Do you track condiments, drinks, creamer, etc?

Nikion901

Anything with a calorie count gets added in.
even my sugarless gum that actually has 5 calories per stick.

Timshel_

vivakatie wrote: »

Do you track condiments, drinks, creamer, etc?

When I need to be strict I certainly do. But I don't use much condiments or drink high cal drinks. Though a 12 oz soda is like 150 calories so have a good 44 oz Pepsi is equivalent to a big hamburger, or you could eat almost a pound of protein rich low fat Tilapia.

lulalacroix

I do track all calorie rich foods, like the 4 grams of butter I just used. But I often don't track things like fresh garlic, fresh herbs, and hot sauce.

bbell1985

Ugh. Yeah. I track my gum even.

Chadxx

Absolutely, they can add up to hundreds of calories very quickly. Creamers have lots of calories and many sauces have even more. A single packet of Chick-fil-A sauce has 140 calories.

spunk71

I am having that issue now. I track everything but creamer I know I should as my trainer says the same as everyone how it adds up. I've lost over 20lbs and know I have to start counting my creamer. Just not ready to as I love my creamer. But I have cut back

SusanMFindlay

brendadonnelly26 wrote: »

If you add a Turkey burger with cheese for 290 calories, does that include the bun?

Unlikely. Cheese on a burger is usually at least 80 calories. So, that would only leave 210 calories for turkey + bun + other condiments. Possible, but unlikely.

I don't tend to bother with mustard, diet pop, Crystal Light or unsweetened tea. I don't drink coffee.

I do log ketchup, relish, mayo, BBQ sauce, milk (or milk-based drinks) and any drinks with sugar in them. If I can't get an exact measure of how much is used, I'll estimate.

NancyYale

I always track creamer and dressings but not mustard or seasonings.

CynnaMonkey

Yes I do! My coffee alone is nearly 300 calories and most of it is the add-ons. If you're not tracking then you're really fibbing to yourself. This could likely be the reason why you're missing out on a few key pounds each week! Log every single thing you can. If you're unsure then you need to be using Google. There's a barcode feature in the app which is very handy otherwise the search really brings up a lot of things. I know that you can have some local restaurants throw you a curve ball but I have substituted "similar" dishes which I am sure were close to the calorie count of what I was eating. As someone who has epilepsy and regular blood work done I can tell you everything matters.

kkress92

I don't log them, I think it would drive me crazy and cause me to stop logging altogether. That being said, I am cognizant of what I don't track and set my calorie goal with a ~150 calorie buffer. Just because I don't count them doesn't mean I think they don't count

jamierobinson12

Definitely! You might be adding in excess of 3-400 more calories if you don't track them.

pesigrandi

Generally, yes though I don't add the few vitamins I take but I've seen people who do and it can add more calories than you think. When I was sick last month I added cough drops for a couple of days and was surprised that it ended up being 80 or 90 calories for the day. I didn't enter them at first because it never occurred to me.

Bites_2017

Absolutely. Tracking every single this that goes in your mouth is the only way to count calories accurately! My kitchen scare was $15 from target! Get a scale!

GottaBurnEmAll

I don't track salt since I don't care about my sodium intake (I have low blood sodium and can use all the salt I can get), but I track all condiments. I didn't used to track sriracha until one day on a lark I did and realized I was using 20 calories worth at a time... and I was eating it twice a day sometimes. I was uncomfortable not logging that. I log the tiny bit of milk I put in my tea (it's about 12 calories) and the low sugar ketchup I use too.

I don't log sugar free gum. I figure I burn that off chewing it.

youdoyou2016

It is really easy to eat 50 or 100 calories of ketchup ...

clags301

Before it goes in my mouth, it gets tracked. Sometimes that alone stops me from eating something I was about to. I have a small deficit since I am very near goal - I have to be completely thorough and accurate with my tracking in order to lose.

Also, a lot of those types of items contained huge amounts of sodium - think Frank's Red Hot. I pay attention to my nutrient levels closely, so tracking is critical there, too.

Sunna_W

Yes, I count everything. For example, I love really strong Italian Moka Pot (stove top espresso) Coffee. In fact, I love it so much that I drink close to 28 ounces of it each day. The down side is that I have to lots of half and half to keep it from hurting my stomach. Either I would just pour the half and half in until the coffee was that lovely cafe au lait color, or, I would put the half and half in first, whip it with a hand blender and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds for a lovely latte. Before I started counting these calories I had NO idea that there were 38 to 40 calories in an ounce of half and half. Each day I was consuming at least six ounces of half and half - 240 calories! FML... anyway - not having coffee is a non-starter for me. So, I began to cut back on the quantity of ground coffee beans going into the Italian Moka Pot and I was eventually able to get down to 2 ounces of half and half.

annacole94

I track, but I don't measure/weigh such things. For now, I'm losing at my desired rate, so I don't need to make things more complicated. I do know generally what's low cal and high cal and adjust portions accordingly.

ChristopherLimoges

Yes.

JeromeBarry1

Yea for tracking every single thing except the spiders you eat in your sleep. Mustard has zero calories and is the only exception I allow myself. Sriracha is sugar, so I do track sriracha. Tabasco is salt, so I track it if I'm watching salt.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

If it were some meager amount I would say no, but my coffee creamer alone comes in at 80 calories after 2 cups of coffee. If I have 2 more cups in the afternoon that will be 160 calories I would have not accounted for. A serving of ketchup is 15 calories for a single serving. If I pile up 2-3 servings that would be 30-45 calories I did not account for. These items are already up to 200 calories. Toss in 5 grams of butter for the pan when I fry an egg, a teaspoon of honey in each cup of hot tea and this could very easily get to 300+ calories.

A lot of people leave out these seemingly negligent calorie sources then they ask why they aren't losing weight. Well this could easily keep a person from burning more than they eat. Count it all. This will help you better see how these little things add up.

astrocosmiczoom

All of my daily condiments, vitamins, herbs and coffee creamer can add up to 250+ calories, so yeeees! I track them.

Lounmoun

Most of the time.

lightenup2016

For me: Mustard, ketchup, no. Salsa and dressing, yes. Salt (or any dried spices), no.

I don't count my creamer any more--I just cut it out and drink my coffee black now! That saves me 60-120 cal per day, and I don't even notice now.

When I WAS adding creamer, and even for the sugar I still add, I measured it once to get an idea, and from there on out just used that as an approximation. I'm not going to measure out little bits of creamer and sugar for several cups of coffee everyday. No time for that in my world!

kali31337

I 100% track them. If you look at my diary, my condiments are a good portion of my calories at each meal so I would be really doing a disservice to myself by not tracking them

Rocknut53

spunk71 wrote: »

I am having that issue now. I track everything but creamer I know I should as my trainer says the same as everyone how it adds up. I've lost over 20lbs and know I have to start counting my creamer. Just not ready to as I love my creamer. But I have cut back

I'm pretty sure I gained all my weight because of creamer ( )...2-3 cups of coffee per day with just pouring in a bunch of International Delight chocolate caramel. I was going through a liter a week! Now I use it, 45-50 ml a day in one cup. Any more than that now is too sweet. OP, yes I track most of it if it has any calories that might mess with my deficit.

ritzvin

Certain things, yes. Creamer and mayo obviously have a lot of calories (dense enough to weigh rather than estimate volume). Stuff with almost no calories like mustard, small amounts of soy sauce, garlic paste, etc - I don't always bother (<10cal).

CasperNaegle

Condiments can add up to a huge amount of calories.. you absolutely need to weigh and log them.

savithny

Tracking my coffee (one cream one sugar) made me realize how much it adds up! A few cups of coffee can be over 100 calories, and if you're on 1500/day that's 6% of your daily intake!


Anecdote: My dad lost 20 pounds in a year, and his only change was to switch to drinking his coffee black.

The little things can really, really add up.

CSARdiver

I track anything with more than 5 calories. I only use one shot of creamer in my coffee and that's about 40 kcals.

I think the problem most people have with weight isn't from the big meals - it's the continuous little things that add up to CI > CO.