Calorie Counting 101

[Ammex]

Why are people coming into a thread about how to accurately count calories and telling people they should count inaccurately, but consistently? It's shown time and time and time again the average person CANNOT ESTIMATE. That's exactly why there are 100 threads a day about eating 1200 calories and not losing, which leads to the inevitable advise of some genius telling them to eat more........... Do NOT continue to post in here contradicting the OP as it will bury relevant information under a bunch of confusing (for new people) posts. If you want to debate the necessity of counting, start a new thread. I asked for this thread to be made for a very specific reason. People, especially those who are new, do not know how to count accurately. This is what this thread is for.

[MuzzieChik786]

Hey Vismal - in several threads you've told people to measure in grams. Why is that? I measure in ounces.. am I doing it wrong?

What's the difference and does it matter? Thanks

[VmissileX]

Hey Vismal - in several threads you've told people to measure in grams. Why is that? I measure in ounces.. am I doing it wrong?

What's the difference and does it matter? Thanks

Consistency is key. It does not matter which unit of measure you use as long as at the end of the day your numbers all even out.

[MuzzieChik786]

Consistency is key. It does not matter which unit of measure you use as long as at the end of the day your numbers all even out.

Thought so. Thanks.

Am still curious why he recommends grams over ounces though.

[vismal]

Nearly ever nutrition label lists the weight of a serving size in grams. Lets say you are always using ounces and the you run across this label:

Now your a little stuck. Lets pretend it's a solid food so we can't put it in a measuring cup. I could do the math and take 228 grams and divide by 28 (which is already rounding because technically an ounce is 28.3495 grams) and that will give me 8.1428 ounces. So now I either round again or figure out what fraction of an ounce .1428 is.

Using grams I simply put the food on my plate until it hits 228. Much simpler, no math, no rounding. I think the fda makes companies list solid food serving sizes in grams as I've never a label that did not have grams on it. So that's why I prefer and recommend grams.

[MattMQ]

Solid thread. Proper counting is a powerful tool.

[sourmash1973]

Nearly ever nutrition label lists the weight of a serving size in grams. Lets say you are always using ounces and the you run across this label:

Now your a little stuck. Lets pretend it's a solid food so we can't put it in a measuring cup. I could do the math and take 228 grams and divide by 28 (which is already rounding because technically an ounce is 28.3495 grams) and that will give me 8.1428 ounces. So now I either round again or figure out what fraction of an ounce .1428 is.

Using grams I simply put the food on my plate until it hits 228. Much simpler, no math, no rounding. I think the fda makes companies list solid food serving sizes in grams as I've never a label that did not have grams on it. So that's why I prefer and recommend grams.

Good point! I always measure in grams as well, unless its meat where I use ounces.

[VmissileX]

For those interested and in the US.

I went to a local clearance clothing store (TJ MAXX, ROSS, MARSHALLS), and to my surprise they had food scales...on discount too! I was able to snag a second food scale for work for about 12 bucks (Taylor brand, good stuff).


No petty excuses that food scales are too expensive.

[TheNobodyThere]

Why are people coming into a thread about how to accurately count calories and telling people they should count inaccurately, but consistently? It's shown time and time and time again the average person CANNOT ESTIMATE. That's exactly why there are 100 threads a day about eating 1200 calories and not losing, which leads to the inevitable advise of some genius telling them to eat more........... Do NOT continue to post in here contradicting the OP as it will bury relevant information under a bunch of confusing (for new people) posts. If you want to debate the necessity of counting, start a new thread. I asked for this thread to be made for a very specific reason. People, especially those who are new, do not know how to count accurately. This is what this thread is for.

People usually forget to count in oil, sauce and other little things, which are very calorie dense.

[MuzzieChik786]

Thanks for the info. Can I bother you guys with another question? Pleaaase.

I need help with TDEE. I've lost a lot of weight over the past couple years - and now I'm constantly getting stuck. I think I'm doing my TDEE wrong. I'm not sure what I should be calculating as my activity level.

Here's the specs:
5'7" - currently 146 lbs
Desk Job
Mon, Wed, Fri - Stronglifts 5x5 in the morning, 25 mins incline at lvl 15 walking at lunch, 1 hour crossfit at night
Tues, Thurs - 45 min incline walking at lvl 15
Sat morning - 1 hour crossfit, 45 min incline walking at lvl 15
Sun off

If I use IIFYM - I show my TDEE at roughly 1800 cals. I'm at a deficit of 400 cals and eat around 1400 cals.

But I think the TDEE is wrong. I dunno. Help?

Much thanks.

[HandoverFist]

Thanks for the info. Can I bother you guys with another question? Pleaaase.

I need help with TDEE. I've lost a lot of weight over the past couple years - and now I'm constantly getting stuck. I think I'm doing my TDEE wrong. I'm not sure what I should be calculating as my activity level.

Here's the specs:
5'7" - currently 146 lbs
Desk Job
Mon, Wed, Fri - Stronglifts 5x5 in the morning, 25 mins incline at lvl 15 walking at lunch, 1 hour crossfit at night
Tues, Thurs - 45 min incline walking at lvl 15
Sat morning - 1 hour crossfit, 45 min incline walking at lvl 15
Sun off

If I use IIFYM - I show my TDEE at roughly 1800 cals. I'm at a deficit of 400 cals and eat around 1400 cals.

But I think the TDEE is wrong. I dunno. Help?

Much thanks.

Are you changing the 'EXERCISE LEVEL' portion on the calculator? I put in 5 times a week and the tdee came out to be 2108 cals. That's probably closer to your actualy tdee.

[Serpentarius]

Thanks for the info. Can I bother you guys with another question? Pleaaase.

I need help with TDEE. I've lost a lot of weight over the past couple years - and now I'm constantly getting stuck. I think I'm doing my TDEE wrong. I'm not sure what I should be calculating as my activity level.

Here's the specs:
5'7" - currently 146 lbs
Desk Job
Mon, Wed, Fri - Stronglifts 5x5 in the morning, 25 mins incline at lvl 15 walking at lunch, 1 hour crossfit at night
Tues, Thurs - 45 min incline walking at lvl 15
Sat morning - 1 hour crossfit, 45 min incline walking at lvl 15
Sun off

If I use IIFYM - I show my TDEE at roughly 1800 cals. I'm at a deficit of 400 cals and eat around 1400 cals.

But I think the TDEE is wrong. I dunno. Help?

Much thanks.

Dont worry about TDEE, just keep eating less until weight comes off, only worry about calories eaten and scale change.

[MuzzieChik786]

Dont worry about TDEE, just keep eating less until weight comes off, only worry about calories eaten and scale change.

Like most of your posts to me, that wasn't helpful.

It's not ONLY about losing weight. I've gone down to 800 cals, lost weight, but felt like ish. My question was about TDEE so I can do it the healthy way and not kill myself in the process.

Thanks anyways..

Handoverfist - yes, I used the option to "enter activity level." According to that, my TDEE is 1800 cals. Does that seem right? Thanks for your help.

[vismal]

Like most of your posts to me, that wasn't helpful.

It's not ONLY about losing weight. I've gone down to 800 cals, lost weight, but felt like ish. My question was about TDEE so I can do it the healthy way and not kill myself in the process.

Thanks anyways..

Handoverfist - yes, I used the option to "enter activity level." According to that, my TDEE is 1800 cals. Does that seem right? Thanks for your help.

Your tdee must be higher then 1800 with all that activity. You're lifting 3 days a week which is good. Then you are doing 4 days of crossfit, which is lifting as well. You aren't getting enough rest if you lift in the morning and do crossfit in the evening. Typically if you lift a body part you want at least 1 day off in between. Stronglifts and crossfit are both total body so if you do one session of either, I'd not lift the next day, and certainly not the same evening. In addition you do 3 cardio sessions and top it off with 1400 calories. I would think you could lose weight just eating 1400 calories and lifting 3x a week with no cardio/crossfit. If you are stalling on weight loss I would chalk it up to water retention. When you dip well below your TDEE water retention can get worse. This all assumes you are following the guide and counting 100% accurately

[MuzzieChik786]

Your tdee must be higher then 1800 with all that activity. You're lifting 3 days a week which is good. Then you are doing 4 days of crossfit, which is lifting as well. You aren't getting enough rest if you lift in the morning and do crossfit in the evening. Typically if you lift a body part you want at least 1 day off in between. Stronglifts and crossfit are both total body so if you do one session of either, I'd not lift the next day, and certainly not the same evening. In addition you do 3 cardio sessions and top it off with 1400 calories. I would think you could lose weight just eating 1400 calories and lifting 3x a week with no cardio/crossfit. If you are stalling on weight loss I would chalk it up to water retention. When you dip well below your TDEE water retention can get worse. This all assumes you are following the guide and counting 100% accurately

You're friggin' awesome, you know that?

Yes I know, overtraining is a problem of mine. I'm terrified of becoming obese again (which will never ever happen to me again). I've been told that before by the trainers at the gym and at Crossfit.

Okay, I'll stop hogging your thread now.

Btw, a suggestion to make this thread even more awesome than it already is - post screenshots of your food log, or what a typical day should look on your food log if you were measuring EVERYTHING. Lots of people will see that putting in sauces and stuff can increase calorie counts by a lot!

[tara19]

You're friggin' awesome, you know that?

Yes I know, overtraining is a problem of mine. I'm terrified of becoming obese again (which will never ever happen to me again). I've been told that before by the trainers at the gym and at Crossfit.

Okay, I'll stop hogging your thread now.

Btw, a suggestion to make this thread even more awesome than it already is - post screenshots of your food log, or what a typical day should look on your food log if you were measuring EVERYTHING. Lots of people will see that putting in sauces and stuff can increase calorie counts by a lot!

If you visit the logs in losing fat, nutrition sec etc. Most do post screenshots or link to them.
I track everything.
Bit of milk in my coffee, splenda, tablespoon of bbq sauce, spray oil etc.

[sourmash1973]

If you visit the logs in losing fat, nutrition sec etc. Most do post screenshots or link to them.
I track everything.
Bit of milk in my coffee, splenda, tablespoon of bbq sauce, spray oil etc.

I'm the same. I track everything that goes in my mouth. Even my multi, so I can see my micros in my app.

[tara19]

I'm the same. I track everything that goes in my mouth. Even my multi, so I can see my micros in my app.

Fish oil too! I neglected to think about the 3 fish oil tablets I was having a day.
Add up over time.

The only thing that I have never tracked is spices/herbs etc.
I have no intention on tracking them.

[sourmash1973]

Fish oil too! I neglected to think about the 3 fish oil tablets I was having a day.
Add up over time.

The only thing that I have never tracked is spices/herbs etc.
I have no intention on tracking them.

Well yeah, I agree on that. Also, I never track unsweetened tea because it has nothing in it.

[livin101]

Just a tip for those cooking their own meals, or those who want to try awesome recipes:

On Myfitnesspal there is a tab titled "recipes" that lets you add all the ingredients for whatever dish your making. Im sure many of you know about this already, but to those who don't, its there and its great!!

Here was my problem with that feature… I never knew how many servings the recipe made. So, that kills your accuracy… right? WRONG.

When you begin to cook something, lets just say a southwest chicken casserole (since they're very good…).
1. Take your casserole dish and weigh it EMPTY. Record its empty weight on scratch paper.
2. Enter in all your ingredients on MFP (don't forget the serving size will be per can, per package, and so on.)
3. Once you combine all your ingredients and are ready to put it in the oven, weigh your dish again.
4. Subtract empty dish weight from FULL dish weight. Thats the weight of your food.
5. Now, lets just assume you weighed in ounces/grams. Enter you FOOD WEIGHT ounces/grams as the "serves ___ people"
6. Once your dish is finished cooking, weigh out the portion you want to eat in ounces/grams.
7. this will give you an accurate calculation of macros.

Example:
Empty dish = 100 grams
Full dish = 700 grams

700g-100g = 600 grams (food weight)

Just enter serves "600" people under the "number of servings" (representing total weight of food)

Weigh out however much you can fit into your diet… Lets say 50 grams…

Enter your serving size as "50" (representing total weight you are eating)

Presto, you now have a more accurate calorie/carb/fats/protein count on homemade dishes.

Im sure someone else has thought of this, but figured Id share it anyway. Id rather cook all sorts of good stuff than be stuck eating chicken breast and egg whites… Hope this helps at least 1 person!

[OzChops]

The modification I'd make to that suggestion above is to weigh it AFTER cooking.

If it weighed 600g when it went in the oven, it would likely weigh much less after cooking.
If you use cooked weights and count raw calorie values, you'll be under counting by a substantial amount.
Meats for example can routinely lose 25% or more of their weight on cooking.

[tara19]

The modification I'd make to that suggestion above is to weigh it AFTER cooking.

If it weighed 600g when it went in the oven, it would likely weigh much less after cooking.
If you use cooked weights and count raw calorie values, you'll be under counting by a substantial amount.
Meats for example can routinely lose 25% or more of their weight on cooking.

Cooked weights can vary.
You tend to only lose water weight.
When I cook 200g of chicken breast, if I bake it in a marinade it will come out ~the same.
But if my boyfriend bbq's the **** out of it, it could drop to 160g.
The nutritional value does not change. Just the weight due to water/cooking techniques.

[livin101]

The modification I'd make to that suggestion above is to weigh it AFTER cooking.

If it weighed 600g when it went in the oven, it would likely weigh much less after cooking.
If you use cooked weights and count raw calorie values, you'll be under counting by a substantial amount.
Meats for example can routinely lose 25% or more of their weight on cooking.

I see what you mean. That is a good point, since you wouldn't want to cook an individual serving by itself when making a meal in bulk. The weight after cooking could throw off accuracy.

For example, weighing raw chicken breast at 8 oz. before cooking (which is how I understood it should be measured…) After cooking, I think my same 8 oz piece comes to like 6 oz? So, essentially the serving size would increase due to the loss of moisture. Makes sense.

So which way would be best? I think you and tara both make good points. When it all comes down to it, accuracy is the important part… Especially when making homemade dishes to keep a wide variety in the diet.

[OzChops]

Cooked weights can vary.
You tend to only lose water weight.
When I cook 200g of chicken breast, if I bake it in a marinade it will come out ~the same.
But if my boyfriend bbq's the **** out of it, it could drop to 160g.
The nutritional value does not change. Just the weight due to water/cooking techniques.

I agree 100%, and think we have got our wires crossed on context.

In the example above, all the ingredients were entered into MFP uncooked already in step 2.
After cooking the weighing was only to determine the "serving weight" of the finished meal - there won't be 600 1g serves, there might only be 500.
So if you weighed out 50g of cooked food, and then called it 50/600 of the recipe entered it would be under counting.

I should have been clearer in my original post.

Weight raw, enter ingredients into MFP recipe, cook recipe, weigh after cooking to determine serving size, count, eat, enjoy.

[predateur1]

great brother thank you

[predateur1]

The easy way is to do this consistently is to always try to be right.

[HSchmidt123]

Thanks and Regards

[MatyMcGuire]

Fantastic post! Thanks for such a great write up, very helpful

[oldPlumber]

I could tack on 20% to my daily total to account for forgotten food and not be too far off. I should lower my target by 20%, so by the end of the day I'd be close to my target.

My target is 2000 and I rarely meet it even without forgetting food, so my weight loss is always slow and totally dependent on burning calories through exercise or work.

[StanPT]

Sorry I had to write this because I feel some may be at risk. I counted calories, got very low and developed eating disorders. I'm trying not to count calories and eat normally again. Did anyone ever hear of a caveman catching his food and weighing it? Be careful with calorie counting.