Do you track condiments, drinks, creamer, etc?
Replies
-
You've had some really good advice here but realistically, it comes down to what you need and what you're trying to do. If you're trying to lose weight and having trouble then most definitely. If you're not tracking them and still losing weight no problem then don't worry about it. I personally need to track just damned near everything because I'm pre-diabetic and trying to get my numbers down along with my weight so tracking condiments is very important for me. Catsup is basically pureed tomatoes with sugar. Salad dressing tends to have an alarming amount of sugar in it. I am really trying to focus on carbs, sugar, sodium, and fat so need to track everything. Track as much or as little as you need to reach your goals.6
-
Yes and I always round up my estimates since I don't weigh my foods, I would rather accidentally overestimate my calorie intake than underestimate and accidentally go over my deficit.1
-
-
pesigrandi wrote: »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.
Right! I got sick last year & was taking Nyquil. Just out of curiosity I looked it up, and it has 93 calories a dose!
I could have had hot toddies instead & probably slept just as much. Haha3 -
I track creamer and salad dressing but no marinades, k/m, not enough sour cream to count. I don't eat mayo. I would track sugar and salsa, but only if I ate a ton of salsa which I don't.0
-
I track everything with calories. Mayo can really add up, even the light stuff. Coffee creamer eats into a chunk of my daily calories, but it's not something I want to give up yet.0
-
stephanne13 wrote: »pesigrandi wrote: »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.
Right! I got sick last year & was taking Nyquil. Just out of curiosity I looked it up, and it has 93 calories a dose!
I could have had hot toddies instead & probably slept just as much. Haha
That's an interesting point. I take the DayQuil capsules when needed...I would assume those have a lot fewer calories, if any?0 -
I don't track creamer. I should, but I don't. I use sugar free creamer, so it's low in calories (maybe forty for my entire cup of coffee, and that's if i use 1/3-1/2 of a cup of creamer, which is way more than I use). I am still losing, and usually have a buffer so right now I'm not worried about it. Every other condiment (except mustard) gets logged though. Even the soy sauce in my morning oatmeal (consistency is NOT my strong suit, apparently
).
Maybe I should start logging it, just so I can be consistent.0 -
Yes. Even a little bit can have a lot of calories.0
-
I'd highly advise counting the calorie dense ones, like coffee creamer or mayo or dressing. You get what I mean.
It's smart to weigh these at least a few times too so that you have a more accurate sense of how many calories you typically take in from them. We tend to always pour in the same amount of cream in our coffee, for example. So logging your typical amount can work, as long as you stay aware and honest with yourself for when you took more. I know some people favor *always* weighing everything, but I'd find that far too tedious to sustain. I also haven't found it necessary for myself to lose. 2 -
I don't usually take creamer in my coffee, but I did make it a daily habit during two times in my life. I didn't make any other changes to my diet. Both times, I gained about 4 pounds in a couple of months. At the time, I was at my ideal weight so not calorie counting. I guess coffee creamer doesn't prompt my body to intuitively compensate and take in fewer calories elsewhere. And I was using probably 2-3x the suggested serving.
So from my own experiences with it, that's one item I'd be sure to always measure if I started using it again. And if tracking my food, I'd log the hell out of it.1 -
This content has been removed.
-
So I haven't been tracking condiments, creamer, salt etc. do you guys tend to track these things? I haven't so far because I haven't had access to a food scale to get exact measurements to track with and have just been 'eye balling' things trying to do the least amount possible. Yay or nay for tracking every-single-thing that goes into our bodies?
Yes, because they have calories, and calories add up.
0 -
So I haven't been tracking condiments, creamer, salt etc. do you guys tend to track these things? I haven't so far because I haven't had access to a food scale to get exact measurements to track with and have just been 'eye balling' things trying to do the least amount possible. Yay or nay for tracking every-single-thing that goes into our bodies?
I dont track every single thing - I dont use creamer but I log each coffee as 20 calories to account for the small amount of milk I use in it.
I dont tracksalt.
Nor do I log seasonings like herbs and spices.
I do log sauce (ketchup) mayo, gravy.
Are you getting a digital food scale? - they are quite cheap and easily available at supermarkets ,Walmart, Target etc
0 -
Definitely. It can easily add up to 200 calories a day. Eyeballing it is still better than not tracking it at all. I also just tend to use a tbsp instead of a scale. Not sure why... I have a scale... oh well. It's been working for me lol.0
-
-
Yes I track everything because I don't want anything to undo my weight loss efforts1
-
paperpudding wrote: »So I haven't been tracking condiments, creamer, salt etc. do you guys tend to track these things? I haven't so far because I haven't had access to a food scale to get exact measurements to track with and have just been 'eye balling' things trying to do the least amount possible. Yay or nay for tracking every-single-thing that goes into our bodies?
I dont track every single thing - I dont use creamer but I log each coffee as 20 calories to account for the small amount of milk I use in it.
I dont tracksalt.
Nor do I log seasonings like herbs and spices.
I do log sauce (ketchup) mayo, gravy.
Are you getting a digital food scale? - they are quite cheap and easily available at supermarkets ,Walmart, Target etc
I track some spices, but not all of them. Chili powder has a lot of calories and I use it in a decent quantity when I make chili, so I log that. Same for the cumin that goes in there too. Cinnamon and vanilla extract can add a bit if used in quantity as well. So I log those. A big bunch of fresh herbs? Weighed and logged. A quick sprinkle of garlic powder over eggs? Meh. I don't log that.0 -
This content has been removed.
-
This content has been removed.
-
I absolutely do as well. You can get a decent scale at lots of places - both digital and analog. In fact, I saw a couple of different food scales the last time I was at walmart (located where they have the rest of the kitchen stuff). You don't need to get a really fancy scale, but with the digital scales you can be more precise.
0 -
lulalacroix wrote: »
@lulalacroix, sure! I don't really like sweet oatmeal, but I love this.
40 grams of oatmeal, about 1/2 cup of water (I don't actually measure the water, I just cover the oatmeal with water). Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes. (If you don't use the microwave, just follow the instructions on the box for one serving)
Add a bit of soy sauce to the top of the oatmeal. I use about a teaspoon of the low sodium soy sauce. I don't mix it in, because I just sprinkle it all over the top.
Fry a couple eggs (I use cooking spray on my pan to grease the pan, just a quick spray and I don't count the spray in my log). I like the eggs with runny yolks, the runny yolk and the oatmeal blend well together.
Put the eggs on top of the oatmeal/soy sauce. Eat with a spoon! It's also great with a bit of chopped onions sauteed and mixed in, but I'm out of onions right now.
The eggs + oatmeal + soy sauce is about 300 calories. The onions would add a few more calories, but I don't have an exact amount right now.4 -
This content has been removed.
-
It's a lot better than it sounds. I promise! 0
-
Yes I track it,often these days by eyeballing (after three years you kinda get there) but they are tracked
My question would be why not? After all they are calories (and often calorie dense too)0 -
This content has been removed.
-
If it has calories, yes. If it doesn't, like salt and some mustards, no. If I had a problem that required monitoring my sodium or other micronutrients, I would start counting everything. Hopefully, I will never have to do that or I'd go nuts.0
-
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »lulalacroix wrote: »
Part of me wants to think she meant soy milk... lol...
Oh please let this be the case!! Lol0 -
@jesslla I don't really like oatmeal, just can't get past the texture. If I ever have to eat it again, I might do a savory version instead of sweet. But I still don't know about that soy sauce. Actually, I would love that breakfast if I replaced the oatmeal with rice.0
-
@lulalacroix It would absolutely work with rice too, or any other grain you like. You could make a big batch of rice and freeze it in small portions, then just heat up what you need for breakfast (or whenever). I don't knew how long to heat frozen rice, but I bet Google does!
Scrambled eggs are good in rice too, and so are chopped veggies. I like peas, carrots, onions, and corn in mine. Really anything works.1
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions