Do you count every calorie?

I pretty much log everything as well. I eat salads a lot and those fruits and veggies add up! I put low fat creamer in my coffee; about 2 tbsp and that is 70 calories. That can add up to 490 calories a week, about 500 calories which would take away from my calorie deficit. So logging in those little things can amount to bigger things.

It depends on how many times you consume a "little amount" of calories. It adds up! Sugar Free Jello cups are 10 calories each. I can easily eat 5 of them throughout the day, but that's 50 calories that it sums up to! I'd say logging it all just helps you to stay on top of everything.

i count everything but my husband cheats

i count every calorie! like. every. single. one. i measure and weigh everything. i also have a tendency to OVERestimate. i think it may be useful to count your calories from veggies and stuff, just so you can see the nutrients you are getting every day as well, even if you think the calories are not so significant, some things add up over time! so it may be better just to count 'em.

Hi Chris,
Your question reminds me of the joke that goes something like "how can I be out of money when I still have checks". My thought is that if you don't track the little things now, you'll probably start to convince yourself to ignore entering other things and eventually you will slip back into old habits. I don't suggest tracking to the point of making yourself a nut-case however, for something like your daily coffee, perhaps you could measure once, log the ingredients into a recipe builder or as individual items and use the copy feature to bring it over from day to day...for example: I use 2 K-cups + 7 mini moos just about every morning so they are on my frequent foods list. There are a few ingredients like cucumbers and celery that don't add up to a lot of calories on their own but take a look at how many calories there are in a restaurant salad and you can see how easily what looks like it should be nothing can turn into a 400 calorie salad. Feel free to add me. I'm no expert by any means but I'm trying to make the effort give support and know it will come back to me
Sharon

I've recently added some friends to MFP. I've learned this journey cannot be taken alone and I figure friends will help. I see that I can see others food diaries and one person has counted all of their calories including 16 for 30ml of skimmed milk added to coffee. I don't but should I?

I have asked MFP to give me a 1000 calorie a day deficit (2lb's per week). I have trouble eating that (1700 cals per day), but there are some things I just generally don't count, I don't count milk in coffee (1pt generally lasts me about 10 days), I don't count all the calories in veg and salad that I eat (unless I know they are likely to be significant - things like peas, potatoes, etc).

Should I meticulously be tracking every calorie, should I save myself a few each day or should I just ignore it? Its early days and I know I am losing weight, but am I fooling myself? Is my weight loss water and will I just find I stay the same next week?

Thoughts and opinions appreciated and if you want to add me as a friend, I am happy to accept - I am keen to build up a support network.

Many thanks
Chris

Heya Chris - I count everything too.
I was doing, like you, and ignoring the small stuff for awhile and on a wild hair started counting it... Turned out it was over 400 calories a day. HOLY COW! - so now I even add the 0 calorie sweetener or Diet pepsi if I have one that day LOL

I log everything I eat...squirt of ketchup, mustard, Stevia packet, mushrooms, creamer in coffee.....if it goes in my mouth it gets logged. I log things not only to keep track of calories, but also other nutritional info like protein and sodium.

Yes, I count everything. At first I did this to really see exactly what I was consuming. Now, whilst I know that fruit & veg etc is minimal, I still count it; this is because I am amazed to see how much I can eat and for so few calories - I kinda get a kick out of that.

If it goes in your mouth it goes on the MFP log.

Edit: I do believe that's the dirtiest thing I've posted here

That made me laugh. :laugh:

I add just about everything. I don't count diet soda because it has no calories, but if it has a calorie, I count it. Otherwise, as other people have pointed out, it's really easy for all those incidental little things to add up.

It's also helpful - for me at least - to realize that "just a chip here" or "just a taste of this" really does mean something. It might be a tiny bit of something unhealthy, but when I'm chugging along on the elliptical, it turns out to be not worth the extra effort, you know?

I bet you are in the US, because of the way the law works there, they do not have to put the calorie content if its below a certain amount per SERVING hence of you look at a small bottle of diet coke it will have TWO servings...diet coke has calories on the can in the UK, a normal can of diet coke has 4 calories and even coke zero has a calorie a can...so you might want to think again about your diet soda..

As for logging everything, I do more or less, I am not obsessive, I sometimes estimate or guess weights, and sometimes I might be over or under but mostly I log as honestly as I can and am able to. Seems to me the best way to go is to make sure you know where you calories are coming from?

If i have an apple or an orange i count it, but if i have double cheese burger i dont. Hope this helps