Feeling the need to whinge about calories for a bit

DoingTheNeedful · August 2014

My breakfast today illustrates how counting calories and macros is SUCH a pain, and I’m not even sure if I’m doing it right? And if I’m not doing it right, then why bother doing it at all?

Here was my breakfast today:

> 2 slices of bacon
> 2 eggs, overeasy, cooked in the grease left behind
> 2 cups of coffee, black
> watermelon

Should be easy, right? MyFitnessPal has got all of those things. However:

> Pan-frying 2 slices of bacon left sufficient grease to cook 2 eggs. However, some grease is left behind in the pan. So some of the calories are left behind and shouldn’t get counted, right?
> 2 over-easy eggs means some yolk gets left behind on the plate, which goes to the dog because I love that dog and he loves egg yolk. Some of those calories shouldn’t get counted either, right?
> MFP says 2 cups of black coffee is 5 calories, with a gram of protein. Is that even worth considering, though?
> Don’t get me started on watermelon. If I’m going to accurately measure calories, I’m gonna cut the flesh from the rind and weigh it. I wouldn’t be able to eat watermelon the way I’d rather - by holding the rind and eating the fruit, like a person does.
> And what of the seeds? If I measure out 455g of watermelon, some non-zero amount of that is going to get left behind. What am I gonna do - pick out the seeds before I weigh the fruit? Or weigh the seeds after the fact and subtract it from my first measurement?

I’m thinking about it too much. I *know* that. But honestly this feels like only a fraction of my problems with measuring this stuff. There’s all kinds of stuff that’s not practical to measure. And I feel like if I can’t do it close to perfect, there’s no point in doing it at all.

Am I being neurotic? Ridiculous? Am I looking for excuses? I dunno; analyze me if you want, or scold me for a fool. This is just some stuff I’m stressing about while I’m trying to “eat right.”

Cathalain · August 2014

I don't know about most of these things, but I can testify to the coffee. The calories in black coffee are so small that they're absolutely miniscule - if there are even any. I mean, it's just water and ground coffee beans, nothing more.

I don't bother with the coffee. Even if it's 5 calories, so what? I can burn that just by breathing.

hj1119 · August 2014

You make me feel less neurotic, so thank you.

1. This is why I don't cook in leftover bacon grease

2. This is why I scramble my eggs.

3. I didn't like eating watermelon off the rind before I started counting calories anyway.

4. I have definitely measured before-and-after food and logged accordingly, such as apple cores, fruit peels, etc. I was disappointed in how much cherry pits weigh (aka nearly nothing. I was shocked too.)

hj1119 · August 2014

Also, I have had meals where I measure literally everything down to the gram. Even prepackaged stuff. So if I get a bread roll that says that 65g is the serving size, and it's a 73g roll, you bet your bottom dollar that I'm logging 1.12 of a serving!

Dgydad · August 2014

Yeah, you ARE over-thinking it. I'd wager that a properly vetted entry for 2 cooked slices of bacon would allow for the calories contained in the rendered fat. Likewise, I doubt you're leaving that much egg yolk on your plate (Lord knows I don't leave much

. I drink a goodly amount of coffee, and all I log is the cream I put in it (when I do). Weigh the melon, eat the flesh whoever you wish; then weigh the rind. Subtract the latter from the former and you're GTG. Life is generally hard enough as it is - don't make it harder for yourself....

Hearts_2015 · August 2014

It sounds as if you might be over thinking on some of these incidents. I realize that's easy to do at times but how much yolk is left on your plate, how much grease is left in the pan etc., maybe not worrying about things like that may ease up your anxiety a bit about food.

Keep it Simple - because truly it is.... sometimes we can get so caught up on all the elements of preparing and logging our food we forget to live our lives in between.

I'm not advocating NOT tracking food but worrying about many cals are in black coffee likely won't blow your day .

Take care, others will have insight to share as well.:happy:

elgray26 · August 2014

I would rather over estimate my calorie consumption than underestimate it. I always put in the full calorie estimates even if I don't finish the food or some yolk or grease is left over.

SarahRuthRuns · August 2014

You're worrying too much. Log as best you can and move on with your life.

kristinhowell · August 2014

The way I look at it - some things I don't eat all of it. It gets left behind, it gets stuck to the pan, it gets measured but it's not actually an edible piece of food; however, some things we eat and forget to log, or we have to guess because there's not a really good way to count it. In the end, things balance out. Maybe one day I work out a lot and I have a high-ish calorie burn and I decide, hey, I'm hungry, I'm going to eat back every single one of those calories. But, I probably didn't actually burn all those calories. But hey, I ate that apple but I didn't consider the weight of the core, or I ate that burrito this morning but a whole lot of meat fell out on the plate and got cold by the end of my meal so I just threw it out. (ETA: My example wasn't the greatest, reading back over it, but you get the gist. Balance occurs daily as well as weekly, so just let things play out and do the best you can).

As for calculating little calorie foods, you should if you think you'll end up going overboard. Because it can add up, and quickly. Also, I just like to be accurate in my logs, so if I look back, I can see everything I ate and drank for the day. I find that amusing for some reason.

Becoming too obsessive will burn you out, and quickly. You just have to find a way that works for you and that you can keep up without blowing a gasket along the way.

tibby531 · August 2014

I ran into the same "watermelon" frustration when it came to a chicken drumstick. it took an outside party to suggest weighing the full drumstick beforehand, and then weighing the bone/leftovers afterwards, and logging the difference. brilliant!

but I totally get it. it gets old, sometimes. so I try to find tiny "goals;" if I find 45 calories, I can have extra salad dressing, tonight; etc. if I don't make it fun or challenging, I'll get bored and give up. salad dressing, chocolate sauce and oreos seem to be my main go-to's.

hang in there! you're worth it. :flowerforyou:

MrsSWW · August 2014

Yeah, you ARE over-thinking it. I'd wager that a properly vetted entry for 2 cooked slices of bacon would allow for the calories contained in the rendered fat. Likewise, I doubt you're leaving that much egg yolk on your plate (Lord knows I don't leave much . I drink a goodly amount of coffee, and all I log is the cream I put in it (when I do). Weigh the melon, eat the flesh whoever you wish; then weigh the rind. Subtract the latter from the former and you're GTG. Life is generally hard enough as it is - don't make it harder for yourself....

This is good advice. It's never the yolk you withhold from the dog that makes you gain weight, it's thousands of excess calories you eat over a good while that makes you gain.
Don't sweat the small stuff, look at the big picture.

Oh, and I can never eat a full slice of toast with 3 furs drooling in front of me, I understand completely... :grumble:

deluxmary2000 · August 2014

I would rather over estimate my calorie consumption than underestimate it. I always put in the full calorie estimates even if I don't finish the food or some yolk or grease is left over.

This

royaldrea · August 2014

I feel you completely! I felt like I was going a bit overboard, but tbh when you're weighing "every single thing that crosses your lips" there will be that element of neurosis right? Chicken bones? Raw mushrooms? Sigh

I do weigh but some things I just can't be 100% accurate about - for example, I know that conventional MFP wisdom says to weigh rice uncooked. However, I sometimes eat dinner my family will cook (I usually weigh it to their great bemusement/concern about my apparent eating disorder). If someone cooks white rice, I weigh it. I am not going to ask my mother to weigh out the dry rice and divide it into so many equal portions, or weigh out mine and cook it in a separate pot, because that would be an ineffective and potentially painful (for me) conversation.

So, I let it go - I realize that I won't be 100% accurate even though I take the time to weigh, and I move on with my life because if I didn't it would drive me crazy and maybe damage my relationships? idk

AliceDark · August 2014

Even with a food scale and accurate database entries, you're never going to be 100% correct. The point isn't to be 100% correct. Get as close as you can, and move on with your life. Your two eggs had 147 calories. How many calories of egg yolk do you really think you left on your plate? 5%? Even if you left 10% of the egg on your plate, which I'd doubt, that's 15 calories. Concentrate on logging to the best of your ability and don't get so caught up in things that don't matter.

holliehhobbie · August 2014

Been there.....
I figure if I over analyze when I can then the times where I can't (food at work, restaurant, etc) it evens out. But I even count sugar free gum.

DoingTheNeedful · August 2014

Thanks everyone. I've been doing this a long time, and you'd think I'd know when I'm overthinking things, and then stop doing that. There's just a lot of elements to life and food that irritate the heck out of me when it comes to calories and macronutrients.

Like, I mean, if I'm out and about with my family, and we get the kids some churros because they like churros, and one of them offers me a bite? Like, I'm not going to cut off a piece and weigh it before eating it, even if I *did* carry a scale around with me, which I don't. But then I feel bad if I eat it (because how do I even calculate that) and I feel bad if I don't (because the kid sorta feels rejected).

And literally don't get me started on making family-sized dishes and trying to calculate taking a fraction of that. Just ... argh, I don't know.

_runnerbean_ · August 2014

I think what is important is to log consistently so you can make adjustments if you are not losing weight. For example- I have a drop of skim milk in my tea. I don't measure it but I am losing weight at a rate I am happy with so it's ok that I don't ever log it. If I logged it some days and not others it would start messing with my overall picture. So for the OP if you always cook bacon the same way and leave the same amount of yolk, but you are losing weight then don't change what you are doing.

farmers_daughter · August 2014

LOL. Omg if this is what it takes I'll happily be fat forever. It's probably why I haven't dropped a single pound. I refuse to become a slave to counting every single drop of air I inhale and worry about it's caloric value.

bwogilvie · August 2014

All these numbers are estimates. If you can't measure something, estimate it as well as you can and log it.

But here's the thing: if you weigh yourself consistently, you can check how well you're estimating your calories. If you've logged a 14,000 calorie deficit over 4 weeks, and you weigh 4 lb. less than you did at the beginning of that 4-week period, congratulations! Your logging is accurate.

If you've logged that deficit, but you weigh only 3 lb. less, then somewhere you missed 3500 calories, or 125 a day. That's actually pretty good: even trained dietitians missed over 200 calories a day according to one study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160). If you lost 5 lb., then you're under-logging by 125 a day.

Of course, weight fluctuates too much to be completely accurate, but if you use TrendWeight.com or some other tool to calculate an exponentially smoothed weighted average, you can be reasonably confident over periods of several weeks or months.

I think it's a more effective use of your time to log as accurately as possible *without obsessing*, then check your accuracy after a month or two and figure out your fudge factor.

Springfield1970 · August 2014

This is why I still knock 10% off my exercise calories and perhaps underestimate my tdee a fraction.

You will find your own way!

I still weigh everyday and take weight affecting things into account.

I know myself well enough now to guess when I'm eating a bit too much and gaining.

I tend to ever so slightly undereat a few days at a time to make up for unlogged days where maybe one or two meals are free and I may drink a bit more.

lalepepper · August 2014

When I first started I also overthought things a bit. I was waiting to weigh my plum until I took out the pit...until I realized the pit only weighs 2g! Unless there is some significant amount left behind, I count the full amount used. What's the worst that can happen - you overestimate your calories by a few? I know the temptation to be perfectly accurate and use up ALL of your "available" calories is strong. Ultimately all of your calories are estimates. So are your daily and exercise expenditures. Serving sizes assume a 2 slice portion of bacon will be a certain amount of grams, and that your egg is a pre-determined size.

Regarding your note about churros, do you know about the quick-add calories feature? If it makes you feel more protected from going over, maybe you could add an extra 75-100 calories to account for "bites". I'm the type of person who will look up the calories in your average churro to try to get an estimate, but this might be overkill for you. Remember, the logging here is a tool to better understand your intake, but it's not perfect. A bite here or there is unlikely to drastically influence your macros in the first place.

I don't do family-sized dishes normally with just my husband and I, but I generally just estimate by splitting the food in the pan in half between us (having put in a set amount of food in the recipe). Have you tried the recipe feature here? You can plug in the full amount of items put in to the dish, and then estimate your serving. You're not going to see perfection, but any estimate is better than none!

Feeling the need to whinge about calories for a bit

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