How to determine calories in my food?

MatrixGravity
MatrixGravity Posts: 55
in Food and Nutrition
The food that I purchase from the Supermarket doesn't tell me how many calories there are in these meals. I was hoping somebody could provide a rough estimate as to how many calories are contained in each individual dish. Please help me figure it out. Insight would be greatly appreciated. I'm tired of guessing calories. Please help me determine some ideal estimates. I'm going to be eating these meals for the next few months and I really want to be able to know how much calories I'm consuming! Thanks!~

Wings

http://i.imgur.com/9ixxHXp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Oc54IJ0.jpg

Roasted Potatoes

http://i.imgur.com/46KNiSu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xihvYHd.jpg

Pasta

http://i.imgur.com/tQhFX00.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0IfX1PU.jpg

Spaghetti & Meatballs

http://i.imgur.com/5t6pvAA.jpg
Cucumber Salad

http://i.imgur.com/em9pemU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/907BBNr.jpg

Roast Beef Wrap w/ side of Cole Slaw

http://i.imgur.com/3b0dzhZ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IriK5T6.jpg

Replies

  • MatrixGravity
    MatrixGravity Posts: 55
    Any estimates would be appreciated~
  • CleaverWard
    CleaverWard Posts: 21
    Weigh them in grams. Go to Wolfram Alpha or Nutrient Data and find the highest calorie estimate. Use that. Or start cooking your own food.

    That is:

    Take the skin and meet off the bone. (Don't want to weigh the bone)

    Weigh it on a food scale.

    Say it comes up to 200 grams

    Use Wolfram Alpha. http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=calories+in+200+grams+fried+chicken+wings

    Where it says "average result" go to show details and use the highest result.

    You don't want to underestimate at all. If I can't measure something before I eat it, I log twice as much as I think I ate.

    The better option, only by a little, would be to buy them bagged from the frozen section so you can portion them out and it'll tell you what you are eating. Again, get a food scale.

    To be honest though, you should give that kind of stuff up to some extent. If you're going to lose weight, you've got to make some sacrifices.
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
    If I could accurately guess calories and nutrition based on photographs, I would have never gotten fat in the first place.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Wings - are these breaded & deep fried, are they covered in sauce?......use KFC or some other chain

    Roasted Potatoes - I'm assuming potatoes, oil & seasoning......measure the portion of potatoes.....add add a TBL (or so of fat) to your diary

    Spaghetti & Meatballs - this is impossible. The meatballs could be a very high-fat meat....or a lean meat. The sauce could be high fat (or low fat)....with olive oil and/or paramesan cheese.....weigh it & check out Stouffer's (red box).......use that as a "guide"...this would be a really rough estimate.

    Roast Beef Wrap w/ side of Cole Slaw - the problem with meats.....again.....high fat or low fat. The wrap shouldn't be too hard....just guesstimate it's size. I'm assuming there is some dressing added?.............The cole slaw................depends upon the dressing (high fat....I assume)....but maybe not.....KFC, Long John Silver's have coleslaw as sides.....estimate the size.

    The problem with lots of "guesstimations".....your not really figuring stuff out. I'm terrible at eyeballing sizes .....& I cook.
  • MatrixGravity
    MatrixGravity Posts: 55
    If I could accurately guess calories and nutrition based on photographs, I would have never gotten fat in the first place.

    So what do you suggest I do?
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
    Bring your own lunch, or since you're obviously in a grocery store, buy something with a label you can count and leave the deli department.
  • 1stday13
    1stday13 Posts: 433 Member
    Joke right???? :noway:
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    The only way around this is to either start buying food that's packaged with a nutrition label or buy the ingredients and make these foods yourself at home so you can know what type of meat, sauce, oils, etc are used.
  • MatrixGravity
    MatrixGravity Posts: 55
    The only way around this is to either start buying food that's packaged with a nutrition label or buy the ingredients and make these foods yourself at home so you can know what type of meat, sauce, oils, etc are used.

    That makes sense. Thanks for the advice. I'll check around my local supermarkets and try to find some food with nutrition labels. I guess that's the only way I'll really know how much calories I'm eating. Otherwise I'm just stuck guessing and that's not an ideal way at all for me..
  • MatrixGravity
    MatrixGravity Posts: 55
    Joke right???? :noway:

    No.
  • MatrixGravity
    MatrixGravity Posts: 55
    Bump for more advice?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Bump for more advice?

    You already got good advice............

    1. Buy food with labels....this allows you to see portion size, protein, fat, carbs (other nutrients)....and best of all ACTUAL calories. How will you maintain a weight loss if you have not learned any of this?

    2. Make your own food...measure ingredients & enter them into MFP...........measuring is portion control (again).....this is the #1 reason Americans are obese.

    3. Eat at chain restaurants & look up all your food from their websites.

    As another poster said .......if I were able to accurately "guesstimate" what I'm eating.........I would not be fat. Yes- logging food is a hassle.......it gets easier as you've built up a personal database......but logging helps you figure out where you've gone wrong.....and what improvements you can make.

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