How the heck to you log a bite?

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aevonvett
aevonvett Posts: 36 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I want to be a good little logger and mark down everything that goes into my mouth. But how in the heck to you log something that seems too small to be logged? For example, samples at grocery stores, licking the peanut butter off the spoon, a bite of my boyfriend's pizza/sandwich. Ok, hivemind, give me the best you got.
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  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited April 2015
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    saturday I had 2 jelly beans logged them Sunday I took a bite of a friends chicken finger and logged it as 1 ounce
  • fabulousmomma
    fabulousmomma Posts: 172 Member
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    If it's just a bite of something a couple times a day, then don't bother logging it. You'll lose those couple of calories by walking!
    However if your taking bites of different foods excessively in a day, then your going to have to log in as something as a whole. Better to over estimate than underestimate.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Don't lick the peanut butter off the spoon! Ack! Kidding.... well, sort of. If I am sampling things throughout the day I would use a best guess estimation and quick add the calories. I try not to sample things throughout the day though.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,789 Member
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    I estimate bites as percentages of the whole thing -- if I made chili I'll log a bite I took to taste it as ".05 serving" or whatever, same deal for a bite of pizza (".1 slice") or a sandwich (".02 sandwich"), etc. If it's a grocery store sample, say of a particular cheese on a particular cracker, I'll log one cracker and half an ounce of cheese.

    Single bites are really always going to be estimations, and that's probably okay as long as you're accurate with the rest of your logging. Don't get so hung up on the small stuff that you become paralyzed.
  • jhall260
    jhall260 Posts: 111 Member
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    This is the only spot where I'll estimate. I am losing weight and maintaining as I want to so it works for me YMMV.

    This is where I'll do quick calories 25, 50, 100. Something to account for the food that I ate.
  • SomeGirlSomewhere
    SomeGirlSomewhere Posts: 937 Member
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    For the peanut butter----if you weigh the jar BEFORE you take out any PB and then weigh it again afterwards and subtract the difference then you will be logging ALL of the PB you ate including whatever you licked off the spoon.

    As for the other things, I typically log small bites of things as 25 calories...50 calories if it was something really fattening....like the single french fry with bacon and melted cheese I ate off my friend's plate when I was at the bar a couple weeks ago!
  • blukitten
    blukitten Posts: 922 Member
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    I log it as .15 of the whole serving-- like others have said- better to overestimate than under estimate. I figure I didn't eat a full 25% of the thing but for most things a bite would measure out to half of a quarter or just under- so I log is at .10 or .15= 1 bite.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    Weigh the spoon in grams before you lick off the peanut butter and then weigh it again after. the subtract the second number from the first number. :)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    When in doubt, guesstimate up.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    aevonvett wrote: »
    I want to be a good little logger and mark down everything that goes into my mouth. But how in the heck to you log something that seems too small to be logged? For example, samples at grocery stores, licking the peanut butter off the spoon, a bite of my boyfriend's pizza/sandwich. Ok, hivemind, give me the best you got.

    I just don't log licking a spoon or a drop of jelly from my finger. I don't do samples at the grocery store or take bites of other people's food.
    If you do a lot of licks or bites of food in a day then maybe just quick add 100 calories to your day.
    If you want to be totally accurate logger either stop that behavior or be ready to weigh bite sized amounts and do the actual math.
  • mbcieslak87
    mbcieslak87 Posts: 206 Member
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    Bites are tricky - they can be so innocent but jeeze they add up fast. The lick of the spoon can be any easily 25 calories, that tiny cracker with chicken salad sample at the grocery store can easily pack 50 or more calories, etc.

    I honestly try to avoid taking bites here and there during the week and then on the weekend will allow myself that sample at the grocery store, or whatever... but during the week I walk on by.

    In general, you just have to find that happy medium for you, where your whole life doesn't revolve around obsessing over every calorie, but where you are aware of all the little extras. I have found my estimation skills have vastly improved over time... but when in doubt, weigh it out!
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    I don't. If I'm counting 1 bite of something for the day then I have bigger issues.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I just tack on 100 extra calories a day for things like this.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    aevonvett wrote: »
    I want to be a good little logger and mark down everything that goes into my mouth. But how in the heck to you log something that seems too small to be logged? For example, samples at grocery stores, licking the peanut butter off the spoon, a bite of my boyfriend's pizza/sandwich. Ok, hivemind, give me the best you got.

    um, stop doing that? Some of those things you listed could be 100 calories each.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    Create a new food item called "bite" make it 50 calories. Log it.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,954 Member
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    aevonvett wrote: »
    I want to be a good little logger and mark down everything that goes into my mouth. But how in the heck to you log something that seems too small to be logged? For example, samples at grocery stores, licking the peanut butter off the spoon, a bite of my boyfriend's pizza/sandwich. Ok, hivemind, give me the best you got.

    First of all, I avoid those sample displays at grocery stores.

    Secondly, if I can't easily calculate it, I don't take a bite. It's not worth the hassle.

    Thirdly ... 10-15 grams.

  • BrittaniDirks
    BrittaniDirks Posts: 113 Member
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    I over compensate out of fear lol for just one bite teaspoon or smaller i log as 50 or 60 calories!!
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I just don't. I snack my way through Costco sometimes, don't even count it. I've still managed to reach goal weight.

    Of course it depends on just how many and how often you're having extra bites, tastes & samples, but for the most part, I don't log it and I've done just fine. If you're really worried, go for a quick walk or do a short workout to compensate and call it good.
  • javimendoza
    javimendoza Posts: 52 Member
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    I found this very interesting for what worries you... :wink:

    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/calories-dont-count-when/

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