I've got a smidge of a complaint....
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LOLZ!!!:laugh:
In Houston, I find that a portion served in a restaurant is 2 to 10 times what I would eat at home with few exceptions. I order appetizers most of the time for lunch, seriously.
Houston, we have a problem...0 -
I don't like the database anymore really. There's too many people "sharing" the recipes and incorrect nutrition information they put in and so we have 10k options to have to review and choose from.
I now weigh everything I can, as often as I can. I have a digital scale that cost less than $20. I carry it with me in my purse. I don't care if I look like one of "those" ppl. I need accuracy because I have a problem with portion sizes. A portion to skinny people is not the same as a portion to someone with a food addiction. We need the visual. It's definitely hard to do that when eating out, but I try not to do that too much, for that specific reason.
If you pull a spoon out of your cutlery drawer and expect that to be a tablespoon or teaspoon, you are wrong.
I create my foods (as tedious as that is) by going to Google or NutritionData or Caloriecount.com (for full recipes cuz recipe building on MFP sucks), and then I DON'T share them. I keep them all to myself so that I don't have to sift through a bunch of incorrect information in the database. I put it all in grams, except liquids.
It's been a real eye opener.
@ whoever said they were going to leave because of the snarky responses...most internet forums are like that because they're full of people's opinions. I didn't see any but at any rate, it's easy to ignore that if you don't like it and just take the information.
^ I really wish more people were honest with themselves like this.
Once you have a real idea for what a portion size looks like, you can actually make reliable guesses, but for many of us that time may never come. I can easily "eyeball" a 24 ounce steak as a portion. lol0 -
I'm the opposite, I hate it when stuff isn't entered by weight. A cup of carrots, or apples? Am I being stingy with my cup or should I cram in as much as possible?
I just really like weighing everything.
I am the same at the moment, I mean what size cup do they mean. I am also finding that you have to be careful of some of your selections from the database as well, for example some eggs have cholesterol listed and others don't
I will continue weighing and checking listings against packets/tins for now
what size cup? When it says 1 cup that means "1 measuring cup" as in not 2 cups or half a cup or 3/4's of a cup.. 1 cup.
edited to add visual for better understanding of what a cup is.
To me this is funny because several years ago the kids asked my husband to make kool aid and when he asked how much sugar I said 1 cup. I went into the kitchen to see him putting sugar into a tall drinking glass. I said OMG what are you doing? He said well you said one cup. I couldn't believe I had to explain to him what a cup is. ugh!!
:blushing: In all fairness, for the longest time I thought that too. What, it's a "cup" .... :blushing:0 -
*Sigh*.....I guess I'm *almost* alone in my feelings. I'm done looking at the comments. Thank you for your recommendations, I'm glad we can all lose weight how we feel we need to, whether it's vegan or paleo or shakes and supplements....by weighing our food or "eyeballing" it. I will say for future reference, that it's a bit harsh to say that someone isn't "serious" about weight loss because they don't prescribe to your methods. We're here to motivate each other and I'm very serious about my lifestyle change
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I don't measure out x many ounces of chips....who does that?! Why in sam's hill can't they put an estimated quantity?
I do that....I measure pretty much everything. It is the most accurate way to do things. There have been studies that indicate that people on average underestimate their consumption by 20-30% when they just eyeball. You do a bit better by measuring our counting out the quantity...but weight is by far the most accurate.0 -
Oh horsefeathers; weighing is only as inconvenient as you make it.0
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I'm the opposite, I hate it when stuff isn't entered by weight. A cup of carrots, or apples? Am I being stingy with my cup or should I cram in as much as possible?
I just really like weighing everything.
I am the same at the moment, I mean what size cup do they mean. I am also finding that you have to be careful of some of your selections from the database as well, for example some eggs have cholesterol listed and others don't
I will continue weighing and checking listings against packets/tins for now
what size cup? When it says 1 cup that means "1 measuring cup" as in not 2 cups or half a cup or 3/4's of a cup.. 1 cup.
edited to add visual for better understanding of what a cup is.
To me this is funny because several years ago the kids asked my husband to make kool aid and when he asked how much sugar I said 1 cup. I went into the kitchen to see him putting sugar into a tall drinking glass. I said OMG what are you doing? He said well you said one cup. I couldn't believe I had to explain to him what a cup is. ugh!!
:blushing: In all fairness, for the longest time I thought that too. What, it's a "cup" .... :blushing:
that's because it's a standard measurement in the USA, but not in a lot of other places. Everywhere else, a cup is not a unit, it's something you drink out of, and they come in all different sizes. I was not aware of the "cup" as a standardised American unit of volume until I was in my 30s. British people do use volume measurements, usually, teaspoons, tablespoons, fluid ounces, millilitres or cubic centimetres.
So a non-American not realising that "a cup" refers to a specific, standardised unit is understandable. British people have a weight measurement of a "stone" which is 14lb... if an American didn't know how much weight a "stone" is and thought... well what kind of stone? A big stone or a little stone? How am I supposed to know how big a stone they mean? .... that'd be exactly the same thing.0 -
I see that as an opportunity for learning about other cultures then; I don't look at it as bothersome or inconvenient. I was raised on standard American volume measures, but I've been weighing my food in grams for so long now that I have the number of grams memorized for 0-3 oz. in 1/2 oz. increments, and 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 16 oz.
I'd also prefer it if everything had the option to be logged in grams, because it's so much easier to weigh everything as you're adding it to a mixing bowl. Plus, you don't have to dirty up all those extra dishes!0 -
I weigh my food. It's accurate and simple. My scale just sits on the counter and voila! Easy-peasy. Solids I think are easier weighed, since unlike liquids they don't take the form of a measuring cup unless you dice them.0
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I measure in grams whenever possible. Totally love the foods listed that have the 1 gram option. Makes it easier to put in fractional servings.0
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Before I got serious about changing my diet I had ZERO concept of weighing serving sizes. The most measuring I ever did was for baking premixed cakes and such. Once I got serious, I realized that for me to be as accurate as possible, I needed to get a scale. It was worth every dollar.
There's alot of variances for suggested servings vs. weight! I'm glad I invested in a scale. Now I find it fun to weigh things. I like getting the most out of my food 0 -
I measure in grams whenever possible. Totally love the foods listed that have the 1 gram option. Makes it easier to put in fractional servings.
Me too. I hate food listings that are 1/2 cup. 1/2 cup of lettuce, really? is that stuffed in the cup? loose? was it weighed?
Liquid weight and dry weight are different as well, I do everything in grams. It allows me to be more accurate, and since I need to really make sure I eat enough, it's important for me to be accurate.0 -
I'm not here to motivate anyone.*Sigh*.....I guess I'm *almost* alone in my feelings. I'm done looking at the comments. Thank you for your recommendations, I'm glad we can all lose weight how we feel we need to, whether it's vegan or paleo or shakes and supplements....by weighing our food or "eyeballing" it. I will say for future reference, that it's a bit harsh to say that someone isn't "serious" about weight loss because they don't prescribe to your methods. We're here to motivate each other and I'm very serious about my lifestyle change0 -
Perhaps. Did you read the response that pointed out it varies depending on what exactly is being measured and asked specific questions? Not all chicken thighs are exactly 189 grams. Or fried. Or skin on. Or baked, etc. This is precisely why many of us raise eyebrows when people claim not to be losing on 1200 calorie diets. Accuracy matters.
Yes, and I do get that not all chicken thighs are equal in size, or fried, or skin on, or baked, et cetera. Did you read that what I posted stated skin on at 189 grams? That's pretty specific. My original point was that a new MFP member surfed around the MFP database (which is so often incorrect) until she found something she really liked - i.e. she passed on the measurements for chicken thighs at 300 calories each (much closer to reality) and picked out 3 chicken thighs for 150 calories total...as in the "magic" of false information becoming true because we put it in our food diary and THEN she wanted to estimate a serving size from the crockpot of 10 chicken thighs she'd cooked without benefit of a scale.
sounds like we're all snarky/sarcastic in our own ways :bigsmile:
Oh, were you being sarcastic? I thought we were just both agreeing that size DOES matter.0 -
I'm the opposite. I wish everything was listed in grams.
Yes, everything.
Well... grams and milliliters.
this, but further, either in 1g or 100g (or both) measurements, just makes it easier to calculate the nutrition info for what gram weight of food you have.0 -
I jut do the best I can by serving...weigh ..measure ...count whatever ..heck its better than what I was doing before and sitting down with the whole dang bag0
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Misreading what? 189 grams is almost 7 ounces. You're comparing the calorie count of a 7 oz thigh with skin to a calorie count of a 4 oz thigh without skin (as stated by the person you're quoting.) Two totally different things..3 chicken thighs is 1200 calories? I've weighed out thigh meat tons of times, and 190 grams is a massive chicken thigh. Is this fried? Skin on? baked? Rotisserie? Bathed in butter? Coated in mole?
The average skin-on chicken thigh is around 240 calories. A fried chicken thigh is anywhere from 250-370 calories, depending on the size, skin on or off, breading and egg wash used. A leg quarter is closer to 410 calories, but that's thigh and drumstick. Getting to 1200 calories is equivalent to eating 6 pieces of dark meat, skin-on baked chicken. There are silly calorie counts all in MFP. If something looks too good to be true, Google is a great tool, as is NutritionData. And if something looks completely blown out of proportion, ditto.
Haha, I was going to say...I eat thighs all the time and according to the package 4 ounces of skinless boneless thigh is only slightly more calories than breast meat (130 vs 110, I think.) Not sure on what planet 3 thighs is 150 or 1200 calories.
Nutrition Facts (Googled as recommended)
Chicken, thigh
Amount Per 1 thigh with skin (189 g)
Calories 414
% Daily Value*
Total fat 31 g 47%
Saturated fat 8 g 40%
Polyunsaturated fat 7 g
Monounsaturated fat 13 g
Trans fat 0.2 g
Cholesterol 185 mg 61%
Sodium 146 mg 6%
Potassium 387 mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 0.5 g 0%
Dietary fiber 0 g 0%
Sugar 0 g
Protein 31 g 62%
Vitamin A 2% Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1% Iron 7%
Vitamin B-6 30% Vitamin B-12 20%
Magnesium 9%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Sources include: USDA
Perhaps I'm misreading?0 -
Perhaps. Did you read the response that pointed out it varies depending on what exactly is being measured and asked specific questions? Not all chicken thighs are exactly 189 grams. Or fried. Or skin on. Or baked, etc. This is precisely why many of us raise eyebrows when people claim not to be losing on 1200 calorie diets. Accuracy matters.
Yes, and I do get that not all chicken thighs are equal in size, or fried, or skin on, or baked, et cetera. Did you read that what I posted stated skin on at 189 grams? That's pretty specific. My original point was that a new MFP member surfed around the MFP database (which is so often incorrect) until she found something she really liked - i.e. she passed on the measurements for chicken thighs at 300 calories each (much closer to reality) and picked out 3 chicken thighs for 150 calories total...as in the "magic" of false information becoming true because we put it in our food diary and THEN she wanted to estimate a serving size from the crockpot of 10 chicken thighs she'd cooked without benefit of a scale.
sounds like we're all snarky/sarcastic in our own ways :bigsmile:
Oh, were you being sarcastic? I thought we were just both agreeing that size DOES matter.
Let's just say that your information was on a very large chicken thigh, clearly from one bad *** chicken who spent some serious time in the squat rack. :bigsmile:0 -
The majority of people here weigh and measure their food.
Sort of doubt that most people here weigh/measure their food... Many do but most is doubtful. That being said, it IS the only accurate way but not always the most PRACTICAL way. As for me, I do my best to be accurate in my estimates and try to err on the side of over-estimating portions while underestimating exercise. Even with accurate measuring and weighing, this is really not nearly as accurate a science as we would like to believe. Even using a heart rate monitor, different bodies process differently.. Likewise, even small variations in calorie dense foods will yield variations even when measured (though admittedly, less than just guestimating)...0 -
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Misreading what? 189 grams is almost 7 ounces. You're comparing the calorie count of a 7 oz thigh with skin to a calorie count of a 4 oz thigh without skin (as stated by the person you're quoting.) Two totally different things..3 chicken thighs is 1200 calories? I've weighed out thigh meat tons of times, and 190 grams is a massive chicken thigh. Is this fried? Skin on? baked? Rotisserie? Bathed in butter? Coated in mole?
The average skin-on chicken thigh is around 240 calories. A fried chicken thigh is anywhere from 250-370 calories, depending on the size, skin on or off, breading and egg wash used. A leg quarter is closer to 410 calories, but that's thigh and drumstick. Getting to 1200 calories is equivalent to eating 6 pieces of dark meat, skin-on baked chicken. There are silly calorie counts all in MFP. If something looks too good to be true, Google is a great tool, as is NutritionData. And if something looks completely blown out of proportion, ditto.
Haha, I was going to say...I eat thighs all the time and according to the package 4 ounces of skinless boneless thigh is only slightly more calories than breast meat (130 vs 110, I think.) Not sure on what planet 3 thighs is 150 or 1200 calories.
Nutrition Facts (Googled as recommended)
Chicken, thigh
Amount Per 1 thigh with skin (189 g)
Calories 414
No, dear. I've never compared the calorie count of a 7 oz thigh with skin to a calorie count of a 4 oz thigh without skin in any of my posts. I'm going to assume you've just jumped in and didn't bother to read my original post.
Geeze, people...tedious.0 -
Le sigh. I totally support and empathize with the pro-scale folks. However, I feel like ANY consistent form of measurement is better than none. Who knows maybe measuring tablespoons could be the gateway to measuring ounces? Just a thought.0
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I jut do the best I can by serving...weigh ..measure ...count whatever ..heck its better than what I was doing before and sitting down with the whole dang bag
^^^^^this0 -
Lots of people do it so they feel totally accurate. Personally myself, I just look at the size of a portion and determine if it's too much or too little. Can't have too much bacon, IMO.It drives me nutty when founds are listed by the ounce or some other measuring....If I'm having salsa and chips, I measure out by tablespoons my salsa and a number of chips (for example)...I don't measure out x many ounces of chips....who does that?! Why in sam's hill can't they put an estimated quantity? I don't always want to weight my lunch meat, or chips, or dry pasta. I do have a scale but it's not always convenient.
*phew* glad you let me get that off my chest. Feel free to share your complaint
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this, only Im a raw vegan so I dont eat bacon , but on the plus side because my diet is mostly vegetables its kind of hard to over do it.0 -
I'm the opposite, I hate it when stuff isn't entered by weight. A cup of carrots, or apples? Am I being stingy with my cup or should I cram in as much as possible?
I just really like weighing everything.
Even tho your Hannibal creeps me out, I am with you on weighing everything.0 -
get a scale that lists it in gr. oz etc.then does all conversions. I try to find the one listed that has one chip or one nut. Now I know that some chips weigh different gr. oz ie.. but do we need to be that accurate? Thought about ordering a scale, but how much I would use it .. not sure..I don't read things in gr. I do the oz. so I have to go look at the conversion chart and figure it out. I'm old school and don't live in europe.. never learned a lot of that in school..I error on the side of add calories on the quick calorie count just to make sure I have covered all my basis. and calories burned I error on the low side. o.k. enough on this subject..0
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I'm the opposite, I hate it when stuff isn't entered by weight. A cup of carrots, or apples? Am I being stingy with my cup or should I cram in as much as possible?
I just really like weighing everything.
^^ This
+1
Also even when measuring liquid in volume can be quite complicate seeing that a even a cup unit in Asia, Europe and North Amercia is different.
I love gram unit the most thought, I found it is more accurate than an Oz.0 -
This is one of the reasons why I weigh every chance I can: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
and specifically this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
I recommend that people do weigh where possible and not measure, unless liquid, or eyeball.
That video made my OCD self cringe. Yes, you need to level it, and any time you scoop you're going to get more in the cup. Ex: if you scoop oatmeal or flour, you're going to get way more than if you spoon it into the cup one spoonful at a time.
I bake a lot. For quick breads or cookies or cupcakes I use measuring cups and spoons. It's easier because it's how I learned to cook, and I measure consistently, so my measurement is good enough.
But I'm just learning to bake bread. I weigh everything. That cupcake recipe probably has 2 cups of flour, but that bread recipe probably has about 6, so your small mistakes add up. And since I'm still learning, I need to be as exact as possible, so that I know exactly how much water and flour I used, not how much I think I used.
I think it's good that things are in weights and measurements. I eat a lot if peanut butter. I will never measure it. I consistently scoop it with the same 2 tablespoon spoon and level it. I'm sure it's a little off, but it is always going to be consistently the same amount off. But for something like chicken, I'm going to weigh it, because I'm never going to be able to measure it consistently.0 -
Yeah I am not always at home when I eat, and I am certainly not going to break out a food scale and measure my food while I am a guest in someone's house and they prepared a meal for me. Weighing food might be the most accurate way, but it's not always practical, and having the calorie counts available for those times when you cannot measure it is nice. It's frustrating to have to try and guess how many ounces were in what you just ate if you have no access to a scale.0
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and specifically this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
That video was great! And as some other posters said, anything is better than just sitting down with the container and eating. But, I use my kitchen scale for everything that isn't already pre measured.
A 'cup' of whatever does me no good.
The worst is when I looked up one of my favorite things. Apple Fritter! OKAY there are like apparently a billion kinds of apple fritters and 95% of them are measured as '1 fritter'. Do you know how HUGE those things can get?! omg! I had to go through dozens of entries on 'apple fritter' to find a few comparative entries that included grams! And I learned that my favorite donut in the whole world, averages about 3.4 calories per gram, oh my!
But ya know what, thanks to people who included gram measurements, I weighed it, recorded it, planned around it, and still lost weight that week. Worth it! If I could not weigh it, I would have been off by hundreds of calories, no joke, because apparently my local donut shop is like apple fritters are srs business and it was 261 grams (of awesome).0 -
Right now estimating with cups, tablespoons and sizes is working for me, but I still have a lot to lose and that gives me a bit more leeway. I'm happy for that because I can't buy a food scale right now, eventually though, if/when I hit a plateau, I'll push a scale on the priority list but until then, I eat the best I can, exercise daily and know that I am healthier because of it.0
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