Do you overestimate or underestimate your calories?

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  • sunrise84
    sunrise84 Posts: 18
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    I'm very accurate because I weigh almost everything, and what I don't weigh (liquids) I measure.

    This is what I do. I keep my scale in the cabinet with the plates and bowls right above the counter by the sink, so I have NO EXCUSE not to grab it.
  • bmw4deb
    bmw4deb Posts: 1,325 Member
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    I get as close as possible
  • kiwi_tobi
    kiwi_tobi Posts: 23 Member
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    I'm very accurate because I weigh almost everything, and what I don't weigh (liquids) I measure.
    Same here! That way I can look over my days and see how i felt and what I was eating. what worked and waht didn't! I also have a HRM so that measuers how many cals i burned when working out.
  • bellinachuchina
    bellinachuchina Posts: 498 Member
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    I over estimate.
    And then I under estimate calories burned.
    Basically to cover the general margin of error.

    This. Worked for me :)
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
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    I weigh/ measure everything, and I still overestimate just a tad (think rounding up) for calories eaten. For calories burned, I go by my HRM number and either use the exact number or round down.
  • RainyDayKelli
    RainyDayKelli Posts: 85 Member
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    I weigh and measure every single thing that goes into my mouth. Although, I do underestimate calories burned when I exercise. Just in case.
  • vinlop
    vinlop Posts: 71 Member
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    I honestly have no clue if I'm over or under what I put down, but I just feel that logging my food (regardless if it is accurate) every day just works for me. When I right it down, I am so much more conscious of eating healthier and in better proportions. I have had a very steady weight loss over the past month, and I feel great!
  • keengkong
    keengkong Posts: 83 Member
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    I try to measure as many things as possible. However, practicality demands estimating many things. (I'm not going to measure two tablespoonds peanut butter every time I make a peanuyt butter & jelly sandwich.) When I estimate, I try to be accurate. I don't need to make my estimates on the high side.
  • significance
    significance Posts: 436 Member
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    I weigh and measure what I can, but if I'm not sure, I try to over-estimate. If I have a slice of banana bread at a cafe, I tend to pick the highest-calorie banana bread in the MFP database to log, for instance. I do this to counter my natural tendency to want to minimise what I've eaten and to counter MFP probably over-estimating my exercise calories (I just accept the values it gives). I also aim for a little less than the target net calories that MFP recommends, for the same reason.
  • lollie1285
    lollie1285 Posts: 239 Member
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    I measure every little thing I eat. Today, I ate a handful of grapes without counting them and got so mad at myself for it. I don't eat back my exercise calories for now only because I'm not quite sure how much I burn and I don't want to overestimate. I should be getting a new HRM soon, so that should take care of that issue and I can hopefully start eating more.
  • georgiag111
    georgiag111 Posts: 424
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    I'm very accurate because I weigh almost everything, and what I don't weigh (liquids) I measure.

    This is what I do EXACTLY!
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    I over estimate.
    And then I under estimate calories burned.
    Basically to cover the general margin of error.
    ^ I do this^
    wow, I am surprised that so many of you don't weigh and measure. I weigh, measure and read the label for everything I eat unless I am away from home at a party where I can't easily look it up. My best friend once told me after seeing me get out a teaspoon for butter "no wonder you weigh less than me" lol. for me it is too easy to be off by 100's of calories and I know myself and I would say it looked like less than it was, subconciously.

    On one hand my goal is to live a life I can enjoy and maintain I don't want to live my life obsessing about food whether it's over eating or dieting. I currently feel bad for my friends because I talk entirely too much about dieting. They're happy that I've done something healthy for myself, but they really don't care that much about the details.

    On the other hand I wonder if did start weighing I could do it as an interim step to help me become a better estimator?
    (knowing my personality If I started weighing food I would get totally stressed when I couldn't and then once 2 or 3 events came up when I couldn't I'd end up ditching it all togheter)

    I've got to be able to estimate and figure it out, because that's the life I want to live. I want to eat healthily, but don't want to create more stress than it relieves. I don't want to exclude myself from social situations. I do know people who have had such strict dietary standards (not allergy or intolerances) that they brought down whole dinner parties. Or not been invite back.

    I DO want to learn what the correct portion size FEELS like so that I can judge for myself. I do want to understand what effects my choices have on my body. But I'm doing this so I can live my life better not so that I can spend my life focusing on morsel I put in my mouth.

    I'm not there yet. I haven't internalize what enough feels like. Most of the time I don't know when to stop until I see it written down in my log. And I've been doing this for 9 months, so I think I'll be tracking for at least another year or so. Then I'll be able to see how my body reacts and tweak as needed to find out what works for me.

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