Do you count?!?

saraann752003
saraann752003 Posts: 65
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
I was just wondering, the other night I took 4 tums because I had heartburn.... today I chewed two pieces of gum... earlier this week I put mustard on my porkchop.... do you all count those little 5 to 10 calorie additions? or do you just round up on your regular food?

Replies

  • staceyseeger
    staceyseeger Posts: 778 Member
    I typically stay away from all "dressings"...however, i probably chew 100 calories a day in gum. No logging for me. :wink:
  • saraann752003
    saraann752003 Posts: 65
    wow, thats a lot of gum!!!!
  • NancyAnne1960
    NancyAnne1960 Posts: 500 Member
    Don't log them. Cals vary enough with trying to choose the closest items sometimes - Not everything is exact, so I'm not going to worry about 10 - 50 cals here or there.
  • 0PhAtDaDdY
    0PhAtDaDdY Posts: 569 Member
    I log it all...
  • wbgolden
    wbgolden Posts: 2,066 Member
    I figure you burn more than 5 calories chewing gum. Chewing in general actually.

    That's why I don't log Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburgers. SOOOOO much chewing!
  • sgha
    sgha Posts: 225
    I leave out those small, small things.
  • Lisa_222
    Lisa_222 Posts: 301 Member
    a calorie is a calorie. They do add up. I count them because I have food amnesia and I have to make sure I count everything to keep myself honest.
  • joakool
    joakool Posts: 434 Member
    I don't count things like gum, breath mints, etc. I figure the calories burned chewing about cancel them out. LOL.
  • ladysarahbell
    ladysarahbell Posts: 6 Member
    I log everything I eat or drink.
  • NancyAnne1960
    NancyAnne1960 Posts: 500 Member
    I figure you burn more than 5 calories chewing gum. Chewing in general actually.

    That's why I don't log Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburgers. SOOOOO much chewing!

    :laugh: Nice try!! :laugh:
  • adross3
    adross3 Posts: 606 Member
    I count everything. I have set up most of my meals and logging them only takes seconds. If I am out dinning, I don't log until I get home. That way I don't offend my friends or partner. Habits become easy and I will never forget what gets me fat. Eating right isn't just for now but always. After so many months of logging you get a great picture of what is good or bad for your health.

    I eat 6X a day and keep fit and full.
  • oumati
    oumati Posts: 29 Member
    lol...that is right
  • Artemis_Acorn
    Artemis_Acorn Posts: 836 Member
    If it goes in my mouth, I log it.. I recognize that there is no way to be completely precise in the actual calories ingested but there is a principle behind the accountability of the log that keeps me honest - so small things are logged as well a major ones. I log cough drops and breath mints too.

    One of the reasons I do is because I don't want to fall into the trap of mindlessly eating ever again. I can't imagine how many calories I ingested over the years with just a bit of this and just a taste of that, a few little candies every Sunday from the guy at church whose 'thing' is to hand out Werthers hard candies. A slurpee on a hot day, hot cocoa on a cold day - all of these never really 'counted' in my mind before. Now, with a very tight budget of calories, I spend them like a miser and even 4 calories for a stick of gum isn't always worth it.
  • AnnaPixie
    AnnaPixie Posts: 7,439 Member
    I dont log anything under 20 cals. However, I always try and leave contingency in my daily allowance to compensate for any bad judgements :wink:
  • melissalan
    melissalan Posts: 75 Member
    I've only been on MFP for ten days, and I have been logging everything. I have discovered that I was totally clueless about calories! Right now, the more I log, the more I learn.
    I feel good about myself when I meet my calorie goal, so to me, every calorie counts- even the ones in gum, honey mustard, water flavoring, etc.
    Heck, I even log things like Diet Dr. Pepper that I know are calorie free.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    No. I never logged gum, mints, vitamins, or spices. Heck, I stopped logging olive oil because let's face it.. I'm not consuming the entire serving size with my meal!

    I feel like logging these things make it far too obsessive.
  • spicypepper
    spicypepper Posts: 1,016 Member
    I don't count it because I'm always under my calorie goal daily due to the amount of exercise I do daily.
  • RuthAne
    RuthAne Posts: 130
    I don't count vitamins, gum, mints etc
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
    No. I never logged gum, mints, vitamins, or spices. Heck, I stopped logging olive oil because let's face it.. I'm not consuming the entire serving size with my meal!

    I feel like logging these things make it far too obsessive.

    agree. gum...you burn off the calories chewing it if you chew it for enough time. if i'm sick im not going to count cough drops or tums...i think thats a bit ridiculous...
  • girlypop
    girlypop Posts: 80
    I don't count small things like gum, mints etc.... The one thing I think I should maybe log, but never do is milk in my tea or coffee. I could have like 3 cups of coffee and 3 cups of tea in a busy day, but I don't put any sugar, just 1% milk. I figure that's probably like 100 cals over a day though. 'Course my calorie goal is 1200 so I don't worry too much if I go over...
  • KimmyEB
    KimmyEB Posts: 1,208 Member
    I log absolutely everything. Though, I don't chew gum, and I don't like mints, so I've never had an issue of whether to log those or not. I do log condiment such as mustard, ketchup, etc. Especially mayonnaise--Kraft regular mayo has 90 calories!! Seeing that number inspired me to buy a 10 calorie mayonnaise. :tongue: The only things I don't really log are if I take a sip of my boyfriend's soda, or if I try a single small bite of a friend's food or something.
  • ThinnerHill
    ThinnerHill Posts: 254 Member
    I count it all. I can't get to my daily calorie goal even with all the little extras. I actually logged pepper the other day and then stopped and laughed about it.
  • Lakerlady5747
    Lakerlady5747 Posts: 77 Member
    I don't log gum, mints, cough drops, etc. I also wouldn't log tums or vitamins (if I took them). For me (and I'm saying that this is what works for me, not what works for everyone), it's too obsessive to log those things. However, I do log condiments, because there can be a surprising number of calories in some of the condiments such as mayo and ketchup.
  • PlunderBunneh
    PlunderBunneh Posts: 1,705 Member
    It's a couple of tums, not an order of fries. If you were not lose one week, would you look back on that week's food diary and think "oh, darn it all, I blew everything with those tums!" Silly.
    I do log condiments, but only if they are above 50 cals. I'm not concerned with the 20 calories in the squirt of ketchup, that is not going to make or break me. I can understand how little things add up, and if you are an obsessive tum chewer and honestly feel like a chunk of your daily calories is being consumed by tums, by all means, log them. Otherwise, relax.
  • Scorpioangel
    Scorpioangel Posts: 951 Member
    No I don't log gum or anything tiny like that :)
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    If you want to have a total that is as ACCURATE as possible, then yes, log everything. It's like balancing your checking account, would you leave out those charges that are under a few $?

    Having an accurate total of how many calories that go into your body is critical to determin if you're at a deficit, maintenance or surplus. Many people underestimate their caloric intakes, and overestimate their caloric expenditure, then wonder why they aren't losing weight, or why they've "plateaued". Unless you've got a medical reason that's hindering weight loss, chances are, you're not losing weight cause you're eating at, or very near maintenance.
  • rockeraxXx
    rockeraxXx Posts: 126
    @HilerieB Pepper?? Hilarious! That made my night. I needed a laugh since I'm food deprived. jk
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