How nit-picky are you about calorie counting?

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.

Koholint

If the measuring cups and measuring spoons are clean, I'll measure. If not, then I try to get it as close as possible by eyeballing it and then overestimating it.

If there's a day where I know I went way over my daily limit, I acknowledge that I should've done better, but then I get right on track the next day.
Example... In the past 2 weeks, there was one night that hubby and I hit McDonald's at 11 PM. Sabotage, I know, but I ordered something sensible (we came from a small group and there were only snacks, and we didn't have dinner, so we were really hungry.) Forgave myself and went back to the daily routine the next day.
Then on Easter, I made a full-fat homemade carrot cake with cream cheese icing for a gathering. And I had a piece. I hate to think of the heavy amount of calories that was, but I enjoyed it.

I logged the McDonald's but didn't log the cake, and I've lost 2 pounds in the past 2 weeks. Probably would have been more if those 2 things didn't happen, but I'm happy and don't feel deprived.

This is my new lifestyle, not a "diet." I suppose whatever a person eats is their diet, but I'm in this for the long haul and I can't possible see myself being super strict about going .2 a tsp over my coffee creamer forever.

lithezebra

I'm casual about counting exact amounts of low calorie vegetables like leafy greens and raw bell pepper. I'm very diligent about counting every chocolate chip and every almond that I eat.

NaomiJFoster

I spent a couple weeks measuring my cereal and milk. Now I know what 'one cup' looks like in my bowl and I just go for it.

anaconda469

I log everything I eat at home, where I am in control of what I eat. The problem I have is being invited to dinner at my friend`s house and I know she uses high fat/calorie stuff for dinner. That makes it hard to count as none of this shows up in MFP. So I try to estimate. I have found that counting everything is good, as It showed me all of the crap I was eating in a day and helped me change to a better diet.

pandahead76

I count it all. But then, I'm just getting started. Also, I try to keep within my macronutrient ratios.

skinnyinnotime

When I was losing I was very accurate, weighing food etc.

Now I'm on maintenance I just eyeball and guesstimate things, I don't log tea/coffee even though I put 2 sugars in each cup and barely ever log alcohol either.

mnmomto4

Hate to say it but I am pretty lax. I don't count my 20 calorie vitamins, I don't count my vegetables (I was also a WW and was used to having them be a free food), I count my fruit but I don't measure it to decide if it is a large apple vs medium. I just say medium unless it looks larger than it should be. I also do not weight my meat. I eye it (once again a WW habit). I have been on here for 9 months and have lost 44 lbs. 3 months of those 9 months I have been pregnant, so I say I did pretty well. Now if I would have been really strict I probably could have done better. But, being a mother of 2, work FT, and have a husband that works 6 days a week 10 hour days. Being incredibly strict just doesn't seem to work for my busy lifestyle. Good luck to you. Find what works for you.

Trilby16

I'm kinda casual about it. I keep my calorie goal low to leave room for inaccuracy. Some calories are so insignificant, it is not worth the bother.