Approximates

jessikennedy78
jessikennedy78 Posts: 6 Member
in Getting Started
Hi, I am a little worried about not knowing exactly what the calorie count is for certain foods. Many things are in here already, but if it is homemade or I'm using my best guess, will it be close enough? Also I don't have Fitbit, and I am kinda guessing on my mph when I jog/ walk. I guess it is better than nothing, which is what I was doing!!!

Replies

  • DuckReconMajor
    DuckReconMajor Posts: 434 Member
    You will get better as you go. Keep reminding yourself that by making your best attempt to log everything you are many steps ahead of most people and of yourself before you started doing it. There are many tips and bits of info on the forums that will help you be more accurate as you go along. Start by reading these

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177910/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    In the end you can gauge by whether you are seeing results after a few weeks.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Do the best you can with scales. Also, if you can't find the exact meal you have, enter the recipe into the recipe calculator. That's super helpful for me. It's important to be as exact as you can when you're first starting out so you can kinda train your eye to what portion sizes are. After a while, you'll get better at estimating.

    As for eating out, do the best you can. Obviously you don't want to carry around a kitchen scale, but you can look online for nutrition info, and sometimes you can ask them for it at the restaurant. More and more places are making that available, either online, on the menu, or by request.
  • jessikennedy78
    jessikennedy78 Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks!!
  • Roshky
    Roshky Posts: 120 Member
    Here's a hint for walking/jogging speed: look up your route on Google Maps, using the walking directions. Set the start/end of the route, then simply drag the dotted line to adjust the route. Then check out the length of the route. Then simply calculate the speed accordingly.

    Example: I walk home from work. My route has 1.7 km. I walk that in 30 minutes. So: If I make 1.7 km in 30 minutes, in how much time would I walk 1 km (I'm using this because MFP uses options that say X minutes/km)? Using simple math (proportions):

    1.7 km .......... 30 min
    1 km ............. x min

    x = 30 * 1 / 1.7 = 17.67
    Thus, for this example, I would use the 18 min/km option.

    And here are image hints about what to look at when using Google Maps: (I chose random starting/ending points at the center of my city)

    Step one - choose start/end route
    lqby6dl470ky.png

    Step two - adjust route by dragging points
    yk4ns5288769.png

    Step three - look at the length
    w1fh3525bhq8.png

    Once you understand the process, it takes 3 minutes to calculate, so even if you constantly change your route, it should be easy.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    Use the recipe builder to work out the calorie count for homemade meals. It's super easy.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    jessikennedy78 wrote: »
    Hi, I am a little worried about not knowing exactly what the calorie count is for certain foods.

    I always over estimates calories in and under estimate calories out. Best to average things. For example, I might get a food that is not in the database, but lots of other brands of the same thing are. If they portion is about equal I look at a few of them then just average it and enter it. Same for exercises. If you know approximate mileage and time, you can find the calories.

    All the best.

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