What do you do when you have just a couple of bites?

marybethbeech

At lunch today, I ate the salmon off the top of 2 of Matt's baked salmon rolls. All in all, it had to be less than an ounce of food... It was literally two bites. How do you guys measure stuff like that in your calorie counter?

marybethbeech

That wasn't all I ate... I feel like I should point that out lol

Arienna

oops, read the question wrong! Sorry!

greeneyes82

I try to picture it as a fraction or a decimal. If it's really small, I try to break it down as to how much of that serving I ate, even if it's just like .1 or .01

marybethbeech

I try to picture it as a fraction or a decimal. If it's really small, I try to break it down as to how much of that serving I ate, even if it's just like .1 or .01

Thanks! That's what I did. It's hard when you only eat PART of a food (like the top of the roll) and then only a small portion of that. I think I may have figured out something to do, though.

jbuffan218

I log it.
Everything I put in my mouth gets logged.
When I was in weight watchers my leader called that a "BLT" bite, lick or taste.
You would be surprised how fast a bite or two here and there adds up.
Just do as the previous poster suggested think of it as a fraction of the serving.
.25 / .50 etc.
It also makes me think twice about just grabbing something if I know I'm gonna have to get on the computer and figure it all out.
Good Luck

iplayoutside19

Just like I wouldn't log wrestling with my kids, or going up and down the stairs to do laundry as excersise, I don't log food if I just took a bite of something.

parvati

i log everything....all of those 1 or 2 bites during the day can add up....i
I you aren't losing you may not know why if you have not logged it...

courtney_love2001

Sometimes I use the "misc" calories in the database. I can pretty much gauge how much I have had since I have been here for awhile, so I will just put in what I think it was.

sdirks

I also force myself to log little bites of things, like 1 peanut butter cup or 3 french fries stolen from a friend's plate. That's just my personal preference. You'll always see crazy little things in my food diary, like .3oz of cheese or 2oz of Chardonnay.

Google is my best friend. "How many calories in 1 sweet potato french fry?" etc. You may have to create a custom entry to get the calories, sugar, socium, etc. correctly entered. The annoyance is motivation not to graze, at least for me.

It's hard to force yourself to be honest, but--if you're like me--it will also show you a patern. I've learned that I always reach for sweet stuff between 3 and 6pm and I'm more likely to polish off a bottle of wine when I have dinner with certain friends. The food log helps you be more aware of your eating paterns so that you can correct unwanted bahavior in yourself. This may or may not be your style, so find what works best for you. If you religiously log your exercise, maybe you should do the same with your foods. If you're more like iplayoutside19, hyperaccountability might not be a good fit for you. Like your diet, look for the most effective balance.

cvtga

I don't log everything if its a simple taste of something, realizing at the end of the day the calorie count will be off to some degree anyway. Its just a guideline not an exact science, if you can estimate great, but I wouldn't go crazy trying to record it.

vanillagirl18

You have to log EVERYTHING!!!
For example - today at lunch I was SO thirsty - and I took ONE drink of grape juice ( i poured 2 oz into my glass) 38 CALORIES!

38 calories here and there will ADD UP OVER TIME! So will "just a bite" of things throughout the day!

I think it's important to log everything that goes into your mouth!

bettyvodine

I agree that diligence is a good idea - but where does it cross the line into obsessive behavior? I know that if I have like, 1/2 a forkful of pasta or 0.00007621 of an ounce of cheese it's rare, and if it satisfies me, even better. But I don't always record it, in the same way I don't weigh myself everyday. I've never been able to stay on a diet for a really respectable amount of time, and there's something about logging in 1/8th of a teaspoon of ice cream that makes this feel like a fad diet. I would rather be conscious of what I eat, how much, and how it makes me feel, and to think of this as a lifestyle change.

I understand what you're saying though ... I did once record eating half a jellybean...

Best of luck!!

pannellkat

I also force myself to log little bites of things, like 1 peanut butter cup or 3 french fries stolen from a friend's plate. That's just my personal preference. You'll always see crazy little things in my food diary, like .3oz of cheese or 2oz of Chardonnay.

Google is my best friend. "How many calories in 1 sweet potato french fry?" etc. You may have to create a custom entry to get the calories, sugar, socium, etc. correctly entered. The annoyance is motivation not to graze, at least for me.

It's hard to force yourself to be honest, but--if you're like me--it will also show you a patern. I've learned that I always reach for sweet stuff between 3 and 6pm and I'm more likely to polish off a bottle of wine when I have dinner with certain friends. The food log helps you be more aware of your eating paterns so that you can correct unwanted bahavior in yourself. This may or may not be your style, so find what works best for you. If you religiously log your exercise, maybe you should do the same with your foods. If you're more like iplayoutside19, hyperaccountability might not be a good fit for you. Like your diet, look for the most effective balance.

OMG I am the same way. 3 fries and it is getting logged in! And I sooo love google for that!

Heather_b1986

i log eveyrthing i eat even tho im not one for picking at food i still dont think id log a few fries or whatever cos like a previous poster said i dont log all the physical activity in my day so im sure it balances out and id still lose weight. also losing weight, i know its gona be a long term thing so i think id get a bit obsessive and fed up, probably wouldnt be able to last the pace. so if u have a few mouthfuls u know u shouldnt hav, personally id do an extra ten min on the treadmill and forget about it.

jeffreyrashad

i have a kitchen scale:drinker: .. i dont play..lol

pettmybunny

I agree that diligence is a good idea - but where does it cross the line into obsessive behavior? I know that if I have like, 1/2 a forkful of pasta or 0.00007621 of an ounce of cheese it's rare, and if it satisfies me, even better. But I don't always record it, in the same way I don't weigh myself everyday. I've never been able to stay on a diet for a really respectable amount of time, and there's something about logging in 1/8th of a teaspoon of ice cream that makes this feel like a fad diet. I would rather be conscious of what I eat, how much, and how it makes me feel, and to think of this as a lifestyle change.

I understand what you're saying though ... I did once record eating half a jellybean...

Best of luck!!

You can eat only 1/8th of a teaspoon of ice cream? You are my hero!

Seriously though, for me, it kind of depends on what it is. If I lick off the knife when I'm making a sandwich for the kids, no, I don't log it (unless I purposefully left a huge glob of something on the knife). But, if I'm making dinner, and taste testing stuff (last night I couldn't get the seasonings right in my cabbage roll casserole, and I had 7 spoonfuls while checking the flavor), I will keep track of how many bites and guestimate how much that would equal. For example, if I'm guessing each spoonful was about a half teaspoon size, those 7 spoonfuls equaled 3.5 teaspoons. 3 teaspoons is a tablespoon. A quarter cup is only 4 tablespoons. I am from the school of thought that bites do add up throughout the day.

angelwings2000

I log fractions of what I taste. I often work in a restaurant and am sampling all day when I create. That would be a ton of food. I don't log running up and down the stairs for hosuework, but I do log running up and down the stairs for exercise. I also logged laying patio bricks and shovelling snow as exercise...some of the best kind. I just want to keep myself accountable for what really goes and what I really do for exercise!

mamaturner

i have a kitchen scale:drinker: .. i dont play..lol

I'm with ya! I sometimes get frustrated when things are all by measurement rather than weight. Weighing is much more accurate.. and I much more prefer grams to ounces!

bettyvodine

[/quote]

You can eat only 1/8th of a teaspoon of ice cream? You are my hero!

Seriously though, for me, it kind of depends on what it is. If I lick off the knife when I'm making a sandwich for the kids, no, I don't log it (unless I purposefully left a huge glob of something on the knife). But, if I'm making dinner, and taste testing stuff (last night I couldn't get the seasonings right in my cabbage roll casserole, and I had 7 spoonfuls while checking the flavor), I will keep track of how many bites and guestimate how much that would equal. For example, if I'm guessing each spoonful was about a half teaspoon size, those 7 spoonfuls equaled 3.5 teaspoons. 3 teaspoons is a tablespoon. A quarter cup is only 4 tablespoons. I am from the school of thought that bites do add up throughout the day.
[/quote]

You've got some good points there - I suppose since I don't really cook too much and don't have children to feed, I'm not really in a position to graze all that much. But if I ate several tablespoons of something I would log it. I guess I'm just trying to keep things in perspective - I can easily slip off into neurosis and compulsion with food, so I try to just avoid 'bites'... or something.