Question about counting calories.

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dontdomornings92
dontdomornings92 Posts: 47 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am having a problem with counting calories because I tend to just snack throughout the day, a handful of chips here, a taste of someone elses meal there, a sip of drink here, ect. Plus I have a hard time finding how many calories are in my homemade meals or meals that are made at someone elses house. I know that it all adds up, but I feel like it is very hard to count calories unless I want to try and count every single calorie I put into my mouth.
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Replies

  • gailygail99
    gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
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    you need a digital food scale and have to measure everything. its just how it is, you just have to do it.
  • FriendsR4EverTreasures
    FriendsR4EverTreasures Posts: 181
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    You do want to count every single calorie that goes in your mouth! That's how we plan! Those little splurges here and there are what add up in the long run! Search the data base, most everything you eat is in there. Not really hard.......
  • Meganalva
    Meganalva Posts: 282 Member
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    Yes, that's pretty much how it is. You will get used to it, it's become a habit for me. I will eyeball my portion size when I'm at someone else's house, try to figure out what's in the dish. Or if I don't know and it's just like "lasagna", I just do a search on here and try to go for the middle ground on the calorie count. Some of it just has to be guessed. As for the snacking all day, I had to just STOP doing it. If you wanna pick at stuff, pull out one portion size and snack on it throughout the day. These are the only suggestions I really have, hope it helps.
  • katiej122
    katiej122 Posts: 125 Member
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    It was frustrating for me at first because I use to snack mindlessly on little things all throughout the day as well, and I didn't want to put them in, but when you start counting properly it stops you from having all those little snacks that could add up to 100's of extra calories a day. It is something you just have to do if you really want it enough. For homemade meals, use the recipe calculator, and for meals at other places sometimes a good guess is better than nothing.
    Plan out some snacks in advance so you don't have to be worrying about counting all the little things
  • manda1002
    manda1002 Posts: 178 Member
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    For homemade meals, I use Recipes under food, and I can add all the ingredients, and tell it how many portions the meal will make, and it will give me a calories per serving number. It's a really great tool.
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
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    It does take extra effort. Most things worth working for do. Either make it a priority... or don't. But.... if you opt not to, you cannot be upset when you dont' lose weight. You will likely be over your calorie goal every day.
  • DataBased
    DataBased Posts: 513 Member
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    Hi there,

    I was a grazer, too - that was the first habit I broke, because you're 100% right - if you don't measure it, you have a hard time reporting it on your tracker. The second thing I did was bought a $5 kitchen scale to measure what I put in my mouth so I'd have a lot better idea of how many calories I was eating in a day.

    In the data world there's a saying - what we measure, we improve. I sincerely encourage you to measure what you consume. It just might surprise you/! (It sure surprised me how many empty calories I was taking in, and really getting nothing from them but useless pounds I didn't want).

    You can add your own recipes here! When I learned how to do that I knew I'd do fine. I make most of our food from single ingredients - very few "jar" foods, "canned" foods, or "boxed" foods. You can put in your recipe, tell it how many people the recipe serves, and then add it to your tracker whenever you like. I have learned my homemade bread is WAY better than store-bought. :-)

    Good luck!
  • MarincicS
    MarincicS Posts: 265 Member
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    I agree that you DO need to count every calorie you put in your mouth. If you have not been doing it, it can be a shocking eye-opener. I would suggest you also need to weigh and measure everything you can.

    Once you do this, you will quickly get good at estimating and you will start noticing all of those little tastes and handfuls of this or that and you will understand what they mean and whether or not you want to spend your calories on those things.
  • mamamc03
    mamamc03 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    you need a digital food scale and have to measure everything. its just how it is, you just have to do it.

    Yes, a digital scale is nice....but realistically no. You aren't going to take your scale to the Browns BBQ next door. Guesstimate. If you have a handful of chips...grab a handful again & count how many you have. If you take a bite of Jim's meatloaf, log a small portion of meatloaf. Just be wise & logical. This is easy to do & you don't have to get @nal about it. ;bc that can lead to stress & obsession.

    Best wishes!
  • lois4468
    lois4468 Posts: 166 Member
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    Snacking and not knowing how many calories are what got most of us in to this. The tabs for making a meal or a recipe have been a great help. Recipes let you search for ingredients that are in the food so calorie counts work out. A recipe can be just for you so you can make it a qty. 1 or more. Has helped me a lot. Food scale in the beginning helped realize how many ounces are in a portion, especially doing the meat. Amazing if you really count up what you eat how well this will work. Sometimes it is just guesswork but getting close counts. For instance Potato Salad ... just use one in the database that you may have had and think tastes like one a friend makes. It will be close. Hope this helps. Good luck!
  • TeenaMarina
    TeenaMarina Posts: 419 Member
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    Commit to logging EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. I used to snack too - trim crusts off my daughter's sandwiches and mindlessly eat them, eat the last chicken nugget left on her plate, handfuls of almonds without actually counting. Now I'm to the point where I look at something "extra" that I want to eat as a burden. If I eat that I'm going to have to go and log it! So most of the time now I think nah, not worth it. Logging really opens your eyes to how many calories foods really have, and how easy it is to trip yourself up during the day. Count all of it - or do not eat it! x
  • Corrie_Lynn
    Corrie_Lynn Posts: 53 Member
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    I'm still getting used to it too, but I've gotten in the habit of counting and measuring everything. If I grab a handful of nuts, I'll drop them into a cup measure (haven't gotten a food scale yet) real quick so that I know how much I'm eating (this is also a good way to make sure you don't overdo it). I had a really hard time with homemade stuff at first, but I've just started inputting all the ingredients in the recipe section and using that, it's easy once you get into the swing of it.
  • mandacloye
    mandacloye Posts: 26 Member
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    I agree with all the above suggestions. I portion all things as soon as I bring them into the house. My husband has been loosing weight simply by eating proper portions I prepare for myself. I am thrilled about it, and find it MUCH easier to stay in the guidelines with things "ready to eat". As one writer suggested, you should be able to guess portion sizes pretty close after a fairly short period of time. And doesn't it really come down to WANTING it bad enough?? The end choice is really all yours.

    Good luck!
  • j1wright
    j1wright Posts: 286 Member
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    I think your problem isn't counting calories, it is how you are eating. For one, you shouldn't eat off other peoples meals, it isn't a good habit. You shouldn't mindlessly snack. That is how you become overweight.

    You need to know what is going in your mouth. If are eating at a friends house and you are eating lets say a hamburger then put in hamburger in the tracker and click on one that sounds like the one you ate. It doesn't have to be exact at first, you will get better as you go. Good luck, you are taking the first steps!
  • gailygail99
    gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
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    you need a digital food scale and have to measure everything. its just how it is, you just have to do it.

    Yes, a digital scale is nice....but realistically no. You aren't going to take your scale to the Browns BBQ next door. Guesstimate. If you have a handful of chips...grab a handful again & count how many you have. If you take a bite of Jim's meatloaf, log a small portion of meatloaf. Just be wise & logical. This is easy to do & you don't have to get @nal about it. ;bc that can lead to stress & obsession.

    Best wishes!

    A digital food scale is a huge help! And they're cheap! I got mine on Amazon for like $20. It doesn't make you anal cause u want to see what a true serving is! I've used the scale from the beginning and it's helped me! You will learn with a scale what a portion of something is! And no you're not gonna take ur scale to the neighbors but u will have a better idea when you do have to guess about something.

    Get the scale and some measuring cups and spoons to while you're at it..look where they've gotten me!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    A few suggestions:
    - use the recipe calculator to work out the cals in your own recipes.
    - plan your meals ahead of time so you know what you will be eating and how many cals. If you change your mind that's OK, but you can see how many cals are available for each meal/snack so it makes you think twicea bout that extra handful of chippies.
    - look back at the end of the day and if you think there are a bunch of little things you haven't logged and can't be bothered, add 100 or 200 (or more!) quick add calories to your diary. It's better to log the actual food, but this way at least you get a better picture of your calorie intake each day.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    I have stopped counting entirely now but to be honest even when I did count, I wouldn't stress over the last calorie. I would be as accurate as possible, but honestly if I thought I might have eaten a little bit more than what was in my diary I would just quick add an extra 100 calories, or just leave 100 calories of wiggle room around my target.
  • mamamc03
    mamamc03 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    you need a digital food scale and have to measure everything. its just how it is, you just have to do it.

    Yes, a digital scale is nice....but realistically no. You aren't going to take your scale to the Browns BBQ next door. Guesstimate. If you have a handful of chips...grab a handful again & count how many you have. If you take a bite of Jim's meatloaf, log a small portion of meatloaf. Just be wise & logical. This is easy to do & you don't have to get @nal about it. ;bc that can lead to stress & obsession.

    Best wishes!

    A digital food scale is a huge help! And they're cheap! I got mine on Amazon for like $20. It doesn't make you anal cause u want to see what a true serving is! I've used the scale from the beginning and it's helped me! You will learn with a scale what a portion of something is! And no you're not gonna take ur scale to the neighbors but u will have a better idea when you do have to guess about something.

    Get the scale and some measuring cups and spoons to while you're at it..look where they've gotten me!

    This is very true about having it in your arsenal. I always say that intelligence is knowing how to utilize your resources. Getting in the habit of using the right tools will do a world of good.
    Regarding obsessing about measurements to the point of anality (I think I made up a word)....If someone has a tendency to stress the small things, i.e. anxiety, lack of motivation b/c its hard, etc, then maybe a scale might not be a dire necessity.That is the angle I was taking in my original "quotation" of your comment. To be honest, I answer questions like I was asking them....what would I need to hear. I have anxiety and if I get stressed, I'll give up. It's just my disease, but I deal with it! I like to make things as easy as possible!

    To play the other side of the fence, I dont have a food scale...and look where it got me. ;) I've lost over half of that quoted poster has lost.

    All competition aside :flowerforyou: , do what works for you. If you aren't sure, measure it. I'm sure the iPhone will come out with a food scale app before long. Sending love and best wishes!
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
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    you need a digital food scale and have to measure everything. its just how it is, you just have to do it.

    Yes, a digital scale is nice....but realistically no. You aren't going to take your scale to the Browns BBQ next door. Guesstimate. If you have a handful of chips...grab a handful again & count how many you have. If you take a bite of Jim's meatloaf, log a small portion of meatloaf. Just be wise & logical. This is easy to do & you don't have to get @nal about it. ;bc that can lead to stress & obsession.

    Best wishes!

    this is all correct.
  • ThatCindyGirl
    ThatCindyGirl Posts: 26
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    All great advice. I would like to add: educate yourself. The more you educate yourself on nutrition and calories, the easier it is to "guesstimate" what's going into your body at random times. And don't obsess with numbers being spot on. A rough estimate is fine. :)

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