Anyone overestimate their food?

mrsamanda86

So I recently just got a food scale and turns out I have been eating LESS than what I thought I was! How great is that? I get MORE food(meats especially, yay!). Am I like the only person this happened to when they actually started paying attention and trying to eat healthy? Usually it's underestimating I feel like...

SemperAnticus1643

I would like to think I do. But I probably don't. That's one of my biggest "fears" about going out to eat or eating what my husband cooks. I'm not sure on the calorie intake.

mrsamanda86

My husband used to LOVE adding massive amounts of cheese and butter to things even though he knew I was trying to eat better.. GRRR! He's skinny and has a problem putting on any kind of weight lol so not fair! Luckily he's gotten better. I need to buy butter also, I think it's been like a month since we even had any in the house

sepulchura

I deliberately try to overestimate how much of a portion I take and often find out I was very accurate. I think the potential to shift reality a bit is there for most of us and you just learn your own tendencies and then adjust.

ldrosophila

yeah i like to overestimate my calories

kyleekay10

So I recently just got a food scale and turns out I have been eating LESS than what I thought I was! How great is that? I get MORE food(meats especially, yay!). Am I like the only person this happened to when they actually started paying attention and trying to eat healthy? Usually it's underestimating I feel like...

Before I got my food scale, I was actually eating about 1/2 a serving pasta every time instead of a full serving. I was super excited when I found out I could actually eat more than I had been.

cactusyogi

I overestimate mine only slightly, just to make sure! I don't do it to the point that I'm not eating enough though.

magerum

You're in the minority.

Ideabaker

When in doubt, I round up in calorie counting. For instance, if I'm not sure if something is a half cup or 1/3 cup, I put in the half cup calorie count.

This discussion does make me want to get a food scale... just in case I'm cheating myself out of food, lol!

theoriginaljayne

I don't own a food scale (being a college student on a meal plan, it would be pretty difficult for me to use one), so I overestimate all of my portion sizes. If I think I'm eating a cup of cottage cheese, I log it as a cup and a half. If I'm eating a slice of pizza, I choose the database entry with the most calories. It may not be the most accurate method, but my weight's been doing just what I want it to do, so I'm satisfied.

bwogilvie

You're in the minority.

^This. Most people underestimate calories consumed, even when they think they're being scrupulous. Go to pubmed.org and search for doubly labeled water for some research on the subject.

bwogilvie

It may not be the most accurate method, but my weight's been doing just what I want it to do, so I'm satisfied.

This is a key insight. MFP's calorie counting, exercise estimates, etc. are *tools* for achieving your goals. Even the most accurate estimate of calories consumed and burned is just that: an estimate.

You need to compare those estimates with actual results. If the results are OK, that's great! If they disappoint you, you can either obsess about where you went wrong with your estimates, or just add a fudge factor into the estimates (such as adding 10% to your calories eaten estimates, or subtracting 25% from your exercise calories). The fudge factor is a lot less stressful in the long run, and just as successful as long as you're honest about comparing estimates with results.

tx_mom72

I was eating less than I could have before I got my food scale. As to the databases on here? I read labels. If I don't find a match then I put my own in. Way too many bad entries on here. Exercise database? Forget it. I just where my heart rate monitor. I update the info every 10 lbs & don't eat them all back. And if I have to have an extra pan on the stove to measure & cook my stuff? Oh well, I've been washing dishes for years so a few more dishes won't kill me.

mrsamanda86

I was eating less than I could have before I got my food scale. As to the databases on here? I read labels. If I don't find a match then I put my own in. Way too many bad entries on here. Exercise database? Forget it. I just where my heart rate monitor. I update the info every 10 lbs & don't eat them all back. And if I have to have an extra pan on the stove to measure & cook my stuff? Oh well, I've been washing dishes for years so a few more dishes won't kill me.

I have noticed some of the foods on MFP to be nowhere close to real. Usually if I can then I will google and find something that seems more accrate, or if eating out then I just ick a calorie intake for tat meal that sounds about right/a little high. The scale has been really good to have though, some things I'm spot on about but some I was getting like half of what I was thinking. It's also encouraged me to make better choices a bit too. I'm big on processed foods normally, just because they are easy. It's crazy ow much more food you can eat when you aren't getting prepackaged meals. I do still have a lot of lean cuisines so I'll use them until they are gone, but after that I think I will just tell myself to stop acting like I'm so busy that I can't prepare a real Panini myself I'm a SAHM, I'm NOT that busy lol

mrsamanda86

So I recently just got a food scale and turns out I have been eating LESS than what I thought I was! How great is that? I get MORE food(meats especially, yay!). Am I like the only person this happened to when they actually started paying attention and trying to eat healthy? Usually it's underestimating I feel like...

Before I got my food scale, I was actually eating about 1/2 a serving pasta every time instead of a full serving. I was super excited when I found out I could actually eat more than I had been.

That's exciting! lol I haven't done pasta yet but I'm pretty nervous for that, I love pasta and will be VERY sad if I find out I'm really eating like three servings!

helenrosemay

I used to weigh all my food, but now I just guess, sometimes it could be over, sometimes under. I want to learn about portion size/control without having to weigh everything all the time, especially whey I start to maintain. Whether I'm guessing too high or low, I'm losing and losing consistently, so I'm happy with the results.

mrsamanda86

You're in the minority.

^This. Most people underestimate calories consumed, even when they think they're being scrupulous. Go to pubmed.org and search for doubly labeled water for some research on the subject.

I took a quick look, and while they all sound way smarter than I am, it was pretty interesting. I'll have to read more, but very good read. Thanks

mrsamanda86

I used to weigh all my food, but now I just guess, sometimes it could be over, sometimes under. I want to learn about portion size/control without having to weigh everything all the time, especially whey I start to maintain. Whether I'm guessing too high or low, I'm losing and losing consistently, so I'm happy with the results.

That's great that it's working for you. I got the scale more just to see how I've been doing. The weight has been coming off pretty well so I wasn't worried that I was eating way too much or anything, was just curious. I don't plan on weighing my food forever, just wanted to get better at knowing what a portion of everything I eat actually looks like. I guesstimated beforehand, and am pretty good, but it's fun to see what I was good on and what I might have been eating too much/too little of. Meat is important for me, I wasn't eating enough and that's where I get most of my protein intake from so I don't want to be slacking off there.

Confuzzled4ever

yep. Veggies i'm pretty good with the guessing. Meats I over guessed by a lot. it's better then underestimating.

Confuzzled4ever

I was eating less than I could have before I got my food scale. As to the databases on here? I read labels. If I don't find a match then I put my own in. Way too many bad entries on here. Exercise database? Forget it. I just where my heart rate monitor. I update the info every 10 lbs & don't eat them all back. And if I have to have an extra pan on the stove to measure & cook my stuff? Oh well, I've been washing dishes for years so a few more dishes won't kill me.

that's the next thing I want. the calorie counter thing. Just because i think it's cool. I don't have one and haven't needed one. But sometimes you just want things. LOL

ChrisS30V

When I bought a scale, I found out that I had the opposite problem. I had been severely underestimating my portion sizes and caloric intake. And no, not by just a little bit that wouldn't matter, either. On some things it could result in a difference of 200-300 calories at every meal. Over the course of a typical day that adds up!

One of the more humorous things I've noticed since getting a food scale is how pitifully small and calorie-dense portions of certain desserts are. They're much smaller than I would have eaten before I bought the scale.

seltzermint555

Yes, I overestimate pretty often. Especially with shredded cheese. I always thought I was eating 1 oz and was having less than 1/2 oz on my lunch. That was a nice shock. Also I'm pretty good at knowing what a Tbsp, 1/2 Tbsp looks like but for some reason imagine a tsp is practically nothing, when it's actually a decent amount.

cwolfman13

Most people underestimate their intake when they're just guestimating portions without weighing or measuring...there have been numerous studies to this effect. On average, people underestimate by as much as 20 - 30% when they're just eye balling it. It's one of the reasons that "it just doesn't work" for so many people here...they're underestimating they're intake and think they're at a deficit when in reality they consuming far more calories than they think they are.

Francl27

I used to overestimate, before I got a scale (my second month or something). Now I'm getting better at it (I try and guess how much it is before I weigh it) but sometimes I'm still way off, like when I tried to pick 4oz of cooked salmon the other day... it's actually pretty tiny.

mrsamanda86

Most people underestimate their intake when they're just guestimating portions without weighing or measuring...there have been numerous studies to this effect. On average, people underestimate by as much as 20 - 30% when they're just eye balling it. It's one of the reasons that "it just doesn't work" for so many people here...they're underestimating they're intake and think they're at a deficit when in reality they consuming far more calories than they think they are.

That's what I've noticed. I'm kind of shocked at how spot on or under my foods are. Obviously, when I wasn't paying attention my portion sizes were WAY bigger, but I knew they were and just didn't care enough. It's good to know that I'm not underestimating though now that I do actually care.