Any Shortcuts to Counting Calories?

[JumpyTheFrog]

I've tracked my food on and off (mostly off) using MyFitnessPal, but usually stop after a few weeks because it's such a pain to weigh ingredients and enter data for all my homecooked meals. I was wondering if anyone does a shortcut version, such as setting a calorie limit for processed or junk food.

 

I am not worried about overeating fruits, veggies, or meat. I don't eat gluten or dairy and have limited grains. I was thinking of only tracking calories from added fats (cooking oil and salad dressing), grains, junk food, sweets, and maybe beans. This would mean I could cook a meat and bean dish and only have to measure the oil and beans.

 

Has anyone tried anything like this?

[Pawz4me]

I haven't, but you could try it for a few weeks and see how it works for you.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I create a recipe if it's something I have often. If not I estimate. Life is too short for scales. *i've done it a long time so my estimation is pretty accurate and I err on the side of caution if I have doubt.

[Night Elf]

I use My Fitness Pal's recipe nutrition calculator to calculate the numbers (calories, carbs, proteins, et) of recipes I make on a regular basis. Then I keep them in an excel document I call my food journal. It's easy to alphabetize so I can find what I need quickly.

[kroe1]

The shortest shortcut I know is to stick your fist on the plate. If the food piled together is bigger than your fist, it is too much. While this method seems to have much room for error, it is incredibly accurate over the long term.

[KarenC]

I've tracked my food on and off (mostly off) using MyFitnessPal, but usually stop after a few weeks because it's such a pain to weigh ingredients and enter data for all my homecooked meals. I was wondering if anyone does a shortcut version, such as setting a calorie limit for processed or junk food.

 

I am not worried about overeating fruits, veggies, or meat. I don't eat gluten or dairy and have limited grains. I was thinking of only tracking calories from added fats (cooking oil and salad dressing), grains, junk food, sweets, and maybe beans. This would mean I could cook a meat and bean dish and only have to measure the oil and beans.

 

Has anyone tried anything like this?

I don't count calories.  I tried for a while but it was time consuming and hard to remember to do it every meal.  Instead, one meal a day is a salad, or apple with peanut butter and grapes, or cottage cheese with peaches and carrots ( carrots not in the cottage cheese), or something like that.  For breakfast, I have instant oatmeal with a cup of milk and carnation breakfast mix.  The third meal I eat mostly what I want, but keep the portion sizes reasonable.  It's working for me.  I've lost 23 pounds in 14 months without too much effort.  

 

The hardest part for me is snacking.  I try to always have grapes around and snack on those.

[kiana]

I know by now which ingredients are significant contributors and which are not and I just don't write down some of them. For example, I don't enter in a single stalk of celery in a recipe. Then I weigh things which are calorie-dense (meat, cheese, beans, grains) and estimate the rest. I'm not overly concerned about the difference between half a pound and 5/8 of a lb of grapes, but I do make a best guess estimate. 

[mamaraby]

Legumes and lean meats/fish have the same calorie density so I'm not sure why you'd count the one and not the other. That being said, I think any weight loss tool needs to be something that makes sense for you, though, so you can always give it a try and see how it works. You might need to fine tune it a bit along the way. Worst case scenario is that it doesn't work and you have to go back to the drawing board which wouldn't be the end of the world.

 

Another option is to food journal visually. It won't give you specific numbers/macro breakdowns, etc, but it could still give you the same feedback - if you have an Android/Apple device you could try TwoGrand's YouFood app - www.twogrand.com

 

In answer to the general question re: shortcuts and calorie counting, the answer is yes. My shortcut is calorie density. I generally follow Pritikin's chart, except that I'm vegan - https://www.pritikin.com/your-health/health-benefits/healthy-weight-loss/1318-why-not-just-count-calories.html

 

Again, though, the best weight loss tool is the one that fits and that you can stick with so feel free to tweak until you find what works for you. :D

[Alicia64]

To lose 48 lbs. I had to treat it like a part time job. That's how I saw it. So when I was cutting carrots or keeping track of points (Weight Watchers), I just saw it as part of my job.

 

If you're really trying to lose it's got to become a job that you attend to daily. Attempting to make it easier happens, but only after you've lose the weight and kept it off for two or three years. (I'm at the ten year mark.)

 

I don't mean to be rude, just being frank.

 

Alley

[FO4UR]

I was able to lose 20lbs just by cutting sugar and processed food and all soda (diet included).

 

I have stagnated here for over a year now.  I can maintain simply by counting only grain-based carbs, cheating about 3x per week.  I haven't been able to lose any more though.

 

 

I really need to lose 15 more lb, and I'd like to lose 20 more lb.  

 

 

My plan for this fall is to do eggs/cheese and oatmeal in the morning.  Raw foods (salads, nuts, etc...) for lunch.  Kefir/fruit smoothies for a snack.  Meat/veggie (minus grains that the rest of the family will eat) for dinner.  And, eat dinner before 6pm.  No calories after dinner.

 

I think I have to go to bed just a wee bit hungry in order to lose weight, not starving but feeling peckish.  Sleep instead of eat.  Look forward to a full breakfast.

 

 

I do better on routine rather than rules or counting or weighing.  I have busy days, too many non-paid "part-time jobs" already.  Keeping salads already made up for my lunch helps greatly.