How to count calories

[smb1966 130]

Can someone explaine how to count the calories or Protein in a couple bites of this or a couple bites of that? I understand if I have a foil pack of tuna and I manage to eat it in its entirety by the end of the day but what about the times when you don't finish a serving of whatever. I am afraid that I am either over estimating or under estimating.

[Elode 8,093]

I struggle with this all the time. I enter it all in and then don't eat it all. If I eat most of it I just leave it alone if I don't eat much at all I estimate the numbers. That's all you can do.

[Babbs 14,681]

I think if your going to be serious about counting calories, you'de be better off just measuring your "bite of this and bite of that". So instead, 2 TBSP of this and 1 tsp of that. Yeah, there will have to be math :/ I really hate math.

Great question!

[4MRB4PHOTO 3,900]

I would recommend measuring it and journaling your entries. Nibbling can lead to a lot of extra calories if you aren't careful.

Use a digital scale or measuring cups.

If you have 1oz of a 2oz portion or 1/4 cup of a 1/2 cup serving, then divide the nutrition in 1/2 (6g of Protein & 140 calories for a 2oz portion will be 3g of Protein & 70 calories for a 1oz portion).

Maybe put the servings divided equally in little zip-lock snack bags or write on the container what a (tablespoon, 1oz, 1/4 cup, etc) is once you calculate it.

I know you can do it. Keep up the great work.

Edited October 18, 2015 by 4MRB4PHOTO

[smb1966 130]

I think if your going to be serious about counting calories, you'de be better off just measuring your "bite of this and bite of that". So instead, 2 TBSP of this and 1 tsp of that. Yeah, there will have to be math :/ I really hate math.

Great question!

That is exactly what I do, measure it by teaspoons. I just never really thought about doing the math on equivalents. Guess I need to break out my kitchen conversion chart. Sometimes it just helps to hear it from someone else.

[smb1966 130]

Journaling is not my favorite thing to do but do it I must, I guess. I am not talking about nibbling though, I am talking about the meal itself. I have a meal reminder set on my phone that alarms every 3 hrs for meals and snack. So I may put 2 teaspoons of tuna and a teaspoon of cottage cheese on my plate but only get half of that in. Your right I am going to have to make a chart until I can get a handle on the portion sizes.

Thanks for you ideas.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

This is when old-fashioned fractions, equivalences, and basic math comes in.

Did you eat 1/2 the packet? 1/3, 1/4? I guesstimate usually if I know the starting amount.

Or, you could weigh or measure what remains and deduct it from what you started with.

Or, you could put it in the refrigerator and finish it later and count the whole portion.

It helps to get comfortable with conversions: ex. 2 tablespoons = 1 oz = 1/4 cup, etc. It becomes easier the more you measure things.

Here is a good conversion chart.

https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

By the way, you aren't counting calories, you are tracking your food to record the nutritional content, especially the macros: Protein, carbs, and fats. Calories are secondary, at least that is what my plan entails.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@smb1966 - That is a GREAT question. It's tough and requires great discipline. I like the myfitnesspal.com site. But remember not all of foods have been verified and I have found some to be very inaccurate.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

BTW, nothing is really clear in this area...when you really dig deep calorie counting is a daunting deep hole:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2011/12/08/why-calorie-counts-are-wrong-cooked-food-provides-a-lot-more-energy/#.ViPg_vmrTx4

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/263028.php

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-a-calorie-emma-bryce

It is a relative measure but an important one. Just understand that this should not be a complete freak out area, but one that should be tracked carefully but with an eye toward reality.

And remember calories burned during exercise is not an excuse to eat more ...https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/why-you-shouldnt-trust-calories-burned-on-exercise-machines/ Here is why it matters: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v42/acr_v42_17017.pdf (we do think we can eat more it we see calories burned)

Edited October 18, 2015 by OKCPirate

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I realize food journaling is not everyone's cup of tea, but I think you need to at least starting off just so you can get a sense of what you are eating and how close you are/aren't to meeting your Protein goals. One bonus of this is you also get to see the hidden sodium and sugars in many foods. In short, it's a valuable tool.

I would measure out food. 1 tbsp is ½ ounce. 2 ounces is ¼ cup. Think in those terms instead of a bite here and a bite there.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@BLERDgirl - you are not kidding. A helpful hint, every morning I pull a scoop of Protein powder and add little bits of it to my coffee, yogurt and other foods. I log it at the end of the day based on how much is left in the scoop. Yes I am obsessive about Protein, but when you notice hair loss, you tend to get that way.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

When I just started out and couldn't eat much I weight before I ate and after I ate with a scale. I have a digital scale that I can put a container on, set to zero so the weight of the container does not count and then weigh the food. I would we before and then after I finished.

It is important to get your Protein right, not guess it. If you are doing Protein first and hitting your protein goals, it is almost impossible to over eat on calories unless you are grazing

[Bndtoslv 292]

Can someone explaine how to count the calories or Protein in a couple bites of this or a couple bites of that? I understand if I have a foil pack of tuna and I manage to eat it in its entirety by the end of the day but what about the times when you don't finish a serving of whatever. I am afraid that I am either over estimating or under estimating.

I may be crazy but I measure every single thing that goes into my mouth at home. So if I had a plate of tuna and only ate 1/2 I'd measure before and after then enter the final number into my fitness pal. I just estimate while I'm away but I think I'm more accurate at eyeballing since I measure at home constantly.

[HopeandAgony 566]

It's a lot of math. In prior attempts of mine to lose weight I did a low calories diet. I will never forget laying out all of my ingredients before making dinner, adding them all up and then dividing it in to serving sizes so I could keep track of my calories. I drove my family nuts but it does work. It especially sucked if one item served 6, but another item I was mixing it with served 8, then it was double the math. Lol. Looking back now I wonder how often I was incorrect!

Thankfully with this surgery I am only subjecting the math madness to my own meals and I will probably not mix things for quite some time.