you are above maintenance, you'll be OK (if not optimal for bulking; it'll be slower if it's right around maintenance).

And yep, you'll need to know your calorie requirements for a day so that you can eat a bit more than that in order to actually grow muscle (it requires additional calories). So the accurate tracking is still very important. You spend enough time in the gym to get it done, so just make sure your food intake and lifting program are effective to put on some muscle, and you'll be happy with the results!

I may have been unfair in saying you were terribly thin. I forget that there are smaller-framed guys than me at the same height. That's unfair because I can't even fit a men's small because of my big frame (shoulders), lol. Surely a men's small is meant for somebody But 112 lbs is a big no. That won't allow enough lean mass.

Good luck and I hope we didn't scare you off!

johnjameson2011

Clearly I've jumped into this without too much thinking

abatonfan wrote: »

The most accurate way to count calories is by weighing your food (if it's a solid. If it's a liquid, use liquid measuring cups or measuring spoons) and choosing accurate MFP entries. "1/2 chicken breast" is not accurate, while 145g of "chicken, breast meat only, broilers or fryers, cooked, grilled" is more accurate. As a rule of thumb, visualizing is less accurate than measuring volume of an item, which is less accurate than weighing the item itself.

I'll use a snack example: apple slices and peanut butter. I could log the following after visualizing portions:
1 "small" apple - 77 Calories
2"Tbsp" peanut butter - 188 Calories
Total: 265 Calories

If I weigh out my portion, I might find the following:
210g apple, raw, with skin - 109 Calories
45g peanut butter, smooth style, with salt -265 Calories
Total: 374 Calories

That's a 109 Calorie difference between visualizing and weighing for one snack. If I visualize my portions for the rest of my meals/snacks, I can very easily wipe out my Calorie deficit (or consume at a calorie surplus), though I might only be logging what I think is 900 Calories.

Thanks,I was mostly going off visualizing as you say along say for example,picking a food and just googling what about of calories it was on the internet,not really accounting for weigh.
Either that or I was checking what is said on the packaging.
For the above I only really weighed the frozen food,even that was think with a bad weighing scale(some old thats be there for years)
I'm gonna to buy a new one on Friday and also be more accurate with my food description.
Thanks

Derf_Smeggle wrote: »

+1 to @abatonfan posting

Additionally, at 5'6" and 126 pounds you're probably not going to have much weight to lose... Unless you are trying to gain lean muscle mass. Then you probably need a slightly different eating habit plan.

Ya sorry ,my profile is wrong,definately not looking to lose weigh,either mantain or go up.
Also much like my food weighing scales my own weighing scales at home has seen better days,I'll get a more definitive weigh reading at the gym.

Derf_Smeggle wrote: »

johnjameson2011 wrote: »

Hi guys,
<snip>
Arrabawn Milk(was able to scan it in,2litres) - 130x2=260

<snip>

Also, this can't be accurate. 2 litres of milk? Even their Skim Milk is 34 kcal per 100mL. 2 litres would end up being at minimum 680 kcal.

Source: Arraban Skim Milk Nutrition - Company Website

Yes you are correct,I read it wrong,looking at it here on the app it says
serving size:100ml calories:65

cafeaulait7 wrote: »

Are you really a 28-yo male trying to weigh 112 lbs? Your profile ticker says you are trying to lose weight, not gain? Because I'm a 134-lb woman your same height. It's possible that you are eating that little if all that is correct. You are already quite, quite thin (and maybe don't know it?).

Sorry ya,you are correct,definitely not trying to lose weight.I think I corrected my ticker now.
Also I'll get a more accurate reading of my weight on Friday as my weighing scales here at home has seen better days.
Thanks

misskarne wrote: »

Young man already at the low end of healthy weight range looking to become underweight and eating 900 calories a day.

Yeah, NO. Please get professional help.

Well I've been the same general weight for quite a while now and never had any issue's.Work,play sport,etc and not feel weak or tired etc.
Obviously I think the 900 calories thing is wrong,if it were right I'd be in a bad way health wise.
This thread was more to correct my calorie counting,the above meals were just an example but thank you for your concern.

steuartcj

Upping your protein intake while working out may help with the muscle gain. Get a good food and body scale. Weigh all solid foods, measure all your liquids. Drink enough water, 6-10 cups per day. Protein powder is a good way to up protein and add water intake. 24-30 gm. per helping and only about 120- 140 cals.

johnjameson2011

Bought new scales and weighed everything but just have question on a particular food,the chicken to be exact.

So here's 1 meal,where I weighed beforehand then matched up the food as best I could to the database here.

Meal example:
Veg all weighed before steaming them to eat

104g, Green beans, frozen - 27 cals
128 gram, Broccoli, frozen - 38 cals
98g, Carrot, Raw - 40 cals
139g, Peas, frozen- 109 cals

340 gram, Chicken breast, oven cooked,skinless,boneless - 280 cals
Chicken weighed after it was cooked

Now the chicken value is throwing me off cause I usually steam a chicken fillet and if I put that into the database I get
340g, Chicken fillet,boneless,skinless - 748 cals

So a huge difference between the 2?
Unless there's a differnce between 340 gram and 340g.

mkakids

Is one chicken entry raw and one cooked? Generally, look for USA RAW entries and weigh meats before cooking when possible.

johnjameson2011

mkakids wrote: »

Is one chicken entry raw and one cooked? Generally, look for USA RAW entries and weigh meats before cooking when possible.

The first is oven cooked and the second is cooked in a steamer.
Should I just remove the oven cooked and steamed parts of the diary entry and replace them with Raw?

CharlieBeansmomTracey

steuartcj wrote: »

Upping your protein intake while working out may help with the muscle gain. Get a good food and body scale. Weigh all solid foods, measure all your liquids. Drink enough water, 6-10 cups per day. Protein powder is a good way to up protein and add water intake. 24-30 gm. per helping and only about 120- 140 cals.

if he is eating in a deficit(which he stated he eats under 1000 calories in the beginning) he wont gain much muscle(except for some newbie gains which most likely wont be significant, no matter how much protein he takes in. to build muscle you have to be in a caloric surplus.

cafeaulait7

johnjameson2011 wrote: »

mkakids wrote: »

Is one chicken entry raw and one cooked? Generally, look for USA RAW entries and weigh meats before cooking when possible.

The first is oven cooked and the second is cooked in a steamer.
Should I just remove the oven cooked and steamed parts of the diary entry and replace them with Raw?

I checked it against entries where I've logged my calories for years (I don't think I'm allowed to promote it here). I got a bunch of very similar entries like this:

Chicken breast, boneless and skinless, meat only raw, USDA, 4 oz (113.4g): 136 calories, 3g fat, 83 chol, 51 sodium, 25.5 protein.

johnjameson2011

^^
Ya that seems about right,I'll just remove the steamed/oven entries and replace them with Raw entries.

dhimaan

You need to seek professional help. What you are trying to achieve is not healthy.

giota960

If you you don't cook the food and you buy it from a restaurant / food court or whatever the calories are completely different! They use sugars and sweeteners, spices, sauce and what not which increases the calorie count significantly. If you can cook everything yourself it's the best and healthier way to go. If you eat from 1200-1400 calories per day with light to no exercise you lose up to 2 kilos a week and still eat healthy. The only problem there is after the diet you can gain back the weight faster and even and some more on top. A moderate diet is around 1600/1800 calories per day 0,500 kilos loss per week more or less. Again though no eating out no sauces no sweeteners and believe it or not the best fat percentage you want to buy eg for milk and yogurt is 2%. Oohhhhh and lots of water 8-10 glasses per day!

Good luck

CharlieBeansmomTracey

giota960 wrote: »

If you you don't cook the food and you buy it from a restaurant / food court or whatever the calories are completely different! They use sugars and sweeteners, spices, sauce and what not which increases the calorie count significantly. If you can cook everything yourself it's the best and healthier way to go. If you eat from 1200-1400 calories per day with light to no exercise you lose up to 2 kilos a week and still eat healthy. The only problem there is after the diet you can gain back the weight faster and even and some more on top. A moderate diet is around 1600/1800 calories per day 0,500 kilos loss per week more or less. Again though no eating out no sauces no sweeteners and believe it or not the best fat percentage you want to buy eg for milk and yogurt is 2%. Oohhhhh and lots of water 8-10 glasses per day!

Good luck

sugars and sweeteners have no bearing on weight loss a caloric deficit does. sure if you cook yourself you know what is going into the food, but being male he should not be eating less than 1500 calories and thats the minimum. as for losing 2 kilos a week that wont happen for everyone and not every weeks. weight loss is not linear. calories are going to be different for everyone. and there is no best fat percentage when it comes to food. you can eat whole fat foods and still lose weight. I have done it and Im sure many others have as well.