question about entering calorie counts... is it bad to....

iamthewalrus871

OK, I have a quick question, is it bad to OVER enter the food?? I do that alot, sometimes when I am out and I am not sure exactly how much is there, and sometimes when I eat like a serving and a half....for example lets say ilke this morning, i had toast with butter, I entered the bread ( using barcode scanner) and changed the amount to 2 servings cause I had 2 pieces. and on the butter I entered it ( with barcode scanner) and changed the servings to 2 but I really only had a serving and a half MAYBE...I measured it out (1 tbs is a serving) used 1 and not quiet half the other. but I still put it down as 2 servings. MY thought is, that if I do this, it will show that I have already consumed a little more than I actually have and keep me from going over later in the day like I have done before,BUT I dont know if this is really helping me or hurting me??? and I do it on alot of things not just something as small as butter, like the other night, I ate 2 tacos but a "serving" was 3, and I kept it as a full serving. I am a complete newbie when it comes to all this, and I want to get the best use of this that I can, I REALLY REALLY want to change! I want to get not SKINNY persay, but HEalthy! and if I get skinny along the way then BONOUS! LOL

Thanks so much for your help

~Lisa~

yoghurtand

I don't think it's bad unless it's literally adding on hundreds of calories to your intake that were never there. I've heard that (and I have no idea if this is accurate but it makes me paranoid) that the calorie information on the back of packaging is allowed to be up to 10% wrong. Therefore, overestimating a little (when so many of us underestimate in the first place) can't be that much of a bad thing.

As long as you feel well in yourself and keep losing, I say go for it!

thebunnies

if i'm not sure, i "over-estimate", just to cover any extra cals.. if i measure, which means i'm sure.. i don't.

pelleld

Personally I try to be as accurate as possible and not over or under estimate. For me it makes it more likely that I'll stay within my allotment. Otherwsie its so easy to say "well I can eat a bit of this because I over-estimated earlier" without really knowing how much you're consuming. I say keep it as accurate as possible to keep yourself accountable and to really KNOW just what you're consuming and how much.

aliciadpo

Personally I try to be as accurate as possible and not over or under estimate. For me it makes it more likely that I'll stay within my allotment. Otherwsie its so easy to say "well I can eat a bit of this because I over-estimated earlier" without really knowing how much you're consuming. I say keep it as accurate as possible to keep yourself accountable and to really KNOW just what you're consuming and how much.

Agree with this. I often do this and I need to stop because then I'll think to myself, "well I have a few extra calories" - which can cause you to go over/under and basically just lying to yourself either way. I think calculating in the most accurate way possible is all a part of being accountable.

fishburp

Yes, over-estimating sounds good. There is no way a broad calorie count that companies make, can be correct. As long as it's within a reasonable range (2 servings instead of 1.5 sounds reasonable).

iamthewalrus871

OK thanks everyone!

christine24t

Personally I try to be as accurate as possible and not over or under estimate. For me it makes it more likely that I'll stay within my allotment. Otherwsie its so easy to say "well I can eat a bit of this because I over-estimated earlier" without really knowing how much you're consuming. I say keep it as accurate as possible to keep yourself accountable and to really KNOW just what you're consuming and how much.

Took the words out of my mouth! Get a calculator out and figure out how much you ate and log it.