Calorie Counting 101

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

chanell84 wrote: »

I've been telling everyone about weighing vs measuring and explaining why and ppl are just shocked! I was using 15 oz cans of black beans in a recipe and found that once drained and rinsed there is really only 9.6 ounces in each can. not the 15 they said. I found that the 15 oz weight includes the liquid and the can. My question then is do I then calculate the calories for 9.6 ounces of beans instead of 15. I'm thinking that's a no brainer yes but just want to be sure.

I'm not the expert, so you may want to wait for someone else to answer, but... I had the same issue with garbanzo beans and managed to find an entry in the USDA Database for canned drained garbanzos. The calories and nutrients are higher per gram in the drained version because the liquid has weight, but not many calories. When you take that away, you aren't taking away many calories, but you're adjusting the weight a lot. I don't know the right way, but I just weigh with the liquid and then drain it knowing that I'm not eating quite as much as I'm claiming. Not perfect, I know.

This is exactly what I would do! I use the USDA database A LOT!

Always make sure your information matches what you are weighing. If your information is for drained, rinsed, black beans, use that information only if you beans are drained, rinsed, and black. This is true of all foods. If you have 12 ounces of grilled chicken breast on your scale, don't use information for raw chicken breast. Don't use information for boiled chicken breast. Use information for grilled chicken breast because that's what you have. Is your information for cooked white rice? Don't use information for dry, brown, rice. You should always be able to find information to match what you have on the scale.

thejoe06 wrote: »

I think I need some help guys. I just started p90x and the book is saying I should be taking in around 2200-2500 calories a day. I may be way off with the calculation but if I'm not I just physically don't think I can eat that much in a day. I've been trying for a few days... does this calorie intake sound right? I am 6'2, 215lbs if that helps.

Thanks for any help!

If your goal is to lose weight, that seems like a reasonable starting point. You may need to decrease it a little as time goes on. I am 6'1 around 210 at the moment and I'll eat 25-2700 calories when I start my cutting phase in a month or two. That is not really all that much food. I would say to maintain a weight of 215, you'd have had to have been eating that much or more for quite some time. Fattier meats, ice cream, peanut butter, avocado, nuts, whole milk, and many other foods all have a fair amount of calories compared to how full they make you.

pinkpetals84 wrote: »

I believe that fitness pal should be used as guidance. I've learned to make healthier and conscientious choices. There's no perfect way to track our food intake. If for some of you this is a lifestyle journey, becoming too systematic over what you ingest could lead to failure. We should view food as fuel instead of a scientific ritual. This is coming from someone who has lost 20 in one month. What works for some will not apply to every individual. The key is maintaining a heathy balance and in using self control. One of the things that I tend to do is to add extra calories to my meal entry. That way I say myself from over analyzing and developing an OCD.

This is a guide for calorie counting. I agree that closely monitoring calorie counting, weighing foods to the gram, etc, might not be best for everyone. This thread is dedicated to people who want to give that route a try. It works wonder for plenty of people. Most of the people who find success with calorie counting cannot find a healthy balance without it. Self control is needed whether you calorie count or not. If your goals are on the extreme side, you may find that you will be unable to achieve them without strict calorie counting (I know I could never achieve my personal goals by just trying to have balance). Also, I don't see the point of arbitrarily adding calories to a meal. If you are taking the trouble to add everything into MFP in the first place, take the extra 2 seconds to weigh everything. Then you don't need to extra calories to a meal. I only add calories when I am fairly certain I have underestimated for one reason or another. This is usually when eating at a restaurant.

coconutbuNZ wrote: »

You know what? I've had a gutsful of weighing, measuring, being obsessed with weight loss! If you must,measure with your hand:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2537130/Portion-sizes.html

that's just not accurate, and to be honest, more work to remember all that. It's not hard to put food on a scale. It takes roughly 1 or 2 seconds more to place something on a scale and hit a button than to hold something up to your palm. Who has time to remember how many "dice size pieces of cheese are in an ounce. I'd rather press a button and be accurate.

bamlost wrote: »

Thanks! That was awesome!! I always wondered about meat, so frat insight there! Do you know how to weigh popcorn to know how many calories per serving?

It's on the package of kernels. You weigh them unpopped.