Does anyone else do this?

jasummers76

I weigh my meat and fish after cooking and log accordingly. I however now know for example I use no more than half a cup of fat free milk in my coffee. I use to measure this for months. Now my milk is 40 kcals per half cup but I log 60. I have been cooking for myself for a long time as the family is not eating how I want to at this point. So I have been eating my salads adding maybe 50 kcals per serving. I eat them from the bag no extras and the bag is 4 servings. I do this with the Lean Cuisine four cheese pizza 380 kcals I log 400. I truthfully do not know why I am doing this. I am not banking or starving myself but even doing this I am not hitting my goal for the day. Maybe just a passing fancy..

SummerSkier

Probably you are deep down concerned that the actual calorie counts published are wrong and you want to make sure you are meeting your goal in reality and not just with #s. I don't completely trust the labels either. But one way I try to make up for that is I assume that the variance goes both ways. So, I try to eat a variety of different things over time and not just the fake ice cream day after day (I think there was a Seinfeld episode about diet smoothies like this) . If the Lean Cuisine is published at 200 but say is really 250 because they cheated on the label or something, then maybe a different item says it is 250 but is really 200. I don't know if that makes sense but if it makes you feel better logging more than the label, there's not anything wrong with that. I honestly think that the Halo and other "diet" stuff is more likely to be off than say tuna or chicken or basic things which aren't marketed to people who are restricting calories.

lynn_glenmont

Results are the gold standard of whether your logging is accurate and appropriate. What's happening with your weight?

timtam163

I used to over-estimate calories way too often. I think a little bit of this is ok, but overestimating too often can result in a too-big deficit. For me it affected my mental health, physical energy, and social life; as a result I started binging and canceling out my efforts. But it sounds like you do this less than I did and that it's working for you, in which case, keep it up

Kst76

jasummers76 wrote: »

I weigh my meat and fish after cooking and log accordingly. I however now know for example I use no more than half a cup of fat free milk in my coffee. I use to measure this for months. Now my milk is 40 kcals per half cup but I log 60. I have been cooking for myself for a long time as the family is not eating how I want to at this point. So I have been eating my salads adding maybe 50 kcals per serving. I eat them from the bag no extras and the bag is 4 servings. I do this with the Lean Cuisine four cheese pizza 380 kcals I log 400. I truthfully do not know why I am doing this. I am not banking or starving myself but even doing this I am not hitting my goal for the day. Maybe just a passing fancy..

I do that too. Weight is going down little more than planned

sijomial

Doesn't make sense to me from a mathematical perspective to deliberately over-estimate. Making those estimates inaccurate on purpose seems completely counter-productive.

There is an allowed variance in food labelling but that variance is both over and under - on average it's going to be pretty accurate. Food companies don't aim to give away free food!

In the end your results over time tell you what you need to know in terms of the accuracy of your BMR/Activity Setting/Exercise/Food logging estimates.

To me it's far easier to log as best you can and adjust your overall calorie goal to keep progress on track if required.

nelja

I also do that,but not that much. Like when bread is 65g, I make it 70g.And I always log 120g for my meat, but mostly it is like 90g

AnvilHead

sijomial wrote: »

Doesn't make sense to me from a mathematical perspective to deliberately over-estimate. Making those estimates inaccurate on purpose seems completely counter-productive.

There is an allowed variance in food labelling but that variance is both over and under - on average it's going to be pretty accurate. Food companies don't aim to give away free food!

In the end your results over time tell you what you need to know in terms of the accuracy of your BMR/Activity Setting/Exercise/Food logging estimates.

To me it's far easier to log as best you can and adjust your overall calorie goal to keep progress on track if required.

It doesn't make sense to me from the perspective that if I deliberately over-estimate, I get to eat less food.

MatthewRuch

jasummers76 wrote: »

I use no more than half a cup of fat free milk in my coffee.

Half a cup? There is only one way to drink coffee...and it is like this!

shannonwaters2395

MatthewRuch wrote: »

jasummers76 wrote: »

I use no more than half a cup of fat free milk in my coffee.

Half a cup? There is only one way to drink coffee...and it is like this!

I measured my milk in my coffee and shocked myself- 100mls! Lol keeping the dairy farmers in business!!

missh1967

MatthewRuch wrote: »

jasummers76 wrote: »

I use no more than half a cup of fat free milk in my coffee.

Half a cup? There is only one way to drink coffee...and it is like this!

Amen!!

InkAndApples

sijomial wrote: »

Doesn't make sense to me from a mathematical perspective to deliberately over-estimate. Making those estimates inaccurate on purpose seems completely counter-productive.

There is an allowed variance in food labelling but that variance is both over and under - on average it's going to be pretty accurate. Food companies don't aim to give away free food!

In the end your results over time tell you what you need to know in terms of the accuracy of your BMR/Activity Setting/Exercise/Food logging estimates.

To me it's far easier to log as best you can and adjust your overall calorie goal to keep progress on track if required.

Mathematically it bothers me to but I also overestimate my food.

There's a weird logic to me in that I also have my Fitbit synched and I know it overestimates calorie burns (from data over several months where I was logging accurately) slightly. I don't like deliberately leaving calories on the table from exercise as I work at a weekly deficit and I can't be bothered to go back and work out how many total I should be leaving behind (because why do that when you can look at one number and a little green bar?) So I figure if I overestimate my food but eat all my exercise calories it probably evens out. Data seems to agree so far.

Deliberate inaccuracy makes my little scientist heart ache, but not as much as seeing uneaten calories at the end of the week.

swebb1103

I couldn't deliberately over estimate because I would use it as an excuse to eat more - I would always have it in my head that I had a cushion, so I would eat my cushion (and probably not log it!) I struggle enough to stay on track without trying to trick myself, but if it works for you, I say go for it!

kels_lyn14

MatthewRuch wrote: »

jasummers76 wrote: »

I use no more than half a cup of fat free milk in my coffee.

Half a cup? There is only one way to drink coffee...and it is like this!

Preeeeach

Kst76

The reason I overestimate is because some things don't weigh at all. So I do this more to even things out.

Ready2Rock206

I don't see the point in logging if it isn't accurate anyway so no I wouldn't add extra calories for no reason. I just wouldn't log at that point. But that's just my personal choice.

ashliedelgado

If I weigh it, I log the actual weight and smack anyone who tries to take any - those are my calories, I did all the work for them.

However, if I'm in a position to estimate - ie eating out, etc - I'll find the highest calorie option, and usually log it as 1.5 because I'd rather over estimate than under.

rosyone1

I log as accurately as I can because I want to be able to look back in a week or a month or in six months and make some sort of realistic connection between what I was eating then and how I am doing today. You don't learn anything from logging lies.

kcastagnoli

jasummers76 wrote: »

So I have been eating my salads adding maybe 50 kcals per serving. I eat them from the bag no extras and the bag is 4 servings. ..

I say if you're getting closer to your goal, who cares, do what works. As posted here, you're not the only one who does that. Good luck! And can I ask what kind of salad comes in a bag?

JeromeBarry1

So many times the OP doesn't return to answer questions but at least we got a good gif out of this.

cmriverside

jasummers76 wrote: »

I weigh my meat and fish after cooking and log accordingly. I however now know for example I use no more than half a cup of fat free milk in my coffee. I use to measure this for months. Now my milk is 40 kcals per half cup but I log 60. I have been cooking for myself for a long time as the family is not eating how I want to at this point. So I have been eating my salads adding maybe 50 kcals per serving. I eat them from the bag no extras and the bag is 4 servings. I do this with the Lean Cuisine four cheese pizza 380 kcals I log 400. I truthfully do not know why I am doing this. I am not banking or starving myself but even doing this I am not hitting my goal for the day. Maybe just a passing fancy..

so...is this a question, or?

If you aren't hitting goal, um, can you eat more?