Cup of Tetley tea, do I add or not?

I am new to this and need some help. DO I add a cup of tea or not? Some say yes, some say no. I understand I need to add the milk bit but when I add tea bag information using barcode it gives me different stats then from the side of the pacaging. Any thoughts or answers would be appreciated. Thanks.

Replies

  • MsAmandaNJ
    MsAmandaNJ Posts: 1,248 Member
    I log whatever has calories, others log including water. Do the stats include milk - kinda like on a cereal box?
  • PennWalker
    PennWalker Posts: 554 Member
    If it has calories (added milk and sugar for example) I would log it.

    If no calories, that's up to you since it won't show up in your calorie totals. I drink unsweetened ice tea and sometimes log it and sometimes don't -- it doesn't really matter since it has no calories.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited November 2016
    I am new to this and need some help. DO I add a cup of tea or not? Some say yes, some say no. I understand I need to add the milk bit but when I add tea bag information using barcode it gives me different stats then from the side of the pacaging. Any thoughts or answers would be appreciated. Thanks.

    Look through the database for an entry for Tetley tea that matches the stats on the package. Chances are good there's an accurate entry already in there. or you can create your own. The barcode scan is often wrong. ;)

    And yes, if you have your tea with milk and/or sugar, you should definitely log that as well.

    Edited to add: Once you do it for the first time, take those ingredients and save it as a meal. Call it "My tea" or something. That way, every time you have a cup after that you can simply go to your Meals tab, click on "My tea" and it will add the ingredients to your diary. This only works, of course, if you have your tea the same way each time. ;)

    I also do this with breakfast cereal and milk since I use the same amount of cereal and milk when I have that for breakfast. Saves a lot of time when logging.
  • cmacphee3
    cmacphee3 Posts: 278 Member
    I think the answer to this really depends on how close to your goal you are and how much you are looking to lose each week. If you are trying to make a lifestyle change and stay in moderation and aren't looking to drop super quickly, or if you are not having trouble losing, I think it is fine not to log every last little bit that goes into you (tea would be a good example). If you having trouble losing the weight, are very close to your goal, or want to lose very quickly, then every calories is important to track.

    In my case, when I am on a dietbet and need to lose fast (4% of bodyweight in 4 weeks), I am much more careful to track everything. When I'm losing normally, and want to make this a sustainable lifestyle change and don't want to log every ounce that goes into my body for the rest of my life, I relax on tea/coffee/sometimes even the splash of milk that goes into those. If I can't have a coffee with a splash of milk without tracking it for the rest of my life, I'm not going to keep this weight off for the rest of my life either.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    cmacphee3 wrote: »
    I think the answer to this really depends on how close to your goal you are and how much you are looking to lose each week. If you are trying to make a lifestyle change and stay in moderation and aren't looking to drop super quickly, or if you are not having trouble losing, I think it is fine not to log every last little bit that goes into you (tea would be a good example). If you having trouble losing the weight, are very close to your goal, or want to lose very quickly, then every calories is important to track.

    In my case, when I am on a dietbet and need to lose fast (4% of bodyweight in 4 weeks), I am much more careful to track everything. When I'm losing normally, and want to make this a sustainable lifestyle change and don't want to log every ounce that goes into my body for the rest of my life, I relax on tea/coffee/sometimes even the splash of milk that goes into those. If I can't have a coffee with a splash of milk without tracking it for the rest of my life, I'm not going to keep this weight off for the rest of my life either.

    What is a dietbet?
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited November 2016
    Even in maintenance, I log everything. For me, either I'm logging honestly and completely or I'm not bothering at all.

    I found it's too easy to get sloppy and lax with it unless your mindset is to log everything. :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Suggestion:
    Why not estimate how many cups of tea you have in a day and just log that and copy meal from day to day?

    It's such a small number of calories per cup it's more aggravation than it's worth to bother with precision IMHO.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    cmacphee3 wrote: »
    I think the answer to this really depends on how close to your goal you are and how much you are looking to lose each week. If you are trying to make a lifestyle change and stay in moderation and aren't looking to drop super quickly, or if you are not having trouble losing, I think it is fine not to log every last little bit that goes into you (tea would be a good example). If you having trouble losing the weight, are very close to your goal, or want to lose very quickly, then every calories is important to track.

    In my case, when I am on a dietbet and need to lose fast (4% of bodyweight in 4 weeks), I am much more careful to track everything. When I'm losing normally, and want to make this a sustainable lifestyle change and don't want to log every ounce that goes into my body for the rest of my life, I relax on tea/coffee/sometimes even the splash of milk that goes into those. If I can't have a coffee with a splash of milk without tracking it for the rest of my life, I'm not going to keep this weight off for the rest of my life either.

    What is a dietbet?

    Probably a bad phone keyboard. ;)
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Tea with a bit of milk is going to be around 10 calories add a tea spoon of sugar and it's 25. Should you log it? Yes, but I always allow that I'm going to be off by about 100 calories or so a day so I don't.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    cmacphee3 wrote: »
    I think the answer to this really depends on how close to your goal you are and how much you are looking to lose each week. If you are trying to make a lifestyle change and stay in moderation and aren't looking to drop super quickly, or if you are not having trouble losing, I think it is fine not to log every last little bit that goes into you (tea would be a good example). If you having trouble losing the weight, are very close to your goal, or want to lose very quickly, then every calories is important to track.

    In my case, when I am on a dietbet and need to lose fast (4% of bodyweight in 4 weeks), I am much more careful to track everything. When I'm losing normally, and want to make this a sustainable lifestyle change and don't want to log every ounce that goes into my body for the rest of my life, I relax on tea/coffee/sometimes even the splash of milk that goes into those. If I can't have a coffee with a splash of milk without tracking it for the rest of my life, I'm not going to keep this weight off for the rest of my life either.

    What is a dietbet?

    Probably a bad phone keyboard. ;)

    You would hope so but I believe it is an app where you can win money for losing weight.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    cmacphee3 wrote: »
    I think the answer to this really depends on how close to your goal you are and how much you are looking to lose each week. If you are trying to make a lifestyle change and stay in moderation and aren't looking to drop super quickly, or if you are not having trouble losing, I think it is fine not to log every last little bit that goes into you (tea would be a good example). If you having trouble losing the weight, are very close to your goal, or want to lose very quickly, then every calories is important to track.

    In my case, when I am on a dietbet and need to lose fast (4% of bodyweight in 4 weeks), I am much more careful to track everything. When I'm losing normally, and want to make this a sustainable lifestyle change and don't want to log every ounce that goes into my body for the rest of my life, I relax on tea/coffee/sometimes even the splash of milk that goes into those. If I can't have a coffee with a splash of milk without tracking it for the rest of my life, I'm not going to keep this weight off for the rest of my life either.

    What is a dietbet?

    Probably a bad phone keyboard. ;)

    You would hope so but I believe it is an app where you can win money for losing weight.

    Oh, that's true I remember hearing about that now. https://www.dietbet.com/
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2016
    I don't add coffee or tea (if I put stuff in them I would add that, but I don't).

    Reason: small amount of calories, consistent part of my day, not something I'd cut if cutting calories.

    If I wanted to see how caffeine was affecting me or if I ate better or worse or was hungrier or less hungry on days with more caffeine, I might log it for that reason (I might even use the water counter to count coffee, as I don't see the point of logging water).
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    I don't log my tea but I also don't add anything to it that has calories.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    I put two teaspoons of sugar and milk in my tea and usually have one or two a day, so I log it...those little calories add up when you're at your last 10 pounds or in maintenance.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Suggestion:
    Why not estimate how many cups of tea you have in a day and just log that and copy meal from day to day?

    It's such a small number of calories per cup it's more aggravation than it's worth to bother with precision IMHO.

    I do this. I log all of my coffee and half and half with my breakfast.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I wouldn't log it, but for 0-calorie stuff it really comes down to personal preference.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I am new to this and need some help. DO I add a cup of tea or not? Some say yes, some say no. I understand I need to add the milk bit but when I add tea bag information using barcode it gives me different stats then from the side of the pacaging. Any thoughts or answers would be appreciated. Thanks.

    If you are not adding sugar or milk it is probably zero calorie so you don't need to log it unless you want.
    If the label and barcode scan say it has calories you might log it.
    Definitely log your milk or anything else you add to it though.
    What information are you getting from the label and the barcode scan?
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    cmacphee3 wrote: »
    I think the answer to this really depends on how close to your goal you are and how much you are looking to lose each week. If you are trying to make a lifestyle change and stay in moderation and aren't looking to drop super quickly, or if you are not having trouble losing, I think it is fine not to log every last little bit that goes into you (tea would be a good example). If you having trouble losing the weight, are very close to your goal, or want to lose very quickly, then every calories is important to track.

    In my case, when I am on a dietbet and need to lose fast (4% of bodyweight in 4 weeks), I am much more careful to track everything. When I'm losing normally, and want to make this a sustainable lifestyle change and don't want to log every ounce that goes into my body for the rest of my life, I relax on tea/coffee/sometimes even the splash of milk that goes into those. If I can't have a coffee with a splash of milk without tracking it for the rest of my life, I'm not going to keep this weight off for the rest of my life either.

    What is a dietbet?

    Probably a bad phone keyboard. ;)

    You would hope so but I believe it is an app where you can win money for losing weight.

    Oh, that's true I remember hearing about that now. https://www.dietbet.com/

    Be careful or you might get flagged for spam ;)
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    edited November 2016
    I drink a lot of unsweetened iced tea. It has no calories and I log it as water, if at all. I put 1TBSP of half and half in my coffee and I do log that (and the coffee).
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Suggestion:
    Why not estimate how many cups of tea you have in a day and just log that and copy meal from day to day?

    It's such a small number of calories per cup it's more aggravation than it's worth to bother with precision IMHO.

    I do this. I log all of my coffee and half and half with my breakfast.
    I do this with my tea, too. I just copy it day to day. I actually have a recipe for my tea and that's what gets added. Sometimes I'll increase or decrease the number of servings, depending on how wild I'm feeling on a particular day.
  • cmacphee3
    cmacphee3 Posts: 278 Member
    Yes, what they said above. Dietbet is a website/app where you join "bets" and pay money saying you bet you can lose a certain amount in a certain time. 4 week to lose 4% is their kickstarter game, and 6 months to lose 10% is their transformer game. I do from time to time to kickstart me back into doing well if I drift off course a bit (this time it was Thanksgiving related), and I have a strong motivation to win my money back. You don't really make much off the bets as most people seem to end up winning, or Dietbet takes a really large percent or something, but you always get your money back at least if you win. So while trying to lose 4% in 4 weeks I am super careful, otherwise I relax a little because that is the only way I can make sustainable changes for myself.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    I don't add clear unsweetened tea or coffee. I do add milk to my diary, on the breakfast side, to account for the two cups of coffee I'll drink. I use stevia extract to sweeten.
  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    I log everything just because I like to know what I'm eating. If it's 0 calorie and you don't care about macros, it's all a matter of preference.
  • NEOHgirl
    NEOHgirl Posts: 237 Member
    I track everything, including coffee and herbal teas, because I like being able to backtrack & analyze what might have affected me if I am feeling particularly good or bad. If you aren't focused on overall wellness, but specifically weight, then I wouldn't track the tea, just the add-ins. I would track it as water though (I personally track any non-alcohol beverages as fluid intake), again for analysis reasons later. If you don't track, you won't be able to go back & see if it was a factor over a given time period, if you aren't as successful as you thought you'd be. Ultimately it's a personal preference though.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    I take my tea with no milk, and a lot of sugar. I use sweetener these days though. If I ever use sugar (like if I've run out of sweetener) I'll log it - I have milk in Rooibos tea but I don't log that as I only have a teaspoon. Tea itself is just leaf water, so it's like... 2 calories, if that. I don't log it.
  • Tallawah_
    Tallawah_ Posts: 2,475 Member
    Seems to me there is two questions here...

    What if the stats on the packing don't match the database? Sometimes the stats in the database are a little different to what is on the packaging. Unless it's vastly different I wouldn't worry about it and just use the one in the database. If you're really bothered you can submit the packing info to the database but..............

    Should I log tea? I drink multiple cups a day with semi-skimmed milk and don't bother...logging isn't that much fun! :wink:
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I drink two cups of coffee in the morning, maybe a half teaspoon of sugar and an oz of milk in each, I don't like it all sweet and milky. I don't log it, I deal.