Do you really know what calories your eating?

badshot
badshot Posts: 17
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

Been on here for 5 days now, and ive been under my calories and over on a couple of occasions.
The thing I find difficult is that sometimes I just dont know how many calories some of my meals are! Ive tried looking on packets and weighing the odd bit of food, but it still seems to be such a guessing game to me.

Do you really have to weigh / check the packaging on every single piece of food that you eat, or can you just improvise and choose smaller portions?

Yours confused

Replies

  • CodyAnne
    CodyAnne Posts: 20
    You'll get used to using MFP after a while - they added a new feature for you to put together a "recipe" for your meal. I approximate the weight of things from time to time but also have a kitchen scale (that goes up to 6 lbs) and that helps tremendously. After a while you just start to know how much 4 oz of liquid is by looking at it, or that the size of that pork chop is about 4 oz. Don't get disheartened by all of the "work" you have to do to log your foods at first, because it really will pay off. When I first started with MFP I thought, "Dang, I'm going to have to put this in my food diary!" and knowing it was complicated and full of calories, I'd opt not to eat it or to eat less of it. But like I said after a while it will become much easier for you to use, the more you use it. Good luck!
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
    For me part of learning "what an actual serving size is" is all the weighting and measuring. At first it seemed daunting. but I remind myself that these are the real tools I'm learning from MFP. First time I weighed, what I thought was an oz of cheese, it was almost 4oz. Now I can slice off an oz every time. I can almost always pick out the 3oz chicken breast and I can spot a 100grams of sweet potato from across the room, well across the counter anyway. Learning all these things will allow me to keep this weight off for life and not just gain it all back because I didn't learn the relationships between quantity of food and calories.

    I hope it gets easier for you, I barely think about the fact that I weigh and measure everything anymore. Good luck on your journey.
  • Beebee78
    Beebee78 Posts: 703
    At first it can be daunting but you will soon learn that measuring things really does make a difference. Meal planning is a fantastic tool also.

    Good luck on your journey xxx
  • CFAITH_WARD
    CFAITH_WARD Posts: 281 Member
    I even measure my sons food (he is 8)....I want him to know what a serving is...really once you have done it for awhile it isn't too bad...it is normal everyday life and worth it.
  • BettyBeth14
    BettyBeth14 Posts: 171 Member
    Im exactly the same!! No concept of what an actually portion size is, or how much somethings weihg...im hoping everyone is right and it comes to me over time.

    In the meantime I blame restaurants for their stupid sizes of food!! haha xx
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,064 Member
    Absolutely...I've been doing this since 2008 and I still weigh and measure things most of the times. One night last week, my husband brought out the pork chops. I figured it was a serving. When I asked about the weight. It was actually two FULL servings.

    Needless to say, I didn't eat it all that night. But I did check to see where having those two servings would put me and it was way over so I settled on one.

    He used to approximate and found he wasn't losing. Now that he is, he's losing in a big way again (13 pounds since the end of August) vs. 3 since May.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    I have to admit that I don't weigh/measure the green vegies. The starchy ones yes. I do weigh/measure the meats and oatmeal every time. I very rarely use any oils, and do account for the coffee creamer and butter I use at breakfast. If anything I over account for the butter, I usually use half a pat but log a whole pat. At the beginning it was a real pain in the tush to weigh and measure everything, but I had to do it in order to determine the correct portion size. It gets easier with time.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
    Hi all,

    Been on here for 5 days now, and ive been under my calories and over on a couple of occasions.
    The thing I find difficult is that sometimes I just dont know how many calories some of my meals are! Ive tried looking on packets and weighing the odd bit of food, but it still seems to be such a guessing game to me.

    Do you really have to weigh / check the packaging on every single piece of food that you eat, or can you just improvise and choose smaller portions?

    Yours confused

    Weigh everything.

    People do guess and then moan when they find they have (a) lost no weight or (b) put weight on. This occurs because some foods (such as butter) have a huge difference when it comes to one teaspoonful or two teaspoonsful. The same goes for so many other foods, that the safest thing to do is to weight and watch everything, if you don't you could end up fooling yourself x
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    I know it sounds like a pain, but weigh everything!! Really - after awhile, you'll learn what real portions are, but while you're learning, you'll need a scale as your guide. I use it to weigh anything that's not liquid. Here's the scale I'd recommend. It's $25, free shipping, holds up to 11 lbs (which is pretty high for a kitchen scale), as a Tare function and the batteries lasted me over a year before I had to change them. It's gotten overwhelmingly good reviews, and I can personally vouch for how easy it is to use.

    http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Kitchen-Silver/dp/B001N07KUE/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285357060&sr=8-1
  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
    I don't. I guesstimate. I mean I look at packages if its conveniently there for me, but I don't actually break out a scale and weigh my food. I have measured certain foods, like cereal, milk, butter, cream cheese etc. And I notice I actually use less than a serving most of the time. Because if I'm trying to watch what I eat, everything looks like a lot to me.
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
    Kinda, sorta. I thought I knew but then common sense kicked in. If I really knew I would not be here. I know fast foods are bad and I stay clear of them.

    When preparing meals I have started weighing more items. It is a pain at first but it is worth it. It will get easier. Although most times I don't even eat all my dinners, I also have been working on portion control. No more seconds. Or thirds, LOL
  • clipsychic
    clipsychic Posts: 99
    Great thread!
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    I know it sounds like a pain, but weigh everything!! Really - after awhile, you'll learn what real portions are, but while you're learning, you'll need a scale as your guide. I use it to weigh anything that's not liquid. Here's the scale I'd recommend. It's $25, free shipping, holds up to 11 lbs (which is pretty high for a kitchen scale), as a Tare function and the batteries lasted me over a year before I had to change them. It's gotten overwhelmingly good reviews, and I can personally vouch for how easy it is to use.

    http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Kitchen-Silver/dp/B001N07KUE/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285357060&sr=8-1
    I like this scale! Looking for a new one plus this will work great for my ebay items as well. :laugh: :laugh: :wink: ah and YES I'll wipe down the scale when done weighing pkgs. in case anyone is worried:laugh: :flowerforyou:

    Trenton... great new photo:drinker:
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