Sauce calories

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lexirelissofia
lexirelissofia Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you guys log in calories from BBQ sauces or things of this nature ? I didn’t usually but now I’m not sure if I should. Any thoughts ? Experiences ?

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  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
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    Yes. It has calories.
  • Mithridites
    Mithridites Posts: 595 Member
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    Weigh in grams and log calories. Can be a significant number.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Yep, barbecue sauces, asian sauces, catsup etc are often sweetened and can have a decent number of calories. Sauces can also be oil based which adds even more. Depending on how errrr saucy you like your food, sauces and condiments can add anywhere from hardly any to severak hundred calories per day.
  • mylittlerainbow
    mylittlerainbow Posts: 822 Member
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    Stuff like that, yes. But not lemon juice or spices.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,966 Member
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    Only way to find out is to start logging them and see how many calories they're contributing to your diet.

    I found that generally I use BBQ and similar sweetened sauces so infrequently and in such small amounts (e.g., a squirt n a vinegar and soy-based sauce, or in a peanut butter-based sauce-- obviously I log the pb) that I could usually ignore them, but I will log them if I know I'm going to be using a significant amount (like a tablespoon or more).
  • sarahbetherck
    sarahbetherck Posts: 270 Member
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    I log anything that has calories
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,991 Member
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    I don't think there is any 'should' about it.

    If you are having significant amounts and the calories will be worth logging for you - log them.

    If you are having a small squirt of ketchup here and there and your weight loss is going fine without logging it - don't log it.

  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    Different "sauces" have different numbers of calories. Some can be safely ignored others have a hundred calories in a single tablespoon. A1 steak sauce is about 15 calories a tablespoon, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce is about 35 a tablespoon, Rao's basil pesto is about 80 a tablespoon, etc. A single tablespoon isn't very much. It would be very easy to slather 100 or more calories of BBQ sauce on a piece of meat.

    My attitude toward sauces is that they are very enjoyable and who cares whether they have more calories than what you put them on. I'm perfectly willing to add 80 calories of pesto to 30 calories of beans. Why not? Salad dressings are notorious for having more calories than the bowl of lettuce you put them on. Fine. As long as it adds up to your total at the end of the day, who cares?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Of course. Some condiments have a lot of calories.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
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    Yes, though I may estimate depending on the scenario.

    For example if I grab a hot dog while out & about, I put on a limited amount of ketchup & mustard and will log 9-10 grams of each. I know this is about what it ends up being when I'm at home and I weigh it. And in reality if my actual is 12g and I log 10g: not much variance.

    If I'm at home, I weigh any sauces with calories though may still estimate sauces without or with very low. I will weigh lite ranch (70 cals per 32g) but not always light Italian dressing (35 cals per 32g). But again, I know I tend to use less than the 'serving size' of 32g, so whether I really consume 35 cals or 28: its not terribly important.

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