Do you track condiments, drinks, creamer, etc?

Jabbarwocky

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.

WickAndArtoo

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.

SusanMFindlay

savithny wrote: »

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.

My dad did something similar when he stopped putting sugar in his tea.

stephanne13

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

SMKing75

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.

MelodyMomof2

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.

lightenup2016

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?

EatingAndKnitting

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.

cmtigger

Yes. Even a little bit can have a lot of calories.

Chunkahlunkah

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.

Chunkahlunkah

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.

SLLRunner

vivakatie 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?

Yes, because they have calories, and calories add up.

paperpudding

vivakatie 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

VeryKatie

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.

lulalacroix

jesslla wrote: »

Even the soy sauce in my morning oatmeal (consistency is NOT my strong suit, apparently ).

Could you please help me out and tell me about this soy sauce + oatmeal recipe? What else is in it?

domeofstars

Yes I track everything because I don't want anything to undo my weight loss efforts

GottaBurnEmAll

paperpudding wrote: »

vivakatie 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.