first time at calorie counting - help before my brain melts

centiweasel
centiweasel Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
hey everyone i have never counted calories before and im about to start but it confusing me so much that i feel like giving it up already, before i even began so im looking for answers to a few questions, and some advice on where to go next

let me explain that i have read though this entire website here ( http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/ )
and its given me a pretty good idea of what to do
i am male
26 years old
75 inches tall
and i weigh 196 lb

it says that i should eat 2560 cals in order to lose fat
im not worried if this too much as i will adjust it later in a few weeks so nm that

and im going to eat a ratio of
37:25:38
protein:fat:carbs

after all this i thought nice one now i just need to figure out what food to eat so i go to tesco website
and straight away hit floor in my plan

the website says that
1g protein = 4 cals
1g fat = 9 cals
and 1 g carbs = 4 cals

so take this broccoli from tesco website

Typical Values 100g contains
Energy 160kJ (38kcal)
Protein 4.4g
Carbohydrate 1.8g
Sugars 1.5g
Fat 0.9g
Saturates 0.2g
Fibre 2.6g
Salt 0.1g

so protein + carbs = 4.4 + 1.8 = 6.2 x 4 = 24.8
fats = 0.9 x 9 = 8.1
8.1 + 24.8 = 32.9 cals

32.9 cals not 38 like it says
not sure i fibre = 2 cals per gram

had a similar problem with chicken (frozen chicken breast) because its cheap

Energy 420kJ (100kcal)
Protein 19.0g
Carbohydrate 0.9g
Sugars 0.9g
Fat 2.0g
Saturates 0.5g
Mono Unsaturates 1.0g
Polyunsaturates 0.4g
Fibre 1.0g
Sodium* 0.3g
*Salt Equivalent 0.8g

19.9 x 4 = 79.6 + 18 = 97.6
not 100 cals maybe the 1g fiber is 2 cals then round it up to 100

how on earth are you meant to do it

Replies

  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    You are way over thinking this. If the serving size says 100kcal, then its 100 cal. That's it. No need to do the extra math.
  • darkhorse43
    darkhorse43 Posts: 70 Member
    If you want the protein/fat/carb pie chart use the mobile app. It will show it to you via your food diary.

    But also, what she said. You're overthinking this. Just put your food into the diary.
  • gnalani
    gnalani Posts: 126
    I didn't check the math, but I'm assuming your problem lies in how you are calculating carbs. Total carb count includes fiber and sugar (on a nutrition label both sugar and fiber are subset under the carb heading). Try adding carbs, fiber, and sugar together and then multiply by 4.

    Another tip about nutrition labels is that they always round down.

    So for example, sometimes you'll see that crystal light has:

    4 calories
    0 fats
    0 carbs
    0 protein

    The calories are most likely coming from the 0.9g carbs (sugar) that is in crystal light.

    But like the person above me said, you're overthinking it. When you log, choose foods that have been confirmed by a lot of users in the myfitnesspal database. Thats the major major advantage of myfitnesspal -- it makes the whole counting process very simple!
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    When people say "calorie", they mean kcal. Nutrition labels don't list joules.

    Just plug the stuff in.

    You're complicating it for no reason. It really couldn't be more simple. A sixth grader could do all this. :)
  • centiweasel
    centiweasel Posts: 4
    thank you to everyone for your replies, i am now going to go and use the nutritional values on the label rather than try work it out for myself, way too complicated making it add up
    however i am reluctant to use the app and i think im going to use a good old fashioned note pad
    so for the moment i have been trying to work out some meals which leads me to a few more questions regarding potatoes and bread
    first up is this example of potatoes again from tesco

    Typical Values 100g contains
    Energy 346kJ (82kcal)
    Protein 2.1g
    Carbohydrate 17.2g
    Sugars 0.6g
    Fat 0.2g
    Saturates <0.1g
    Fibre 1.3g
    Salt 0.1g
    Thiamin (Vitamin B1) 0.2mg (19% of RDA)
    Folic Acid 35.0µg (18% of RDA)

    i would like to know if these values relate to potatoes that have been peeled or remain un peeled as no mention of this is made
    and my queston on bread is much simpler
    which bread is best? what do i need to look for in a loaf
    this is the one i was considering

    Ingredients

    Wholemeal Wheat Flour, Water, Multigrain & Seed Mix (9%) (Millet, Barley Flakes, Sunflower Seeds, Malted Wheat Flakes, Rye Flakes), Wheat Gluten, Malted Barley Flour, Salt, Vegetable Fat, Yeast, Spirit Vinegar, Emulsifiers (Mono- and Di-Acetyltartaric Esters of Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Soya Lecithins), Wheat Flour, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid)

    Nutrition
    NutritionTypical Values 100g as sold contains
    Energy 970kJ (230kcal)
    Protein 9.9g
    Carbohydrate 39.1g
    Sugars 1.9g
    Fat 2.1g
    Saturates 0.3g
    Fibre 7.4g
    Sodium* 0.4g
    *Salt Equivalent 0.9g

    one last question,
    when you cook your food does it alter the nutritional make up?
    no, a bit, a lot? is it worth worrying about?

    thank you again
    love from chris
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    The only thing you need to worry about with cooking food is what you add to it (e.g., a chicken breast pan fried in oil has added calories from the oil) and the weight changes. If you logged your chicken breast as .5lb raw weight, that's great but be aware it's going to weigh less cooked, so don't try to log it at 'raw calories' and 'cooked weight', if that makes sense.
  • lizarddev
    lizarddev Posts: 100 Member
    Chris,
    Google is your friend to some point depending on how detailed you want to get. To start off, be general and go from there and your research will lead you to answers you might want to know about. Here are a few sites to help keep you on track for the moment and make sure when you log the label matches whats in MFP.

    http://www.nutritionvalue.org/
    http://www.calorieking.com/foods/

    Here is a Blog that can help with the cooking knowledge journey. Remember that it is a blog but leads to studies with in it.

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/ask-well-does-boiling-or-baking-vegetables-destroy-their-vitamins/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

    I hope this helps you out to get started.
  • RussellG67
    RussellG67 Posts: 24 Member
    count the calories and seek out high protein low sodium foods, and eat your veggies. done. At the end of the day the my fitness pal tracker will do all the math for you for all the other nutrients and ratios. If you find that you still not getting the protein you need, then look for more sources. If you go for things that are high protein and focus on eating a lot a veggies, you will most likely find that you are very close to the ratio you need. If you found you were low on fat yesterday, then make sure eat a few nuts today. I don't overthink any given day, just look at the results and adjust the next day a bit.

    Don't over think it an don't try to track on pen an paper if you want to track more than calories. Got to keep it simple. It wills tart to become second nature.
  • flavia1432
    flavia1432 Posts: 30 Member
    Do you use the phone app? And does your phone have a camera? A great tool is the bar code scanner. Just scan whatever it is that you would like to incorporate into your diet. EVERYTHING! It will give you the nutritional value on the spot. (I have yet to stump MFP) Then play around with your diet for the day. Put everything in that you might eat. Don't like what you see? Play around with portions, or make substitutions, you get the picture. Once you're happy with your macro/micro and calorie balance - bingo! There's your plan. Use the tools that are available to you. You can make a fire by striking flint and steel, but it's so much easier to just use the darn Bic. ;)
  • RussellG67
    RussellG67 Posts: 24 Member
    Cooking can things. But again, don't worry about it too much. Only thing is on veggies. Best raw, better steamed, worst boiled. Boiling takes out vitamins and they get tossed with the water. But for tracking don't worry about it. Just try to make better choices over time.

    Now on cooking. If you pan grill chicken in a pool of butter, count the butter too. All of it, don't assume you cooked away the fat. Most of it is in there. But don't worry about the nutrient changes of a well done or medium well chicken breast.
  • RussellG67
    RussellG67 Posts: 24 Member
    Do you use the phone app? And does your phone have a camera? A great tool is the bar code scanner. Just scan whatever it is that you would like to incorporate into your diet. EVERYTHING! It will give you the nutritional value on the spot. (I have yet to stump MFP) Then play around with your diet for the day. Put everything in that you might eat. Don't like what you see? Play around with portions, or make substitutions, you get the picture. Once you're happy with your macro/micro and calorie balance - bingo! There's your plan. Use the tools that are available to you. You can make a fire by striking flint and steel, but it's so much easier to just use the darn Bic. ;)

    I LOVE the bar code scanner!!!!!
  • gnalani
    gnalani Posts: 126
    Honestly, its just not as complicated as you're making it out to be. I know calorie counting can seem overwhelming, but I promise you, its not :)

    1. Choose what you're going to eat

    2. Weigh it/measure it (those two numbers may be a little different -- always weigh food if you can as its more accurate. If you can't, then measure it instead. And I should add that "measure" does NOT mean "3.5 inch long potato." It means "1c milk" for example.).

    3. Use the barcode scanner or the search function to find the foods you're eating in the MFP database.

    4. Choose how much your portion is and log it!

    5. Stay within your daily calorie allotment and keep an eye on your macros.

    6. Enjoy the weight loss!
  • centiweasel
    centiweasel Posts: 4
    thanks once again,
    i think i understand
    if 100g raw chicken is 100 cal then once its cooked its still 100 cal even tho it weighs more or less

    thank you for the links i will definitely read them later on tonight

    still not convinced it will use the app sorry, im not big into been all gadgety and that stuff
    il will see how it goes without first

    what about the spud skins after all do people think that the nutrition values stated are with them on or off?

    must say big thanks to every one for helping me im feeling very optimistic and exited about the future

    -chris
  • centiweasel
    centiweasel Posts: 4
    i know, i over think it big time
    im sure it will be easy once i actually put it into practice
  • gnalani
    gnalani Posts: 126
    thanks once again,
    i think i understand
    if 100g raw chicken is 100 cal then once its cooked its still 100 cal even tho it weighs more or less

    thank you for the links i will definitely read them later on tonight

    still not convinced it will use the app sorry, im not big into been all gadgety and that stuff
    il will see how it goes without first

    what about the spud skins after all do people think that the nutrition values stated are with them on or off?

    must say big thanks to every one for helping me im feeling very optimistic and exited about the future

    -chris

    For your potato question, this is one big reason why I would highly recommend using MFP (if not the app, then on a computer). You can add a potato with skin, a potato without skin, just the skins, and on and on. Even if you aren't using the calculator part of MFP, at least you can use it to look up the foods for your notebook. It sounds like you're already looking up the foods online anyways.

    Though one word of advice for potatoes -- they ALWAYS need to be weighed. Don't go by "small," "medium," or "large."

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