Do u count calories if it is just a bite or two?

sarabissa
sarabissa Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I love to cook! Most of the meals I cook now are healthy but 2 night I made some mashed potatoes for the family to go with healthy roast turkey. Whenever I am cooking I like to taste , seasoning ,etc do I really have to count every bite ? I didn't eat any with dinner .
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Replies

  • crzyone
    crzyone Posts: 872 Member
    Depends upon what works for you...but calories are calories....
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    It's your weight loss.

    I don't snack. I measure and weigh my foods, and eat them when they're done.
  • jennifermaffei17
    jennifermaffei17 Posts: 158
    People are right on this thread...calories are calories. You need to account for absolutely everything if you wish to lose weight. Good luck!
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I think you should but good luck with that.....I kick myself everytime I do that because now I have to figure out how much I ate of what and how many spoonfulls I had and how the heck do you even log a sample....ugggggg...lol
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
    I love to cook! Most of the meals I cook now are healthy but 2 night I made some mashed potatoes for the family to go with healthy roast turkey. Whenever I am cooking I like to taste , seasoning ,etc do I really have to count every bite ? I didn't eat any with dinner .

    I would, especially as you only have 10 lbs to lose. If you aren't really accurate, you're going to wonder why you aren't losing.

    Say you only have 5 of these bites a day. For 100 calories. If you're on a 250 calorie deficit to lose .5 pounds per week, there's nearly half your deficit wiped out!
  • kjw1031
    kjw1031 Posts: 300 Member
    It is difficult when you're cooking.

    You might try regularly staying under your calorie goal by 100 or so calories to account for 2 or 3 tastes and an occasional grape stolen from the bowl in the fridge. Uh oh! Gave myself away!
  • camelgirlmn
    camelgirlmn Posts: 226 Member
    i mark down everything i eat. from a tiny bite to a spoonful to a normal portion i want to be completely honest with myself and what i eat and what i dont eat
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
    it all depends on how many bites and tastes you take maybe add 150 extra calories on a good cooking day just to be safe or maybe more depending on what you are tasting
  • kclarkss
    kclarkss Posts: 69 Member
    I don't not if it is a small bite, a taste. I figure I put in extra exercise calories each day.
  • ang3h
    ang3h Posts: 185 Member
    I personally am not that militant. A bite of mashed potatoes isn't going to hinder your weightloss.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Yes. I find that I think I'm done and have tons of calories and then it's . . . oh yeah I had a bite of . . . and a sip of . . . and a bit of . . .

    And all of a sudden I've got an extra couple hundred calories.

    But I eat what I cook for dinner. And just had some yummy mashed potatoes.
  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
    OP- since you are eating so far under your calorie goal (according to the last 2 days where you only ate around 800), it won't matter.
  • debjae
    debjae Posts: 242
    It is amazing how many calories a bite or two can add to your waist.
  • just4nessa
    just4nessa Posts: 459 Member
    I struggle with the same issue. I love to cook and know the importance of tasting while cooking. I account for it by reducing my portion size for the meal. I agree with the previous responses; if you eat it, there are calories to be counted. That said, it is difficult to calculate "tastes" when tweaking a recipe so you just have to use good judgment. None of this is an exact science but as long as you have a reasonable deficit at the end of the day, or average for the week, a taste or two while cooking is not going to break you. If you are willing to calculate the calories per spoonful, I would suggest you log it because in the end you are only accountable to yourself. By the way, when I calculated my mashed potato recipe, it was not as bad as I'd originally thought so I ate them!
  • jamm2000
    jamm2000 Posts: 79
    In Weight Watchers these are referred to as BLTs - bites, licks and tastes. The best thing to do is refrain from doing it. I've left many bowls covered in cupcake batter to avoid the extra calories. That kind of thing would be really hard to accurately measure.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    I love to cook! Most of the meals I cook now are healthy but 2 night I made some mashed potatoes for the family to go with healthy roast turkey. Whenever I am cooking I like to taste , seasoning ,etc do I really have to count every bite ? I didn't eat any with dinner .

    I would, especially as you only have 10 lbs to lose. If you aren't really accurate, you're going to wonder why you aren't losing.

    Say you only have 5 of these bites a day. For 100 calories. If you're on a 250 calorie deficit to lose .5 pounds per week, there's nearly half your deficit wiped out!

    Nice observation. I personally have a lot to lose and I don't count things like a cracker or a few chips because my margin for error is bigger. If I come out 50 calories under for the day, I figure it balances. Plus, I'm moving constantly at work somedays and can walk a good five miles, other days I do hardly anything so for the week I figure it balances somewhere.
  • Zyphun
    Zyphun Posts: 102 Member
    For me it depends on what it is and how many 'bites' I have had that day. A taste of something I am making? Nope. A piece of a chip? Naw. A bite of chocolate cake? You betcha. I don't tend to log minor exercise either. But, I always look at the calories of what I am eating, if nothing else it's good practice.
  • grannygethealthy1111
    grannygethealthy1111 Posts: 422
    Absolutely. I do. These calories can add up QUICKLY. For example, say you are 44-years-old, 5'4" tall, and weigh 157 pounds. You "forget" and put mayonnaise on your hamburger. That is 100 calories. It would take you 25 minutes of walking at 3 mph to work off the little bit of mayonnaise. Maybe a few fries left over from the kids? More calories, more walking. A couple spoons of mashed potatoes? More calories, more walking. One could easily add 500 extra calories a day by "tasting" a little bit of this and a little bit of that while cooking.

    It is your weight loss journey and the choice is yours. :)
  • TheLongRunner
    TheLongRunner Posts: 688 Member
    Absolutely. They add up.
  • b0t23
    b0t23 Posts: 260 Member
    one bite of raw baby spinach.. probably not.

    one bite of milk chocolate or a whole spoonful of mayo, or something else high in calories per serving :) YES
  • scarlettesong
    scarlettesong Posts: 108 Member
    I did something similar tonight. I took a couple bites of my husband's mashed potatoes. I just try to make sure I'm under my calorie goal 100-300 calories to make up for those little bites.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I don't, but that's because 50 calories make little to no difference in a day for me. If I was taking a bite or two of different things all day, I'd record it.
  • MsMandy23
    MsMandy23 Posts: 13
    of course you have to count them. count everything- you dont want to cheat yourself
  • cruzcrzyMarie
    cruzcrzyMarie Posts: 251 Member
    Even though I am in maintenance, I count everything, so yes.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    I don't log a bite or two because I can't figure out how to calculate them, but I go for an extra long walk or log 10 less minutes of a bike ride.
  • KarenJean91
    KarenJean91 Posts: 283 Member
    Nope. Just gotta make sure that one bite doesn't turn into 10 :)
  • MLgarcia3
    MLgarcia3 Posts: 503
    I don't count it.. And it doesn't hinder me. Even when I was trying to lose weight.
  • Cold_Steel
    Cold_Steel Posts: 897 Member
    It is all perspective versus measurement ...

    If you are taking a bite or two of triple chocolate layered cheesecake or a few bites of potato .... a bit of a difference. The big thing is people sometimes overlook what they are snacking on or do not even realize they are snacking as much as they are...Eating the cookie dough before its baked sort of thing.


    It is your choice... it is your choice on how exact to be or not to be my suggestion though is to always input the higher average calorie count ... but that is just me its still your choice.

    The important part is consistency.
  • Mrsfreedom41
    Mrsfreedom41 Posts: 330 Member
    I count everything that passes thru my lips that is called food. Otherwise, you are cheating.:frown:
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    I personally am not that militant. A bite of mashed potatoes isn't going to hinder your weightloss.

    This. No way could I have managed to log for so long if I were militant about logging a bite of food while cooking. I would have given up ages ago.

    And, for the record, people are fooling themselves if they think everything they log is perfectly accurate. Nutrition labels in the US can legally be 20% off, above or below the stated calorie count. I do not weigh out the recipes I make to get the precise right serving, and even if I did, how do I know the raw chicken I used was precisely the same number of calories as the chicken that was tested to determine the nutrition content? Answer: I do not. Everything is an estimate.

    Obviously if your bite here and there becomes a bite all the time and an excuse to eat more than your calorie goal, your weight loss might be hindered.

    But nothing is going to be exact anyway. A bite of mashed potatoes to determine seasoning will not impact anything significantly.

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