Who really counts the BLTs?

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Replies

  • sargessexyone
    sargessexyone Posts: 494 Member
    You should definitely invest in a scale and start weighing. I was so surprised at how inaccurate my previous cup measurements and guesstimates were.

    As far as BLTs, I don't do that too much anymore. I do taste a soup or sauce when cooking and I generally don't log it unless it is something calorie dense. One 1/2 spoonful of broth based soup for tasting can't be more than 1 or 2 calories. If it was something calorie dense, I may serve myself a very slight amount less than a serving size to make up for it and just log it as a serving.

    I have a scale. I just need to get in the habit of using it. My BLTs aren't as bad as they used to be but that is a good idea about a slightly smaller portion for a more calorie dense tasting.
  • whitehusky3
    whitehusky3 Posts: 9
    Sargessexyone, have you ever heard the quote, "Don't trust a skinny chef"? There's a reason for that. A skinny chef tends to not taste the food they're serving others, so they don't know for sure if the taste is where it should be. Often, it isn't (hence the quote). An overweight chef samples the food as they're cooking to ensure it's turning out correctly. All those BLTs they take add up quite a bit, and on top of their regular meals, they've consumed more calories throughout the day than they should. That's why they are overweight.

    So while many of us don't sample our food as often as a professional chef might (or should), they DO add up if you're not counting them.
  • crlyxx
    crlyxx Posts: 186 Member
    I generally don't count them, because I know that they rarely add up past 200 calories and being a college student, I walk around campus all the time, probably burning off much of that.
  • sargessexyone
    sargessexyone Posts: 494 Member
    For those of you still following this post, I am happy to report I logged my BLT yesterday. I for some reason can not make popcorn for someone without taking a handful. Yesterday when I did it I actually logged it and today I managed to not take any at all. Yay me!

    I knew this was something I needed to work on which is why I originally wrote this post. I know I will never be perfect at it but if I can get just even a little bit better I'll be in good shape.

    Thanks to all for advice and tips.
  • HelloSweetie81
    HelloSweetie81 Posts: 55 Member
    I made cupcakes for my kid's birthday last week, and ate a spoonful of frosting before I even realized what I was doing. 140 calories in that spoonful! So, yeah, I definitely count that stuff.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    I don't count calories at all.

    And the kind of thought pattern that even would be debating about the "BLTs" is a prime example why. I absolutely refuse to have that kind of relationship with food anymore. Been there, done that, so glad it's in the past.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,123 Member
    This is why when I go to the deli.... and they cut the first slice ("is this thick enough? would you like a sample?") I ALWAYS say no. I don't take a cube of melon/strawberry/cheese/whatever samples are scattered throughout the store either. Granted, I know that the fruit is a miniscule amount to account for... but I always say "no thank you... its too hard to track the calories" and go on my merry way.
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
    When I was losing I did. Now I'm in maintenance so I don't. That's really the only thing that I've let slide a little since switching over. I just set my calorie goal a little below maintenance to cover the margin of error. So far it's working.

    ^this is exactly what I was going to say.
  • yumbinkbugonrox
    yumbinkbugonrox Posts: 61 Member
    Depending on how many bites I have, I'll delete that amount from whatever my serving is, so if I'm having a cup of rice and I had two teaspoons to taste it (to make sure it was cooked all the way through), I'll deduct from my plate.

    Cleaning up, for me, seems to be hardest...so I'll just estimate and like not eat a full desert or something.
  • str8bowbabe
    str8bowbabe Posts: 712 Member
    I can honestly say that since I started eating small meals throughout the day...I do not have many BLT's at all...so no I do not track them. I am not saying I DONT WANT TO...I just remind myself I am on a mission...and the blastoff date is only 6 months away!!!!
  • mscrystallee
    mscrystallee Posts: 62 Member
    When baking I have been known to eat a handful of Chocolate Chips or some of the batter, I count it..Silly but those add up.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    We ALL do it and I will have a hard time believing anyone who says they don't. BLTs are the Bites, Licks and Tastes we take through out the day but do you really track them?

    Mothers cleaning up after their children. There's two cheetos left in the bag, do you eat them? If so, do you bust out the scale to see how many calories they are? Scrambled eggs, chicken nuggets? There's one or two bites left, what mother out there has NEVER cleaned their childs plate?

    Anyone making a sandwich? Who hasn't gotten peanut butter, mayonnaise, etc on their fingers and then licked it off? Making some of those healthy cookies or muffins? Most people will use their fingers to scrape the dough/batter into the pan. Do you risk making a mess and losing all that goodness to just to make sure you count all those calories?

    For all the chefs/cooks out there. We are taught to always taste your food so do you stop and weigh the taste of gravy, chili, the low fat alfredo sauce that you found a great recipe for and possibly burn something because you left the stove long enough to see how many calories a slurp of soup is?

    So tell me honestly, who really counts the BLTs and how do you do it?

    I think you are wrong! We don't ALL do it, because there are cultural and personal differences between people. I don't log BLTs, because I don't do them......There are whole cultures where people don't eat PB and hardly ever bake cookies....just two examples.....apart from that I log everything I put in my mouth.....including Halls cough drops which are anywhere from 15-25 calories for one, or a teaspoon of Sri Racha sauce, which at the end of the day makes all those little extra things add up.
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
    I'm not really a nibbler. 1.) I don't have kids. 2.) We don't keep many foods in the house that can be nibbled (on purpose).

    That being said, I do LOVE to cook. Typically, when I am making dinner, I do lots of nibbling on ingredients. When I add the recipes to MFP, if I had 1 serving - I'll typically type in 1.15 servings, or something or that nature, if there has been nibbling to account for that.
  • Foodiethinking
    Foodiethinking Posts: 240 Member
    Let's be real. The errors (uncertainties) in your big calorie items are bigger than all the calories in gum, diet drinks, many condiments, most green veggies, your BLTs, etc. Yes, think about everything you put in your mouth before you put it there, but don't waste your life's precious time counting senselessly. We all have lives to live, so let's live them. I've often just added up the big ticket items and then added a few hundred calories for miscellaneous. That's only dangerous if you find yourself stuffing yourself with the miscellaneous stuff. Good luck to you!
  • Blacklance36
    Blacklance36 Posts: 755 Member
    I ate one little licorice nib on Monday and counted it, it was 15 calories.

    I count everything as little nibbles here and there can really add up.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    I ate one little licorice nib on Monday and counted it, it was 15 calories.

    I count everything as little nibbles here and there can really add up.

    I didn't log 2 Tic Tacs that I ate yesterday. But, I live on the edge like that.
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    That's how I gained the weight in the first place. Avoiding the BLT's (thanks for giving them a name) is a focus.
  • thepezzle
    thepezzle Posts: 40 Member
    I log most of them if I can. Even if I dont have a calorie value it makes me conscious of it.
  • lovernium14
    lovernium14 Posts: 1
    I stopped eating the BLTS when I started logging. For me, that is part of the incentive. If I eat that nugget, I've got to write it down. I'm glad I have a dog to give them to.
  • Omanya
    Omanya Posts: 50
    I don't write down truly random things because I don't have enough of an opportunity to eat them for them to add up. However, I do write down intentional tastes; for example, today I ate 1 T of Biscotti cookie spread, because I was craving the taste, and recorded 1.5 T because I'm sure it was over one. Another example is that I snacked on 10 g of toasted sesame seeds and recorded that.

    So I suppose you could say that I work intentional BLT's into my deficit.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,207 Member
    I remember back in my WW days a woman mentioned she didn't track her BLTs (cleaning up after the kids etc, like OP said) and the leader suggested that she get a Ziploc bag and just for ONE day, popped every BLT into the bag instead of her mouth. The next week, the same woman was back, absolutely HORRIFIED at the amount of BLTs she had been having and not tracking!

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