Calorie counting ain't (yes ain't) easy.

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mommyshortlegs
mommyshortlegs Posts: 402 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am periodically reminded how something so simple as putting pan gravy into one's mouth (and not onto one's thighs) is immediately complicated by such peculiar ponderings as, "How many ounces of drippings does a 3-4 lb. chuck roast produce during the cooking process?" Not a question I ever thought I'd have to ask, and yet calories must be counted. ;P Typically I braise my roasts, so at this point, other than sacrificing a future roast in the name of science, my only hope will be to pour off the liquid and measure how much extra has accumulated. Or, I risk an estimate (1 oz.? [249 cal. per LiveStrong.com]). Some way, some how, I WILL eat my gravy and count it too. ;)

</calorie counter's rant>

Replies

  • donkeypoop
    donkeypoop Posts: 64 Member
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    lol... have your gravy and count it. The easiest way I find to count calorie is to estimate or eyeball it. But I am pretty good at eye balling it these days. If I were you, I would measure things the first couple days, so if you ever wanted to estimate then you would be good at it. It takes practice and you will eventually get a hang of it and then it won't be so difficult.
    Logging in my calories has become a habit for me. Sometimes I go over but thats ok.. I am human and I can burn it off if it bugs me so much.
    Don't be too hard on yourself, just do your best and enjoy eating :)
  • craigineson
    craigineson Posts: 88 Member
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    My rest days I'm on -30% TDEE calories anyway, so if I have a bit of gravy (even the fattiest gravy going), it's actually fine.

    Calorie counting isn't an exact science. The calorie counts on the back of foods aren't going to be 100% due to natural variability. I always say, don't sweat the small stuff.
  • frenchfacey
    frenchfacey Posts: 237 Member
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    I think a lot of the calorie counting is not about an exact and precise total but about accountability for what you eat. Even sometimes i scan something that shows up a different total than what the package says. Sometimes i fix it sometimes i don't. I just make sure its in my journal in some way.
  • ElizabethSami
    ElizabethSami Posts: 67
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    calorie counting really sucks. I find it but it's almost the hardest thing to do even harder than exercise if you can believe that. Since I make all the food I eat and they are more traditional back home, even harder to find it on here sometimes.
  • kmorganlfc
    kmorganlfc Posts: 115 Member
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    I think the value in calorie counting is that you are having some form of conscious regulation over what you eat. I dont think it needs to be scientifically perfect - I dont think it can be even if you wanted it to be.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    My rest days I'm on -30% TDEE calories anyway, so if I have a bit of gravy (even the fattiest gravy going), it's actually fine.

    Calorie counting isn't an exact science. The calorie counts on the back of foods aren't going to be 100% due to natural variability. I always say, don't sweat the small stuff.

    Yep!

    Don't pet the sweaty things and don't sweat the petty things!
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    My rest days I'm on -30% TDEE calories anyway, so if I have a bit of gravy (even the fattiest gravy going), it's actually fine.

    Calorie counting isn't an exact science. The calorie counts on the back of foods aren't going to be 100% due to natural variability. I always say, don't sweat the small stuff.
    -30% TDEE on rest days. Geez, why the torture?
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    My rest days I'm on -30% TDEE calories anyway, so if I have a bit of gravy (even the fattiest gravy going), it's actually fine.

    Calorie counting isn't an exact science. The calorie counts on the back of foods aren't going to be 100% due to natural variability. I always say, don't sweat the small stuff.
    -30% TDEE on rest days. Geez, why the torture?

    Didn't notice the -30% bit myself.
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
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    i still cant figure out how u ppl get TDEE , mine could be anywhere from 200-600cals under or over .. it would take professionals to get the most accurate calculations
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    i still cant figure out how u ppl get TDEE , mine could be anywhere from 200-600cals under or over .. it would take professionals to get the most accurate calculations
    Even they would be off. It's all a guess.
  • mommyshortlegs
    mommyshortlegs Posts: 402 Member
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    I am fully aware calorie counting can never be precise (much to the chagrin of the small stuff-sweating perfectionist in me); still, I prefer to be as accurate as possible, especially when calculating a food for the first time, e.g., last night's beef gravy.

    I ended up straining the braising liquid to reveal about 1/4 c. extra (the meat drippings), and this extra I skimmed off as best I could (short of refrigerating so the fat solidified on the surface) until the liquid was reduced to its initial measurement. To account for the residual fat (i.e., the flavor) which I didn't spoon away, in my gravy recipe I cited 1 oz. meat drippings (249 cal.), and now I'm good to go from here on out. At least when it comes to beef gravy. [yield: 2 c. gravy, or 8 servings of 1/4 c.; 52 cal., 3 carb, 4g fat, 225g sodium/serving]
  • tigerlily8045
    tigerlily8045 Posts: 415 Member
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    and now you have it in your receipes so that you can just click now instead of trying to refigure every time. Close enough.
  • mommyshortlegs
    mommyshortlegs Posts: 402 Member
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    tigerlily8045 : Exactly, the trial run is painful so all runs to follow don't have to be. ;)
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Ha, if you're worried about that, there's always this to worry about:
    When you buy a car with a six-cylinder engine, you expect to get six cylinders. When you buy a dress in a size 10, you expect a size 10. And when you buy a burger at a fast-food joint that's listed on the menu as containing 500 calories, you jolly well expect 500. But you may be getting a lot more than that. The same may be true of the omelet and the pasta you get at a sit-down restaurant — and of the frozen dinner with the label you read so carefully before you tossed it in your supermarket basket and took it home.

    Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1951798,00.html#ixzz2ErxYDw00
  • mommyshortlegs
    mommyshortlegs Posts: 402 Member
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    Gee thanks, auddii, trying to give me nightmares of extra calories maniacally dancing across my midsection? ;)

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