Question??? Please help!

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Families_R_Forever
Families_R_Forever Posts: 630
in Health and Weight Loss
This is the first time I have ever tracked my calories, so this question is probably a no-brainer to all of you. When I make something homemade like chile, do I add all the calories and proteins ect. of all of the ingredients together and then guess on how many servings it would feed? Also I don't know how to tell how much an oz. is. Is there something I can compare it to? I'm trying not to be to technical but I would like to have an idea.
Thanks so much, Heidi:wink:

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  • Families_R_Forever
    Families_R_Forever Posts: 630
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    This is the first time I have ever tracked my calories, so this question is probably a no-brainer to all of you. When I make something homemade like chile, do I add all the calories and proteins ect. of all of the ingredients together and then guess on how many servings it would feed? Also I don't know how to tell how much an oz. is. Is there something I can compare it to? I'm trying not to be to technical but I would like to have an idea.
    Thanks so much, Heidi:wink:
  • mechanicmom
    mechanicmom Posts: 5,697 Member
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    That's pretty much what I do, as far adding all the calories together and then guessing the servings. Or look up something similar in the food database to at least get you in the ballpark.
    I'm really not sure how much an ounce is either. I know that a cup is 8 ounces...right? So that kind of gives me an idea how much it is.
    I hope this helps!
  • walnut
    walnut Posts: 216 Member
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    You might want to get a small kitchen scale to help give you an idea of an ounce. You can find them for $10-$20 at Target.

    Also a 1 inch cube of cheese, a slice of bread, and a snack-size back of chips each weigh an ounce. If you are talking volume, there are 8 ounces in a cup.
  • Panthera
    Panthera Posts: 23
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    If you are wondering about a food that you make often, it is worth getting to know the calories and servings. The next time you make it, put all the ingredients into a program that will tell you the final calorie and nutritional count. Then get a typical size bowl and see how many times it is filled. This will give you the servings. You only have to do it once, and then you have that info.
  • dulceluva
    dulceluva Posts: 728 Member
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    That is what I do. I figure out all of the nutritional info for each piece of item that I am using and track how much of it I used. Then when I am done cooking, I use a 1 cup or 2 cup measuring cup and transfer the meal into a container and see how much cups I get. Then I calculate all of my info and divide it by how many cups (servings) I got out of it.
  • ConnieLynn
    ConnieLynn Posts: 242 Member
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    Hi there,

    My husband got me a kitchen scale for Christmas and it really helps for knowing what portion I need to enter on mfp.

    Make sure you get one with tare. It enables you to subtract the container when you measure your food.

    Hope that helps as well,

    Connie Lynn
  • dulceluva
    dulceluva Posts: 728 Member
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    Hi there,

    My husband got me a kitchen scale for Christmas and it really helps for knowing what portion I need to enter on mfp.

    Make sure you get one with tare. It enables you to subtract the container when you measure your food.

    Hope that helps as well,

    Connie Lynn

    The scale I have also subtracts the container. You put the container on the scale and then press Zero, and then the food.
  • kjllose
    kjllose Posts: 948 Member
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    ditto on the scale. If it is liquid then a pyrex measuring cup gives oz on it. If you are making a homemade recipe you could go to www.sparkpeople.com as they have a free recipe builder. I use it alot. You put all the ingredients in and then it asks how many servings you would like to break it down to. (sometime I measure it all out to get the right number.) You enter it and it gives you all the info you need to input into our database. This does take time but once you've done it you don't have to repeat it as your food is save here. Just make it the same. Hope this helps.
  • jenken99
    jenken99 Posts: 564 Member
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    yes i add the ingrediants to ,, sometimes it is hard to figure i just do my best,, good luck im sure u will do fine:flowerforyou:

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