A Beginner With A question....

SuzMar17
SuzMar17 Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So how does everyone figure out calories for something you do not have the calories for? For instance, I had a salad at a diner....it was a Waldorf Chicken Salad with grilled chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, apples, grapes and I had dressing on the side.

I found a Waldorf Chicken Salad in the database....is that safe to use for situations like these?

How does everyone handle logging food they don't exactly the breakdown? Do you just estimate?

Replies

  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    If I make it, then I do it by the individual ingredients. If I get it from a place not listed in the database, I try to find something close and use experience to get as close as possible. I also err on the side of caution.
  • jac_84
    jac_84 Posts: 128 Member
    I try to find something as close it is as I can. I had a salad tonight so I put that in and the dressing I had. I had veggies in it, but because its low cal I didnt worry about it. Im always under my calorie goal daily anyways so I just try to get my logging as close as possible.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Visit the restaurant's website for nutritional information. If none, find the closest *reliable* entry in the database. It's full of faulty entries. Choosing a ridiculously low-calorie entry will not get you closer to your goal.

    When you cook at home, use the recipe builder. The first time you scan any barcode, verify the entry against the label. (After that, you can safely choose the entry from your recent/frequent lists.)

    Logging is simple, but it ain't easy.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • SuzMar17
    SuzMar17 Posts: 30 Member
    Thanks so much!

    Unfortunately, they do not have a website with their nutritional information. So, I tried to find something close and higher than lower to be on the safe side. It's good that I tend to be under my range for times like these.

    I much rather always know the exact calories, but I am sure from time to time we will be in these situations. I will for sure not do this all the time. I figured a grilled chicken salad was the safest, but the cheese and dressing were the extra but was very light.

    Thanks for that link, I actually have seen that one the other day looking through the boards!

    Thanks for all your help!!!
  • paula5077
    paula5077 Posts: 57
    In that situation I would log each item individually, if the calories are questionable I pick the higher intake. Better safe than sorry. Be careful with dressings, the calories will really surprise you!
  • Mistyvs
    Mistyvs Posts: 56 Member
    I usually just use something comparable.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    I guestimate. No two days are the same, not two meals are the same.
  • culo97
    culo97 Posts: 256 Member
    So how does everyone figure out calories for something you do not have the calories for?

    How does everyone handle logging food they don't exactly the breakdown? Do you just estimate?
    For food or meals where I don't know the calorie and nutrition break down, I usually Google the mystery food. For example "baked potato nutrition". I also do this for MFP entries that look unrealistic. For instance, if the database shows a baked potato with only 15 calories, I look for another entry or create a new food.

    One of the links that usually comes up is http://nutritiondata.self.com/, so I often look there first.

    If I don't know the ingredients in a dish, I look it up on AllRecipes, http://allrecipes.com/. Most dishes have the nutrition breakdown per serving. If there are a lot of recipes with the same name, I just pick one.

    Good luck.
  • HaibaneReki
    HaibaneReki Posts: 373 Member
    One of the links that usually comes up is http://nutritiondata.self.com/, so I often look there first.

    If I don't know the ingredients in a dish, I look it up on AllRecipes, http://allrecipes.com/. Most dishes have the nutrition breakdown per serving. If there are a lot of recipes with the same name, I just pick one.

    Good luck.
    thanks a bunch!
  • November_Fire
    November_Fire Posts: 165 Member
    I don't eat back my exercise calories so they can be used as a buffer when I'm basically guessing. I homemake almost all our food and I'm not going to sit down and calculate every nibbit of cheese or tomato in a dish, or exactly how many chickpeas I got in my portion. Last night we ate out at a Thai place - I logged the beef strips, small portion of rice (only ate a third of it), vegetables, a beer and left it at that. Adding the three pawn crackers, the coriander and spring onions wouldn't have made a huge difference, and I don't know what else was in it. So if I log about 1500 but really I'm off by 200, no worries, I probably burned that walking 5 miles and doing 30 mins of workouts. Ish. It's all estimates anyway.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I homemake almost all our food and I'm not going to sit down and calculate every nibbit of cheese or tomato in a dish, or exactly how many chickpeas I got in my portion.
    That's not how the recipe builder works. You enter all the ingredients (1 lb. cheddar, 1 28-oz. can tomatoes, etc.), and the number of servings. Then it does all the math for you to calculate the calories & nutritional info per serving.

    In the iOS app, it's settings > my food & exercise > my recipes > +.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/box
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    A lot of people have already responded with this answer, but I'll add to the crowd by saying that I log the individual components and also believe it's probably better to overestimate than underestimate.

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