How do I count things like cashews on my fitness pal

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Baseballfan158
Baseballfan158 Posts: 39
in Food and Nutrition
Like sometime I just grab a handful of cashews almonds etc. or like with beef jerky if I'm just getting like two pieces? And cereal with bowls and milk?

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  • Bearbrat
    Bearbrat Posts: 230
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    I weigh everything, yes.....even a handful of cashews or almonds. A handful is typically a serving size when dealing with almonds, cashews etc. Beef Jerky, a serving size is 1 oz....you can have a fairly big piece of it, but again, I weigh it. Cereal, a typical serving size is 3/4 cup...maybe about the size of your fist in a bowl. If you want to be accurate, you'll need to weigh/measure them. They're in the data base, and if you have only half a serving of nuts then just put in 0.5 instead of 1 serving.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    Measure and weigh.

    Look in the database first. Play around with it. When you search an item, you'll see a list of items that match your search. Some will be exactly right, some will be slightly off. When you find the one that matches what you really have, click on it. You'll get a pop-up box to the right. Within that box, there is another drop-down menu where you can choose serving size. Some of these will list the number of pieces, some will list the measurement in spoonfuls of cups, some will list the weight in grams or ounces. Again, you'll have to spend some time looking through the list to find what you need. It's sometimes a hassle (like when I know I've eaten 8 strawberries, but I don't know what they weighed...I have to find the strawberry entry that has the item number instead of the weight). But you'll get the hang of it after a while.
  • UhohDanny
    UhohDanny Posts: 32
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    I do the same thing with cashews. I started counting them out. Say the package says there are 20 per serving, I would just count out the twenty. Its a pain, but it makes it much easier to count calories.
  • KAS0917
    KAS0917 Posts: 172 Member
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    Do you have a food scale? That's the most accurate way to figure out the calories for a few nuts - look at the # of grams you eat vs. the # of grams in a serving size on the package. If you have 14 grams and 28 grams is a serving size, then put in the NI for 1 serving, and then enter that you ate 1/2 of 1 serving.

    For cereal, measure it in a measuring spoon and dump it into the bowl. Repeat for milk. Use the nutritional information on the package.
  • lyndausvi
    lyndausvi Posts: 156 Member
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    I weigh out things like nuts and put them in a small bowl. When it's done, I know I've had "x" amount of calories. I found all those small handfuls add up. Especially with nuts.
  • VanillaBeanSeed
    VanillaBeanSeed Posts: 562 Member
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    Love my food scale!! =)

    People may think Im insane, but I weigh almost everything!

    Keeps me very accountable for my eating. And some items are just way off in terms of "cups" measured.

    Buy a food scale! YOULL LOVE IT! =)):flowerforyou:
  • Bunny1177
    Bunny1177 Posts: 32 Member
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    A food scale - lover here too. I weigh or measure everything as well. I really recommend it! That, and my heart rate monitor are my fave two special toys for weight loss :)
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
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    The packs I get typically say 25g (for example) portion is...

    So I just weigh them with my food scale. Probably more accurate than a handful.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Like sometime I just grab a handful of cashews almonds etc. or like with beef jerky if I'm just getting like two pieces? And cereal with bowls and milk?

    weigh it, weigh it all!!!!!!!!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    Weigh it all. For liquids, use a cup measure but where possible, weigh.

    A digital scale is your best weightloss friend - it doesn't need to be an expensive one.
  • lynnerack
    lynnerack Posts: 158 Member
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    Shock of my life when I weighed out 40 gms of cashews (about a handful) and discovered that it was over 300 calories!
  • Synapze
    Synapze Posts: 499
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    1 Cashew.

    2 Cashew.

    3 Cashew.....
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    1 Cashew.

    2 Cashew.

    3 Cashew.....

    count-von-count-sesame-street.jpg
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
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    Weighing is super important when it comes to nuts, because they're quite calorie dense!
  • Camera_BagintheUK
    Camera_BagintheUK Posts: 707 Member
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    weigh a handful

    then another handful

    and several more handfuls

    See what's the biggest handful you can hold, and then every time you "grab a handful" assume it's the biggest one you can hold and put that in your diary. Better still, if you leave the scales out on the worktop it makes weighing easier than if you have to dig them out of the cupboard or drawer and find a container to put stuff in!

    Slices of Jerky, the same, weigh a slice, weigh a couple of slices, learn what the weight is, assume the heaviest for each if you can't be bothered to weigh every time.

    All the stuff you peck at - find out what a portion is, weight, calories, etc and peck in a controlled way.

    I find that this helps me stop pecking and grazing - without weighing and learning about the food, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking "oh, a little handful of nuts like that won't make any difference". But little handfuls quickly add up.

    ed Sometimes it does you a favour! I love bread and when I actually weighed the bread rolls I was having I found the calories were slightly lower than the entry I'd dug out of the database so now I weigh every slice and every bread roll.
  • Camera_BagintheUK
    Camera_BagintheUK Posts: 707 Member
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    Love my food scale!! =)

    People may think Im insane, but I weigh almost everything!

    Keeps me very accountable for my eating. And some items are just way off in terms of "cups" measured.

    Buy a food scale! YOULL LOVE IT! =)):flowerforyou:

    Yes weight is far more accurate and controllable than volume!
  • flupps_
    flupps_ Posts: 17 Member
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    If the weighing is annoying, grab something like this:
    http://www.amazon.com/Storage-Stackable-Containers-Crafts-Findings/dp/B001AS6OLK
    and pre-weigh handfuls. divide up the package of nuts when you buy it, and weight then. after that just grab one of those as a handful (could even do with different sizes of handfuls!).

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