HELP techniques4 counting cals?

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elly0001
elly0001 Posts: 191
in Health and Weight Loss
hey
how accurately do u guys count ur cals? do u weight/measure food out or just estimate?
have u come up with any techniques which make tracking cals easy/faster, if so what are they??

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  • jillwaller
    jillwaller Posts: 82
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    Most of the time the serving sizes here are pretty simple (1 banana, x many slices of this, x many chips, etc) but otherwise I just estimate. I'll put in a little more than I think I had just because I know I'm one of those people who acts like the amount of food I eat is "just one serving size!"
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
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    Measuring cups and a kitchen scale. After awhile it's easier to eyeball a portion but it's very easy to over eat just a little bit all the time and then be back where you were. So even a year later I still use my measuring things at home. Out and about I'm okay estimating portion sizes.
  • OnMyWay2STay
    OnMyWay2STay Posts: 144 Member
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    Measure! Especially on high calorie, small portion foods like salad dressing. I don't always measure everything, but at least to start out measure. For instance, I measured some milk recently before pouring it into a regular glass, so now I know how much is 1/2 cup or 1 cup in that shape glass.
  • mjtbb
    mjtbb Posts: 77 Member
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    I weigh everything. I'm a little OCD when it comes to numbers. I have my digital kitchen scale and weigh it as I add whatever food into my plate/bowl. The database is pretty good about having serving sizes with weights. I love all the 100 g servings, so much easier to add to my log. I wish everyone would add the weight to the serving size when adding to the database. I don't care if they have it on ounces or grams as my scale does both and I know the conversion. Like I said, I'm kind of a numbers person.
  • GypsyRose25
    GypsyRose25 Posts: 407
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    I'm completely insane with my measuring cups and spoons. It's gotten to the point where I can make stuff just as quickly while measuring than it was before when I didn't care.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    If it doesn't come in a single serving size, I usually measure. You can't always do that, however, and you just have to estimate the best you can when you can't be exact. Always guess high rather than low. Better to put too many calories in your diary than too few.
  • Shalimarmandy
    Shalimarmandy Posts: 409 Member
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    I weigh and measure everything at home. I am horrible at eyeballing the correct size or amount unless it is single serving or something I can count like crackers. If I am eating out I try to go to restaurants that have nutrition information posted online. I have downloaded the PDF nutrition files for all my favorite restuarants and have them saved to my phone for quick access. If I have to make a guess I tell myself what amount I think it is and then I round up when adding the calories to MFP.
  • elly0001
    elly0001 Posts: 191
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    what about when others (family or friends) cook for u??

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