How nit-picky are you about calorie counting?

SandyRevolution

Hello, all. I have a question about how nit-picky you should be about calorie counting. I love all sorts of foods, so getting enough healthy fruits and vegetables has never been an issue for me. I love salads, too. My question is this: How strict are you in counting each and every calorie? If you sprinkle three tablespoons of diced onion on a salad, do you track the minimal amount of calories? If you chew two pieces of sugar-free gum, do you track the five calories? If you grab a quick bite of raw spinach while you're making a salad, do you track the two calories? You get my drift.

I got into trouble when i did Weight Watchers last year (lost 122 pounds and gained it all back). I got too wrapped up in the point-tracking process and basically drove myself nuts over it and quit. How nit-picky are you? I have *a lot* of weight to lose, so it'll be a long haul. I most definitely know how to diet, it's just a question of long-term motivation.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have!

be_runner

I'm relatively lax. I track everything except when I'm traveling but I'll estimate fruits and veg sometimes. Anything packaged PR processed I always scan with the app so its accurate but I eye ball things like lettuce or fruit. I figure its not very high cal so it can't hurt too much. I also under estimate some exercise such as walking. Yesterday I went on a leisurely two mile walk and didn't track that deficit. I think it balances out.

Carnivor0us

I don't count calories, although I do monitor them to get a general idea of how much I'm eating. I count carbs strictly, and I make sure I eat enough fat and protein.

ktsmom430

I count everything.
A bite here, a tsp there, it all adds up, and I do not estimate.
I know what goes into my mouth, and so far it is working for me, so I see no reason to get lax about it.

yanniejannie

I don't count gum or seasonings. Other than those, I TRY to be honest and correct with everything that goes in my mouth. I do measure in both gms. and oz.

Admiral_Derp

I'll be honest. I'm not nearly as nit-picky as I should be. That said, the more precise your measurements are with food (macros, calories, etc.) the better you will be able to gauge how you're doing. The better your data, the more accurate your information will be. It really depends on your time, and willingness to track it. That's not to say you won't lose with less precision, but again, data quality can provide more reliable information to help you plan.

Consider getting a food scale, and logging everything.

etoiles_argentees

I'm not. I did it daily for the first 6 months after joining and now I do here and there for micros and macros.

Sarauk2sf

It's a balance between being accurate enough to make sure you have enough data to make informed decisions and becoming too OCD about it where it may negatively impact your life in some ways and also may make adherence an issue (if dieting is too much of a chore, you may not stick to it)

Not tracking the little, and very low calorie, 'extra's' is fine as long as you continue to get the results you want. It is when results are not as expected that it may become an issue.

I do not track coffee, gum, artificial sweeteners or cooking spray - but I use these regularly, so I may be consistently under-recording by about 50 calories a day. As long as I use my prior results as a gauge, there is no issue. It may however be one of the reasons, among many others, that someone's results =/= that predicted by one of the online calculators for example.

Yooperm35

I don't count gum, I take a ball park figure for salad toppings, except cheese, bacon bits and dressing - I ballpark meats that I eat, I try to over-estimate rather than under.

Admiral_Derp

It's a balance between being accurate enough to make sure you have enough data to make informed decisions and becoming too OCD about it where it may negatively impact your life in some ways and also may make adherence an issue (if dieting is too much of a chore, you may not stick to it)

Not tracking the little, and very low calorie, 'extra's' is fine as long as you continue to get the results you want. It is when results are not as expected that it may become an issue.

I do not track coffee, gum, artificial sweeteners or cooking spray - but I use these regularly, so I may be consistently under-recording by about 50 calories a day. As long as I use my prior results as a gauge, there is no issue. It may however be one of the reasons, among many others, that someone's results =/= that predicted by one of the online calculators for example.

Look at you! Sayin everything I wanted to say, and all better, and making more sense and what not.

jofjltncb6

It's a balance between being accurate enough to make sure you have enough data to make informed decisions and becoming too OCD about it where it may negatively impact your life in some ways and also may make adherence an issue (if dieting is too much of a chore, you may not stick to it)

Not tracking the little, and very low calorie, 'extra's' is fine as long as you continue to get the results you want. It is when results are not as expected that it may become an issue.

I do not track coffee, gum, artificial sweeteners or cooking spray - but I use these regularly, so I may be consistently under-recording by about 50 calories a day. As long as I use my prior results as a gauge, there is no issue. It may however be one of the reasons, among many others, that someone's results =/= that predicted by one of the online calculators for example.

Was going to post pretty much exactly the same thing, especially the bolded part. Glad Sara did all the work for me so all I have to do is type: ^this.

Sarauk2sf

Look at you! Sayin everything I wanted to say, and all better, and making more sense and what not.

:flowerforyou:

magerum

It's a balance between being accurate enough to make sure you have enough data to make informed decisions and becoming too OCD about it where it may negatively impact your life in some ways and also may make adherence an issue (if dieting is too much of a chore, you may not stick to it)

Not tracking the little, and very low calorie, 'extra's' is fine as long as you continue to get the results you want. It is when results are not as expected that it may become an issue.

I do not track coffee, gum, artificial sweeteners or cooking spray - but I use these regularly, so I may be consistently under-recording by about 50 calories a day. As long as I use my prior results as a gauge, there is no issue. It may however be one of the reasons, among many others, that someone's results =/= that predicted by one of the online calculators for example.

Was going to post pretty much exactly the same thing, especially the bolded part. Glad Sara did all the work for me so all I have to do is type: ^this.

I got nothing other than ^this.

Crossett0803

I try to be as close as I can be, but I focus on my fat intake. Maybe my theory is totally wrong, but I exercise almost every day and burn enough calories that I don't usually go over my calorie goal. Maybe that's wrong, but I do definitely focus on the fat. But I am pretty faithful and fussy about measuring and recording accurately.

NaomiJFoster

I log everything, but I estimate most of it. Close enough is close enough. For me. I often over-estimate the food amounts, and underestimate my exercise calories burned. But again, for me close enough is OK. I'm changing my life slowly, but I don't want this to dominate my entire world. And I hate math.

nokanjaijo

I don't log my protein shake because it's only about 8 calories.

pagermain

I never estimate on higher calorie dense items. I measure exactly and use a food scale. For lower calorie items, I will sometimes overestimate on other items (show 2 cups of lettuce instead of 1-1/2 cups in my salad) to make up for very minor add-ins (a small taste of what I'm preparing, a teaspoon of onion added to a salad, etc). But you have to do what works best for you. Because I'm concerned about salt consumption I always try to measure exactly anything I know that shows a significant sodium content.

This has worked well for me. I've lost 17 lbs in 3 months.

Bottom line you have to be honest, but not a fanatic! LOL

Pinkylee77

It's a balance between being accurate enough to make sure you have enough data to make informed decisions and becoming too OCD about it where it may negatively impact your life in some ways and also may make adherence an issue (if dieting is too much of a chore, you may not stick to it)

Not tracking the little, and very low calorie, 'extra's' is fine as long as you continue to get the results you want. It is when results are not as expected that it may become an issue.

I do not track coffee, gum, artificial sweeteners or cooking spray - but I use these regularly, so I may be consistently under-recording by about 50 calories a day. As long as I use my prior results as a gauge, there is no issue. It may however be one of the reasons, among many others, that someone's results =/= that predicted by one of the online calculators for example.

Was going to post pretty much exactly the same thing, especially the bolded part. Glad Sara did all the work for me so all I have to do is type: ^this.

I got nothing other than ^this.

Me too! :laugh:

DalekBrittany

I logged the less-than-a-teaspoon of Tobasco I put on my boiled eggs this morning. So that should answer that question.

I'm not saying that one way or the other is right, but if you find yourself obsessing too much, don't do it. But, do keep in mind that the things you don't bother to log sometimes can add up. Let's say I have a Dr. Pepper Ten, two pieces of sugar free gum, and 2 teaspoons of mustard on a hot dog at dinner. That adds up to 30 calories. I usually like to stay pretty close to my calorie goals, so some days, 30 calories can make or break if I go over or not. However, that's just me What's right for some is not right for everyone.

Also, I used to estimate my foods if I couldn't find it right off the bat. Or if I wasn't sure exactly how much of something I had, I estimated. Now, I measure everything. I found that I wasn't being honest with myself and was probably underestimating by a good 200 calories a day. But again, what's right for some...:)

LavenderBouquet

I try my best to be as accurate as possible, but really, you can't ever really know EXACTLY how many calories your body absorbs anyway, there are just too many factors involved (e.g. the way your body digests, the efficiency of your body's processes, the differences in two pieces of food that may look/weigh similar, the types of foods you are consuming, etc.). I don't think there's a need to go crazy about it. As long as you're seeing results, you're likely doing just fine tracking, if you find that despite meeting calorie/macro goals you aren't losing, maybe you aren't tracking accurately enough.

weese17

When I was trying to lose, I was pretty darn careful about logging everything. If it was the sort of things you say - a bite of spinach, maybe a taste of sauce while cooking - I'd usually just add 100 calories to the end of the day to cover that sort of stuff, rather than tracking 6 calories here and 15 calories there. However, if you're having "tastes" of mac & cheese or something, then I'd definitely count it.

phyllisbobbitt

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: i put down everything that goes into my mouth! that way i know exactly where i am in a days time. as for spices like pepper, no i do not log that as i feel like when you calculate a dish all spices are included. as far as what i consume during cooking, i don't eat until i sit down at the table. i have sent you a friend request because i think we could encourage each other during this journey!

Defren

I log every single calorie, I weigh every single piece of food. I track carbs more than calories, but I still log my calories very carefully. I have learned if I go over a certain amount of calories I stall, and being diabetic my carbs each day are what raises my BG so must be logged extra carefully.

odddrums

I put down everything but I don't weigh or measure usually. I figure everything is just an estimate anyway and the amount of calories I use from day to day varies on my activity levels, so why get all anal about 1.2 versus 1.5 cups of milk or whatever. Plus when I cook I don't measure things, I just throw stuff together. I might lose more weight if I measured and such, but at this point I'm focusing more on how I look than how much I weigh, and drinking more water and eating slower is doing much more for me than making sure I ate exactly 2014 calories in 24 hours.

Theresafinallygetsitright

I count and weigh almost everything EXCEPT my salad vegetables. I even weigh the salad dressing, if I use it but I never worry about the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers ( mostly what are in my regular salads). I don't count my one piece of sugar free gum I chew when I run either.

sbecknc

If it comes in a package, I track it. If it doesn't, I guesstimate. And I do try to estimate restaurant meals since there are so many already logged, and enough info on websites that I can help add to the database. That gives me the wiggle room in a day to have a piece of gum and not track it, or a handful of almonds while I'm sprinkling the slivers on my salad.

It has made me more aware of how much I do eat, but also of how much I DON'T eat. Like chocolate. I'm a sucker for those Lindt dark chocolate and orange bars... but I gave them up the first time I tried tracking calories, because a single serving was 200 calories! Turns out, a serving is 4 bar squares. And usually, I can eat just one and be satisfied. So it has helped and hurt in that I, too, got so tired of tracking it all and obsessed with every single bite that the first time around I quit too.

Working on it again, and while it's slower coming off this time, I don't hate myself with every bite I put in my mouth, either.
Life is tradeoffs... I just want my net to run toward the good.

darwinwoodka

I track for awareness. Try to get close to the right calorie count, but more to log what and when I'm eating, and to figure out why. As long as I'm close to goal, it's good.

bethFromDayton

I weigh or measure calorie dense items (meat, cheese, potatoes). I created a recipe for my daily dinner salad and figure it's "close enough"--it's hard to add in enough fresh veggies to screw up calorie intake (and I do measure the dressing)

I don't record spices or cooking spray or supplements. If I ever stall, I may reconsider my shortcuts but for now it's working!

missymakayla

I count everything. I'm able to see what all I've ate for the day , and stay on track... Before I never counted, and I was 230 lbs, now I'm 35 lbs down in about 10 weeks, I'm feeling pretty good about myself, and I want to keep that way.. Good Luck with your journey....

Lola_Rogers

I weigh, count, measure everything.. I have all types of scales, measuring cups, measuring spoons etc.. im actually considering getting a bomb calorimeter to get more accurate results )

HotrodsGirl0107

I was never super strict with counting calories. It tends to trigger my OCD and I over restrict and end up sick. I am in maintenance now and maintaining weight without counting. It is pretty easy for me because my husband and I are both picky eaters so we tend to eat the same dishes from week to week and we rarely go out and eat.

When I first joined (not this profile, my old one) I did keep my calories logged but I had to be lax about it. It was the only way for me to balance physical and mental health.