Calorie Counting 101

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  • pinkpetals84
    pinkpetals84 Posts: 11 Member
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    I believe that fitness pal should be used as guidance. I've learned to make healthier and conscientious choices. There's no perfect way to track our food intake. If for some of you this is a lifestyle journey, becoming too systematic over what you ingest could lead to failure. We should view food as fuel instead of a scientific ritual. This is coming from someone who has lost 20 in one month. What works for some will not apply to every individual. The key is maintaining a heathy balance and in using self control. One of the things that I tend to do is to add extra calories to my meal entry. That way I say myself from over analyzing and developing an OCD.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    thejoe06 wrote: »
    I think I need some help guys. I just started p90x and the book is saying I should be taking in around 2200-2500 calories a day. I may be way off with the calculation but if I'm not I just physically don't think I can eat that much in a day. I've been trying for a few days... does this calorie intake sound right? I am 6'2, 215lbs if that helps.

    Thanks for any help!
    If your goal is to lose weight, that seems like a reasonable starting point. You may need to decrease it a little as time goes on. I am 6'1 around 210 at the moment and I'll eat 25-2700 calories when I start my cutting phase in a month or two. That is not really all that much food. I would say to maintain a weight of 215, you'd have had to have been eating that much or more for quite some time. Fattier meats, ice cream, peanut butter, avocado, nuts, whole milk, and many other foods all have a fair amount of calories compared to how full they make you.
    pinkpetals84 wrote: »
    I believe that fitness pal should be used as guidance. I've learned to make healthier and conscientious choices. There's no perfect way to track our food intake. If for some of you this is a lifestyle journey, becoming too systematic over what you ingest could lead to failure. We should view food as fuel instead of a scientific ritual. This is coming from someone who has lost 20 in one month. What works for some will not apply to every individual. The key is maintaining a heathy balance and in using self control. One of the things that I tend to do is to add extra calories to my meal entry. That way I say myself from over analyzing and developing an OCD.
    This is a guide for calorie counting. I agree that closely monitoring calorie counting, weighing foods to the gram, etc, might not be best for everyone. This thread is dedicated to people who want to give that route a try. It works wonder for plenty of people. Most of the people who find success with calorie counting cannot find a healthy balance without it. Self control is needed whether you calorie count or not. If your goals are on the extreme side, you may find that you will be unable to achieve them without strict calorie counting (I know I could never achieve my personal goals by just trying to have balance). Also, I don't see the point of arbitrarily adding calories to a meal. If you are taking the trouble to add everything into MFP in the first place, take the extra 2 seconds to weigh everything. Then you don't need to extra calories to a meal. I only add calories when I am fairly certain I have underestimated for one reason or another. This is usually when eating at a restaurant.
  • chasitym_74
    chasitym_74 Posts: 6 Member
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    Very interesting and helpful...loved reading it...thank u!!
  • isaacv01
    isaacv01 Posts: 3 Member
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    Help me in this one. I am a chef and my calorie count, I know the weight, measurement and the food I eat, but I have a problem. I want to lose the last few pounds and have my abs showing, but I'm stocked. According to this app I need to have a deficit of 500 calories a day and nothing over a 1000. The problem is I am very active. My Fit Bit last night marked me I burnt around 4200 calories, after a 12 hr shift and almost 2 hour of soccer, How can I fit almost 3500 calories on my day on eating clean, I mean that's a lot of freaking food. So any help
  • jahmanrv
    jahmanrv Posts: 102 Member
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    I don't weight to the gram, or weigh all the time, but I do record all my meals, every single bit of them. To make up for not weighing, I always overestimate. I also use things like my palm of my hand to measure out meats, or even pasta. At least then I know I'm not going way over by just eyeing something. Besides logging here, I also write down as in old fashion journal what I eat. It just makes me more accountable I feel.
  • bob15rlv
    bob15rlv Posts: 3 Member
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    livinatthegym wrote: »
    I agree. Calories listed anywhere cannot be taken as gospel. I'd also like to mention (and I'll keep it brief), that the same goes for calories burned. There are too many intangibles that cannot be accounted for. One of my favorite examples is form. New runners, especially those who are overweight, will often bounce while they walk/ run at speeds they are not used to. They also will often sway from side to side. An experienced runner's form will be tight with deliberate movements. The inexperienced runner with bad form (if running at the same pace) will burn more calories from their form alone. A machine or exercise expert cannot accurately assess your form during every workout. A person could do the same exercise (say running at 5mph on a 5 degree incline) every day for a week and have used varying amounts of energy. This is why I never eat back calories I burn.

  • bob15rlv
    bob15rlv Posts: 3 Member
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    "I never eat back calories I burn." This is great advice and so simple, I think even I can remember that.
    I also come the challenge from the other direction - if I know I'm eating out in the evening, I'll pay-it-forward by burning more calories in the daytime. I appreciate that's not ideal or scientific, but life's for living, not counting calories.
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
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    isaacv01 wrote: »
    ...How can I fit almost 3500 calories on my day on eating clean, I mean that's a lot of freaking food. So any help

    Before anyone answers with logical things like a large bagel for breakfast along with bacon and eggs, or a T-bone steak cooked in 3 tablespoons butter for supper, I think you need to clarify if by "eating clean" you mean you will only eat certain things cooked certain ways and if you are cutting out some food groups because you think you must.

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  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    jahmanrv wrote: »
    I don't weight to the gram, or weigh all the time, but I do record all my meals, every single bit of them. To make up for not weighing, I always overestimate. I also use things like my palm of my hand to measure out meats, or even pasta. At least then I know I'm not going way over by just eyeing something. Besides logging here, I also write down as in old fashion journal what I eat. It just makes me more accountable I feel.
    I don't care for that much of a margin of error. If I'm going to go through all the trouble of tracking 100% of what I eat, I'm going to take the extra 3 seconds and weigh my portions. Honestly I don't see how weighing something takes any longer than comparing it to my palm. Too much overestimation can lead you to consuming fewer calories then you want to. This isn't always a good idea either. I'm a much bigger fan of just being accurate.
    bob15rlv wrote: »
    "I never eat back calories I burn." This is great advice and so simple, I think even I can remember that.
    I also come the challenge from the other direction - if I know I'm eating out in the evening, I'll pay-it-forward by burning more calories in the daytime. I appreciate that's not ideal or scientific, but life's for living, not counting calories.
    I would say in return for that, life is for living not doing makeup cardio. If you just want to have a day where you don't worry about calories, then don't worry about them. Doing more activity then planned is still IMO, worring about them. Breaks can be good when done infrequently. I'm all for taking a day off every now and again.
    isaacv01 wrote: »
    Help me in this one. I am a chef and my calorie count, I know the weight, measurement and the food I eat, but I have a problem. I want to lose the last few pounds and have my abs showing, but I'm stocked. According to this app I need to have a deficit of 500 calories a day and nothing over a 1000. The problem is I am very active. My Fit Bit last night marked me I burnt around 4200 calories, after a 12 hr shift and almost 2 hour of soccer, How can I fit almost 3500 calories on my day on eating clean, I mean that's a lot of freaking food. So any help
    There's quite an easy solution to this. Don't eat 100% "clean". It makes no difference. If you are struggling to eat all your calories eat something like ice cream, or a donut, or a snickers bar, or whatever high calorie food you like.

  • coconutbuNZ
    coconutbuNZ Posts: 578 Member
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    You know what? I've had a gutsful of weighing, measuring, being obsessed with weight loss! If you must,measure with your hand:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2537130/Portion-sizes.html
  • fitittowinit
    fitittowinit Posts: 1 Member
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    I have trouble with the fact I can drink soda eat a muffin and sub from subway on top of frozen meal for dinner still be under my calories day not to mention when enter my unhealthy eating lol it says if keep like that few weeks should lose 7 pounds???.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    coconutbuNZ wrote: »
    You know what? I've had a gutsful of weighing, measuring, being obsessed with weight loss! If you must,measure with your hand:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2537130/Portion-sizes.html
    that's just not accurate, and to be honest, more work to remember all that. It's not hard to put food on a scale. It takes roughly 1 or 2 seconds more to place something on a scale and hit a button than to hold something up to your palm. Who has time to remember how many "dice size pieces of cheese are in an ounce. I'd rather press a button and be accurate.

  • bamlost
    bamlost Posts: 6
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    Thanks! That was awesome!! I always wondered about meat, so frat insight there! Do you know how to weigh popcorn to know how many calories per serving?
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    bamlost wrote: »
    Thanks! That was awesome!! I always wondered about meat, so frat insight there! Do you know how to weigh popcorn to know how many calories per serving?
    It's on the package of kernels. You weigh them unpopped.
  • xxlsxpowerxx
    xxlsxpowerxx Posts: 1 Member
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    Getting a lot of great info here.
  • bamlost
    bamlost Posts: 6
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    So I weigh them u popped and count calories for 1/3 of a scoop?
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    bamlost wrote: »
    So I weigh them u popped and count calories for 1/3 of a scoop?
    The container should give you nutritional information for unpopped kernels. Weigh the amount of kernels you will use and that's add it.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    bamlost wrote: »
    So I weigh them u popped and count calories for 1/3 of a scoop?

    i eat every night 40 to 80 gram of popcorn ( this is the weight unpopped)
    40 gram of popcorn is 120 calories and is a nice big bowl of popcorn I use Orville Redenbacher's - Original Popcorn,

    And i use a butter spray and Kennels seasoning, they have lot of different taste

    Marvelous when you want to eat a couple of hundred of something ;)
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    bamlost wrote: »
    So I weigh them u popped and count calories for 1/3 of a scoop?

    i eat every night 40 to 80 gram of popcorn ( this is the weight unpopped)
    40 gram of popcorn is 120 calories and is a nice big bowl of popcorn I use Orville Redenbacher's - Original Popcorn,

    And i use a butter spray and Kennels seasoning, they have lot of different taste

    Marvelous when you want to eat a couple of hundred of something ;)
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Awesome thread, thank you for sharing all your knowledge in it! :)

    It's got me incredibly motivated and far more clear on things now! ;) I've learned SO much from you with all the questions you helped out with.

    Wanna say thanks again for your time, patience and insight. :)
    Take care and congrats on all the wonderful things you've gained back in losing the weight! <3

    Hearts <3

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