o calorie per serving foods-do you track them? and if so how?

Tatarataa
Tatarataa Posts: 178 Member
edited November 14 in Health and Weight Loss
I eat a lot of 0 calorie per serving foods like pickles, traditional shirataki noodles, walden farms products etc. and now I heard they can have up to 5 calories per serving so I was wondering whether I should not track them and if so should I track 1 serving as 5 calories? What do you think-does anyone have a similar problem?
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Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Those foods don't have zero calories.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ummm those foods all have calories….

    whoops...
  • SexyKatherine73
    SexyKatherine73 Posts: 221 Member
    if you eat one serving only I would not log it, but if your eating many servings of so called ZERO calorie foods, you would have to as they all do add up ... eg you ate say 2 servers of traditional shirataki noodles and a pickle they have calories.
  • aaliceinw
    aaliceinw Posts: 747 Member
    Why do you believe they have 0 calories? Noodles are usually made of wheat or rice, both have calorific and nutritional values.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Personally, I eat some of them and don't track them, but it's not enough to hinder my results. If my results weren't what I was hoping for I would probably take a look at them and start tracking them. Really, this is one of those things that probably depends on the person and how many of the zero calorie foods you eat.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,219 Member
    The only reason they have "0" calories is the FDA says that if a "serving" (no matter how small that serving is) is less than 5 calories, they can round down to 0 on the label. So yup, they have calories, and if you're eating a lot of them, you're probably better off logging 5 cals a serve.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    the only zero calorie "food" is air and water
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    If you eat just one pickle, I might not bother. But you say you eat a lot....you need to log them.

    ~Lyssa
  • myfatass78
    myfatass78 Posts: 411 Member
    Track them. They may have important vitamins and minerals etc
  • christopherlee147
    christopherlee147 Posts: 22 Member
    Track everything that you eat, there's no reason not to. If you have a jar of pickles for example, I'm sure there are some calories listed per serving no matter how few there are. Furthermore, foods like pickles may be very low in calories but they tend to be very high in sodium. I would err on the side of caution if you're trying to loose weight.
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    I track some sauces and spices that say they have zero cals because I watch my sodium because of my kidneys. It helps me figure out for next time what is a good combo and what isnt.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    edited March 2015
    It's the point of diminishing returns for me. I don't track things like sugar free gum, diet soda, etc. At max 5 calories per serving, even if I had 20 per day it still wouldn't be a biggie for me

    I did recently find an entry for mustard that was by the cup and so it had more calories. This was because I was doing a honey mustard recipe and using large quantities of the stuff. At that point, the calories can really add up!

    In short, tracking low calorie items is an individual decision and you'll need to figure out what's best for you and your sanity
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    It's the point of diminishing returns for me. I don't track things like sugar free gum, diet soda, etc. At max 5 calories per serving, even if I had 20 per day it still wouldn't be a biggie for me
    I wonder whether it's circular logic: I ingest a pickle (0.5 calorie). I log the pickle, thus expending the 0.5 calories in keystrokes. Therefore, what's the point in logging.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Tubbs216 wrote: »
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    It's the point of diminishing returns for me. I don't track things like sugar free gum, diet soda, etc. At max 5 calories per serving, even if I had 20 per day it still wouldn't be a biggie for me
    I wonder whether it's circular logic: I ingest a pickle (0.5 calorie). I log the pickle, thus expending the 0.5 calories in keystrokes. Therefore, what's the point in logging.

    LOL

    More like, let's figure out my 750 calorie cheeseburgers 370 calorie mini snickers blizzard and 1000 calorie overages. Then we can worry about the 5 calorie gum. It's worked so far :stuck_out_tongue:
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    I track most things but if it's a matter of 10-30kj then I generally don't.

    Things like chewing gum or coke zero where you would have to eat a fair bit to get the KJ to add up.

    I think both chewing gum and come have like 6kj per serving. Say I drink 2L of coke what's that 50kj, hardly worth tracking, especially since I don't drink 2liters.
  • marjikaparji
    marjikaparji Posts: 49 Member
    I log everything just in case. Plus other things still come into effet like sodium levels and those would still show. I think it's better to do a complete log if you are going to take the time to log at all!
  • megandhight
    megandhight Posts: 89 Member
    Nope I don't log them. I usually end up over 1000 cals under weekly deficit so I don't see the point in logging them.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    I log everything, including gum.
  • runnrchic
    runnrchic Posts: 130 Member
    I log any and all drinks except water. I like to see how many non water drinks I'm consuming in case I feel like I should cut back. I never logged gum but I quit chewing it because it just made me hungry quicker. Most definitely pickles. If I log cucumbers, I log pickles. Also lettuce, kale, etc. It all adds up to nutritional value and/or sodium.
  • Tatarataa
    Tatarataa Posts: 178 Member
    Many thanks for all your helpful answers!
  • andi_FP
    andi_FP Posts: 4 Member
    This discussion just made me realize I have been eating mints (one or two every few days) without logging it. Considering how meticulous I am on measuring every little thing, I can't believe that I didn't even think about my mints.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I track my can of diet soda every evening (even though I don't track my water) just to remain accountable.
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    So far not logging vegetables hasn't hindered my progress. I looked some up yesterday and I believe a cup of mushrooms has like 21 calories. If I eat one or two sliced mushrooms on my wrap that's maybe 5 or less calories. I'm with whoever said that it takes more time and energy to log something like that than it's worth. If my weight loss slows down a lot (i.e., when I'm close to my goal) I will probably log every single thing, but for now it doesn't make much difference. Also now I'm not really tracking my macros- that may change too.
  • justsayinisall
    justsayinisall Posts: 162 Member
    [quote="it takes more time and energy to log something like that than it's worth. [/quote]

    We can track the logging as exercise then! ;) Surely that would be negative calories lol
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
    I don't think I could sleep at night knowing I had eaten something and not logged it. The coffee I drink is 2 calories. Spinach in my salad is 3 calories. I log every single thing.
  • ArkMom35
    ArkMom35 Posts: 225 Member
    I log everything. For me 20 or so calories a day of "zero calorie" foods won't change much because I always have calories leftover from exercise, but I like to be accountable.
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    I log everything. Zero calorie diet pop, gum, hard candies (Sugar Free and regular) My reg. Werther's has 23 calories a piece! Gum has 5 calories. I often chew multiple pieces a day. I log greens like spinach and lettuce(s).

    It works for me.
  • Jgasmic
    Jgasmic Posts: 219 Member
    I never even thought about logging gum!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Even some vitamins have calories. Everything we chew and swallow has an impact on our bodies one way or the other (rather it is used as energy or not).

    However, I do log everything (sugar substitutes, 0 calorie sodas, sugar free gum and mints, cough syrup, and even my vitamins). I have a small window and 5 calories here and there can add up to 100+ calories easy.

    Why wouldn't you want to track everything you consume if you are actually participating in a food journal... That's what its for...
  • ruthordare
    ruthordare Posts: 4 Member
    I'm not tracking macros or anything, just straight up calories. So no, I don't log things like this. Somehow, it makes me feel like I'm more in control, and not letting calorie-counting control me fully. (I play a lot of mind games with myself.) I don't log gum, coke zero, pickles, if I add some spinach to a wrap or whatever (although if my veggie serving is more sizable, I do log it)- even the creamer I add to my evening decaff coffee (which I only have a couple times a week, my daily morning coffee I drink black). However, I don't eat back exercise calories, so I think that's what saves me. Anything roughly 15 calories or less, I don't log, generally speaking. I'm fully aware that once I'm closer to my goal I'll have to get stricter about this stuff, but for now it's working well for me. (I've lost 17.6 pounds, with 32.4 to go.) I think it just depends where you are in your journey, what you're hoping to accomplish, and how your mind works.
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