Quick Calorie "Padding"

Mindarin

So throughout the day, whenever I eat something I can't find in the database, or I have to take an equivalent from the database, I add 50-100 calories to my diary, just to make sure I'm not overeating. I'm eating about 1900 calories a day, so it's not like I'll starve doing this. I just wondered if anyone else does this. If so, why? If not, what are your reasons?

imtrinat

I do the same thing. I just assume that I probably underestimate my portions in other places, which seems much more likely than overestimating.

KarenJanine

I very rarely struggle to find something on the database, and it it s not there already I enter the info. If I'm eating at a restaurant then I look for the nearest similar item in the database which sometimes may be an overestimate, sometimes under so it all balances out in the long run.

Mindarin

I do the same thing. I just assume that I probably underestimate my portions in other places, which seems much more likely than overestimating.

Exactly. I know my track record with food. Thinking things like, "Oh, this ice cream is 150 a serving? I'm SURE this HUGE, HEAPING bowl of ice cream must be about 150 then." :P

hilldiggity

I often check CalorieKing.com. They have a great database.

ThatCatholicGirl

Heh - I do that too!

cwolfman13

I do the same thing. I just assume that I probably underestimate my portions in other places, which seems much more likely than overestimating.

Why not actually weigh and/or measure your portions?

OP...no, I do not add random calories; I just eat my food. There isn't much I can't find on the data base...if I can't find something I just find something that is as close as possible. I'd personally rather over eat a little than under eat...I've got muscles underneath this fat that need preserving.

imtrinat

I do the same thing. I just assume that I probably underestimate my portions in other places, which seems much more likely than overestimating.

Why not actually weigh and/or measure your portions?

OP...no, I do not add random calories; I just eat my food. There isn't much I can't find on the data base...if I can't find something I just find something that is as close as possible. I'd personally rather over eat a little than under eat...I've got muscles underneath this fat that need preserving.

Well... The short answer is that I don't want to measure my portions.

Edit to note I don't quick add them, I just pad my serving sizes if Im not sure. Maybe that's not the "MFP preferred method"? lol! We all use this for different reasons and in different ways. I prefer to use it to get a general idea of what and how much I'm eating, rather than get an exact calorie amount.

Mindarin

I do weigh and measure, but I eat a lot of foreign/generic food that doesn't exist on this database and doesn't have nutritional info. I'm set at maintenance (w/out eating exercise calories), so I think that in my case being a few hundred calories below won't hurt me as much as eating a few hundred over and not realizing it.