Calorie tracker help needed! HELP!

This topic contains 6 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by SissyBoy 9 years, 10 months ago.

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

SissyBoy

6:56 am
20 Jan 15
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I also use SparkPeople to track my daily calorie consumption, however, here is my kicker.

Say I want to enter tuna salad…the options available are a million and most of them some kind of brand.
I rarely eat ready made meals, mostly prepare them myself, so how in the heavens do I know which option to use? It does not specify ingredients in the salad, and therefore I am guessing. Even if I go by the weight say 100 grams, what constitutes the weight wrt ingredients?

Let’s simplify this with a boiled egg. This one says so many cals, that one says less or maybe even more…coffee with milk, same story.

How in the heavens do I know which one is right and that I am not lying to myself about my daily consumption?

Applepie

7:00 am
20 Jan 15
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I use myfitnesspal, I find it very useful. I always stay well within my limits to allow room for error. Hope this helps and good luck!

SissyBoy

7:03 am
20 Jan 15
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Applepie, but it’s the same situation on My Fitness Pal. Type in coffee with milk and see how many options are provided. How do you know which one is right?

I don’t want to split hairs because I am doing very well, is losing weight and feeling great, but being OCD I need to know I am not lying to myself…

Applepie

7:21 am
20 Jan 15
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With your example of coffee with milk, different people have different amounts of milk. If you like a lot of milk go with the higher figure. Also look for the user confirmations. I would never go with the lowest figure, I go mid to high.
Take it easy, this works!!

SissyBoy

7:51 am
20 Jan 15
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Yea Applepie agreed, I also do that. Never goes with he lowest figure, it just comes back to bite you.

And it works for sure. 2.2kg in my first week and several centimeters later!

Your time and feedback is appreciated.

maralgil

8:23 am
20 Jan 15
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Yep, I have to agree with last 2 posters. I have used myfitness pal in the past (not with 5:2) and it worked well for counting calories. Never pick the lowest value, always go medium/high, and with exercise do the opposite and always estimate lower. Another thing to watch is portions, the default portion size on a lot of trackers may be surprisingly small. I certainly noticed with things like potatoes, pasta and chicken for example, what I would have normally ate would be a lot more than their default.

Good luck!!!

SissyBoy

8:27 am
20 Jan 15
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Good point Maralgil, I have noticed that I have definitely lost the plot when it comes to portion size and I think I can contribute a sizable part of the extra kilos that I carry to that little issue.

So getting the old food consuming engine used to less is more!

Next year this time there WILL be fireworks and celebrations. Guaranteed.