How to be relatively accurate without obsessing

Jeepfreak81

Hey guys, my wife and I have used this app for quite a while now but often fall off the wagon for various reasons. Trying to stick with it everyday right now and lose some weight that we've put on.

I know to some extent we're not logging accurately, I don't measure how much ketchup I use on my burger for example and things like that. How can we have a relatively accurate goal without the need to obsess over measuring every little thing? We don't mind measure some and have a kitchen scale that we use, especially at dinner time, but we often omit the condiments if in small amounts and things like that (oil for cooking, etc etc).

Thoughts, advice? When it becomes too much work it's easy to talk ourselves out of doing it.

AliceDark

I'd focus on being as accurate as possible about the most high-calorie items to start with, and just see how that goes for the first 4-6 weeks. (I'd recommend tracking things like your main protein, anything with higher fat content like cheese/butter/nuts/avocado, etc. carefully, but not necessarily things like green vegetables). If, after that time, you're losing at a rate you're comfortable with, just carry on.

jmartin1219

I don't "eat back" any exercise calories for this very reason. It has worked well for me thus far. Creates a little "cushion" in the calorie budget. I also tend to eat the same things so I learn over time how many calories are in them and its not a chore.

iowalinda

If your goal is just losing: If you get stuck and can't figure out why you are not losing, that is when you really need to track every bite. Otherwise, if you are happy with your results, you are obviously tracking well enough. JMHO

JeromeBarry1

If you have foods that you often make and consume, learn them. That is, make certain that you understand how many calories and even macros are in your portion of them. That will increase your skills at 'winging it'.

The power in this myfitnesspal tool is the knowledge it helps you gain. Once you understand that a Hershey Kiss is 22 calories, you can figure a handful of 5 is 110 and isn't going to ruin your calorie budget.

If you often consume salty carby snacks, devise a method of portion control. My wife likes Cheetos. She uses a breakfast bowl to apportion her serving of Cheetos. That so happens to be one ounce, and her bag of Cheetos lasts a couple of weeks because she has only one serving each day.

If you and your wife find that something you do or eat triggers a high calorie excursion, find ways to escape that cycle. Examples from my life are that I can recognize when I'm about to jump off the wagon and can instead do something else, some kind of exercise or work. I have cardio machines in my living room and can watch tv while exercising. That keeps me from sitting down with a bag of munchies. Others find that brushing their teeth or going to bed can stop the failure in its tracks.

kimny72

I personally found that weighing and measuring helped me stop being obsessive. Once I knew my numbers were dialed in, I could stop worrying/feeling guilty/ being confused.

At least, try weighing out the little stuff you use a lot for a couple of weeks. It will make you a better eyeballer. I would caution against not logging cooking oil, it is calorie dense and I've seen plenty of people use a ton more oil than they think. Good luck!

LearningToFly13

If you're eating it, I'd measure/weigh it. And you really should be measuring your cooking oils as they can be highly calorific ...

cmriverside

When I first started I was 70 pounds overweight. I was able to lose by just guesstimating, not weighing stuff. BUT I did use cups and measuring spoons.

When I got closer to my goal it became important for me to get much more accurate and that's when I bought a food scale to lose the last 25 pounds. I needed it. Otherwise I would tend to under-eat to make sure I was leaving a buffer for my errors. Then a couple days later I'd suddenly be really hungry and have a binge of sorts. I needed to dial it in so I would stop having those frequent 2800 calorie days.

I'd say especially weight things like cereal, crackers, pretzels, breads (anything made with wheat/very calorie dense) and weigh meats so you are sure you are getting the right numbers. Weigh or measure and log all oils, dressings with oil, nuts, cheese, yogurt. They are calorie-dense foods and you can really go in the ditch quickly if you don't have a handle on those things.

azkabanned

Not using oil at all in cooking helps, as well as buying individually portioned/ packaged food where you can just scan a barcode (like a box of individually packaged frozen salmon filets).

But I also struggle with exactly how many calories is in a steak without a kitchen scale.

crb426

I agree with some of the posters above: if you accurately count every little thing for a while (like 4-6 months) you will start to be able to estimate better. Like "ahh, I'll add an extra 100 calories to my meal because of all that ketchup"... etc.