unknown calories

BurningCalories98
BurningCalories98 Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys , So I've been counting calories for a while now and have lost and successfully maintained for over a year. However ,my only issue is that I get really anxious when I do not know how many calories something has. For example , today my grandma baked a home made apple pie and while everyone was eating and enjoying , I refused to take some because I did not know how much calories it had. However , I ended up eating 2 slices ( about 250g ) later because I couldn't help it , and now I feel really guilty. How do you guys deal with such a situation ?

Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    Own it, and remember one day doesn't ruin your entire effort. Life happens, and it's meant to be enjoyed and so long as you don't let it get out of control, enjoy the pie :smile:
  • EatingAndKnitting
    EatingAndKnitting Posts: 531 Member
    Find the closest entry you can on the database, if you can't find anything close, take your best guess (and try to guess high) and quick add.

    I went to a Chinese buffet the other day with my BFF. I have no idea how many calories I ate. I have no idea what entries in the database are closest to what I did eat. I logged it as 2000 calories, which is about what I normally eat when I eat a lot at a restaurant, skipped dinner (I'm never hungry after Chinese anyway), and called it a day. I don't figure I ate much more than that, I'd be surprised if I ate 3000 calories, for instance.

    It's one meal. You're in this for the rest of your life. One meal out of, let's say 40 years because I don't know how old you are, is nothing. Enjoy your pie and your grandmother.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    If my Grandmas were still alive I would be delighted to enjoy a happy family occasion and eat the pie without guilt.

    It's one part of one meal in the rest of your lifetime - a sense of perspective is required. One or two pieces of pie doesn't need dealing with. Just make an estimate and enjoy it.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    I'd say that I've estimated calories for almost every dinner since I started losing weight in January. My husband cooks three or four times a week, and I'm not going to ask him to weigh stuff for me, and we eat out a couple times a week too. You make your best call and move on. If the scale is dropping, you're in a deficit. If not, you're underestimating and need to adjust. It really is doable.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    For random baked goods, I guess about 100 calories/oz and move on. If you get the calories right for 90% of what you eat in a week, you're still going to be well on target.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I log as accurately as I can the majority of the time so I don't have to worry about the times when I'm estimating.
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    Life is meant to be lived! If you enjoy grandma's pie then by all means enjoy a slice and then log it and move on. It isn't about the 1 thing we eat it's about the bigger picture and life it's just to short!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    On an item such as apple pie, I treat it as rationally as possible. What is apple pie made of? Carbs, mostly, fat, some, and protein, barely.. If it has a traditional pastry crust, half the weight of that is fat, half is carbs. If it has a typical out-of-a-can applie pie filling, almost all of that is carbs and very little if fat.

    From here, you guess at the weight of the crust as a fraction of the whole. For a piece of pie 4.5" long and 3" at the base, I'm going to guess the crust to be 3 oz, or 84 grams. That's 42 grams of fat and 42 grams of carbs.
    250-84 is 166, all carbs.
    42* 9 (calories per gram fat) = 378
    166 * 4 (calories per gram carb) = 664

    Clearly, I've guessed that a big piece of pie has over 1000 calories. Am I wrong? Am I right? I'm close enough to know that I've got some cardio work to do.
  • BurningCalories98
    BurningCalories98 Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you all for your kind help guys :)
  • belleflop
    belleflop Posts: 154 Member
    This sounds so stressful, props for maintaining this long with this type of issue. As others have mentioned just enjoy life, round up if you don't know exactly what the calorie count is and don't feel bad for indulging from time to time. Plus it's grandmas homemade pie!

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