Feel Like I’m Guessing

oboom
oboom Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
I’m struggling recording accurate calorie counts. When I search for a particular food and the standard amount is 3.5 ounces and I know I either don’t have that much OR I have more, I really just guess at what to record in my diary. So by the end of the day I could be off by 100 or more calories. Do the rest of you really strive for accurate calorie counts?

Replies

  • capnjax72
    capnjax72 Posts: 12 Member
    Yes, get yourself a food scale and use grams/metric and after a while, you will be able to eyeball most things.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    A food scale will help you be accurate.

    That said, I've never used one. From obese all the way down to the middle of the healthy range I used measuring cups, spoons, and close enough guesses. It's been fine. My weight loss might not be exactly what I expected in a given week and I often intentionally pick a higher entry but. I cannot do precise. Bad things happen in my brain and I get obsessive fast.

    So I don't.

    Still lost weight fine.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    A food scale will help you be accurate.

    That said, I've never used one. From obese all the way down to the middle of the healthy range I used measuring cups, spoons, and close enough guesses. It's been fine. My weight loss might not be exactly what I expected in a given week and I often intentionally pick a higher entry but. I cannot do precise. Bad things happen in my brain and I get obsessive fast.

    So I don't.

    Still lost weight fine.

    Yep, same here! I've been on weight loss journeys so many times in my life and plus cook and bake a lot, so I already had a decent sense of ounces, cups and Tablespoons. I weigh every once in awhile, but otherwise have lost weight fine, even losing weight twice while starting at the healthy BMI range each time (higher, then mid-range). I tend to get obsessive, too, so measuring/weighing everything is where I drew the line.
  • TX_Bluebonnet
    TX_Bluebonnet Posts: 244 Member
    The serving size you'd enter is your portion size divided by the serving size of the recorded item. For example, if your portion size was 2.75 oz you'd enter .79 as the serving size (2.75/3.5=.79). Or, if your portion size was 4 oz, then you'd enter 1.14 as the serving size (4/3.5=1.14).
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    At the least - if you ate the whole package, do NOT go by "about X servings per package".

    Take the package weight divided by that stated serving size - enter that for servings.

    Indeed get a scale though - package usually contains more than state weight.
    And obviously as already given advice - know how much you ate divided by same weight.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    edited July 2021
    For me, a scale is a lot easier than guessing. I didn't realize how many mental cycles I was spinning on estimating until I got the scale. So simple and quick. Less to clean than measuring cups/spoons. Tare function lets you weigh food right on your dish or right out of the food container (e.g. peanut butter, mayonnaise, etc.). My scale was $10 or $15 on Amazon and I've used it daily for years.

    ETA: my baking has improved, too! I'll never go back for baking.

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