how do you know????

butterfly25

what your eating is the right calories??
i know they have alot of things on the food log..but how do you know if they are true to the calorie intake??

i feel like i gain so much back,but i'm still at my goal weight..my belly is so bloated and i dont like it:mad:

firedragon064

I don't count calorie much. The carb grams on MFP is lower than the actual food.

Bloated: too much fiber or too much sodium?... I would drink more water to see the bloated will go away tomorrow.

Diana224

There are foods that I eat sometimes and I have no clue what the calories are.
Portillo's has a yummy salad I love. Pecan chicken...there is one listed here, but I have no clue where those numbers came from because no where on the internet can I find Portillo's advertising the correct nutritional info...

I think this hurts me more than anything because I can only eat frozen food or "posted nutritional food" for so long...

When I guess I tend to take each ingredient and add their nutritional info together and hope that the serving is correct and that I know what I'm doing lol. After a few weeks of this I feel like I'm off track, maybe because I don't know exact amounts.

I plan to check back, maybe other people have better ways of handling this.

guidosgal

I wondered that to and found you have to Check check and recheck( example togos taco salad is listed for 35o calories and then listed at over 1000 well its over 1000) I find unless i can read the nutrition info on the package myself or can see it at a resterant info sheet then I will make it myself and track it that way. Once you get a few meals that work then you always have something to fall back on :bigsmile:

BrendaLee

When you add something to your food log, check to see that the nutrional info on the package matches up. There are lots of entries in the database that aren't correct, or are from other countries. If it's fast food or something that you don't have nutritional info. at your fingertips, you can check on the company's website.

Demetria

I started an excel sheet for each recipe. I put in each ingredient, if it has a label I use those numbers, if it is a veggie, then I look it up on mfp and calorieking.com. Then I put in formulas so at the end of each column it adds up each one, say calories for all of the ingredients, then in another cell I put a formula for it to divide that amount by 4, 6 or 8 servings. I sort of guess at how much a serving is. It's a little hard to try and measure what is in the pan after it is cooked. I use still use a 1 cup measure to know exactly how much I am serving myself. So far it has been working, I have been losing 1-2lbs a week, with this system, exercising consistently, keeping track of everything else I am eating and doing.

I also use the smaller salad plates for whatever I am eating, that way the plate looks more filled, I try to measure everything I eat like peanut butter, mayo and such so I know for sure how much I am eating of it. I think my eyes are too big for my stomach, lol. I only eat one plate, never seconds, I try if at all possible to sit for there for at least 20min total so that my tummy has enough time to let me know that yes, I am full.

hth,
Demetria

I found portillo's online and they do not have nutrition info available. I would email them and request it.

stormieweather

I use whatever is entered that matches exactly the product label. If it is generic, I will check it against nutritiondata.com.

The carbs on MFP aren't lower than actual, it's just that the items in the database are mostly user-created, thus subject to numerous errors in judgment/estimates. Always double check against the label or another reputable site.

lessertess

I think you have to accept that no matter what, all of these numbers are just estimates and adjust accordingly. This is not an exact science.

I always leave a margin for error. If I'm eating out I get as close as I can by either adding the individual ingredients or by picking something close. For example, a locally owned restaurant may have a particular salad that isn't listed but a similar one is listed for a chain. I just use those numbers.


The same goes for exercise calories. We're just working off estimates.

My rule of thumb for food is if it appears to be to good to be true, add calories. For exercise I do the opposite. If the number seems high, I subtract calories.