Whenever I eat a packaged food, should I trust the calorie count?

gpanda103
gpanda103 Posts: 189 Member
in Food and Nutrition
For example, I eat a lot of smart cakes. The label says 76 calories. However, when you 449 it out, it comes out to a higher number. Which number should I track?

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    You should weigh it in grams, and log that number.

    I don’t know what it means to 449 it out.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    I don’t know what a smart cake is (can you get it to switch the lights on or lock the doors? 😂) or what ‘449 it out’ means, 🤷‍♀️

    I’m curious though and hope the OP returns to the thread!
  • thelastnightingale
    thelastnightingale Posts: 725 Member
    I don't understand the question entirely, but my answer is, it depends.

    If the item is relatively low calorie and the max variation is not going to result in much of a difference, I'm more inclined to take the label. If it's higher calorie, or I know the portion size lies (sliced bread is particularly bad for this!), I'll take the time to weigh.

    I'm currently keeping a good deficit, so I know I have a little bit of a buffer. If I was attempting to eat up to maintenance or, say, only 200 calories under, then the detail would matter a lot more.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    4-4-9 is probably the macros.


    Log it after weighing it in grams.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    edited February 2021
    The macros are often wrong on the logging. That's always going to be a problem - but for weight management it's about calories...so just get the calories off the label.

    There are a few threads recently about why this happens if you look for "Macros" thread titles.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    IMO...don't let perfect be the enemy of good or good enough. None of this is exact science.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    edited February 2021
    I have not once weighed any pre packaged and pre portioned food in the four years I have been eating to lose weight. I have always lost weight as expected when I have been logging and aiming for a deficit. If I stopped doing so I'd consider weighing them.

    I suppose I don't eat that much pre packaged food compared to some. I make most meals from scratch but buy the odd pizza or chicken kievs for a quick stick it in the oven meal. I do eat pre packaged snacks more frequently though.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    i never have but dont really eat a lot of them, anyway.
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  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    scarlett_k wrote: »
    I have not once weighed any pre packaged and pre portioned food in the four years I have been eating to lose weight. I have always lost weight as expected when I have been logging and aiming for a deficit. If I stopped doing so I'd consider weighing them.

    This. I also don't eat all that much prepackaged stuff, so maybe that's why it seemed unlikely to matter, but I always figured it would even out.
  • vanmep
    vanmep Posts: 410 Member
    Just be careful that you are paying attention to the details on the label. I have had times where the serving is 1/3 of the cookie or 1/2 a slice of bread.
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