I love to read the comments that I receive on my blog post every day. This week I received the below comment and question. ( It was in regards to my post about No Fat, Low Fat, No Carb, Low Carb ) I wanted to share this with everyone, and do my best to answer the question.
"Good post! I have struggled with these types of diets in the past as well. Right now I'm doing a very low sugar/low carb diet and I feel the same way, very deprived and wondering how long I can sustain. Question for you, how do you measure out a dinner that you cook? Like chicken casserole for instance. How do you know how many calories are in it?" Michelle
My Answer:
There are a few different ways to figure the calorie count for meals that you cook at home.
First you can make an educated guess, and by this I mean you get a good idea of how much of each item that you are eating and look up the calorie values for each item. You would then need to add everything up for a total calorie count for the portion you are eating. I would use my favorite tool in my bag of tricks and that is to log into http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Another way to figure the calorie count would be to prepare recipes that have the nutritional value and calories noted on them. Many recipes that you find in magazines and on the internet sites will show the calories, carbs, and fat per serving. The trick is to figure the serving or portion size. Not all serving sizes are equal. You could easily eat two or three servings in one sittng and not realize it.
But my favorite method for calculating the calories, carbs, fats, dietary fiber and other nutritional value in my meals that I prepare at home comes from using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Not only can you track your weight loss, your body measurements, and progress. You can also record My Recipes. Under the My Recipes tab you would list all of the ingredients that go into the casserole or other dish that you are preparing. You have to state how many servings that you will get from the finished product. A good rule of thumb would be to get a mental picture of what the 9" x 12" casserole pan looks like ( or whatever size of pan that you are using ).
Next get a mental picture of what the prepared food will look like in this pan. Instead of "spooning" it out and onto your plate, and guessing how much you have put on your plate,
think about cutting the casserole down the middle, length wise. Then determine how large is a portion size ? First, mentally cut down the center of the casserole dish on the width, and then repeating this until you can see the casserole cut into sections, sort of like you would brownies. You may end up with 6, 8, 10 or 12 servings depending on what it is that you have prepared. and the size of the casserole dish that you are usig.
When you enter the number of servings into the http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ program it will give you the calculation for how many calories are in each serving. If you think that the calories per serving is too high, adjust the number of servings that you can get from the casserole. If you were trying to cut it into 8 sections, try to increase it to 10 sections/servings therefore reducing the number of calories per serving.
Another side note would be to try this mental calculation for most items that you are eating. I was purchasing Philadelphia Strawberry Cream Cheeese in the 4-pack individual serving size, but it was not available in a lower fat version. I thought about what I could do to lower my calorie intake on this food choice, so I began buying the small tub of the 1/3 reduced fat Philadelphia Strawberry Cream cheese . I read the package and it stated that the container had 7 servings at 70 calories per serving. Well 7 servings is an odd amount, but once I opened the container, I used my knife to cut the cream cheese straight down the middle. I am cutting , from one side to the other. Then I split the two sections into four sections, and then I cut those into 8 sections so it looks like a pizza with 8 slices. Then every day I have a "controlled" portion of the lower fat cream cheese. And it is cheaper to do it this way too! And I am actually getting less than the recommended serving size than what is stated on the container. I get 8 servings at 61.25 calories per serving!! Wow!!! Way to use my math skills to count those calories!!
I hope you find this blog post helpful! It really is a little challenging when you first begin to keep track of the calories, fat, carbs, sugar, etc. but once you load your recipes, and other foods into the My favorites, or My Recipes, you will find it very easy to track.
There are many more short cuts and secrets that I am learning on My Journey To A New Me and I will be happy to share them with all of you. Remember it is Never too late to start your Journey. Please keep the comments and questions coming! I will do my best to answer them in a clear and hopefully encouraging manner. Sharpen your math skills today. Start counting and dividing today!
"Good post! I have struggled with these types of diets in the past as well. Right now I'm doing a very low sugar/low carb diet and I feel the same way, very deprived and wondering how long I can sustain. Question for you, how do you measure out a dinner that you cook? Like chicken casserole for instance. How do you know how many calories are in it?" Michelle
My Answer:
There are a few different ways to figure the calorie count for meals that you cook at home.
First you can make an educated guess, and by this I mean you get a good idea of how much of each item that you are eating and look up the calorie values for each item. You would then need to add everything up for a total calorie count for the portion you are eating. I would use my favorite tool in my bag of tricks and that is to log into http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Another way to figure the calorie count would be to prepare recipes that have the nutritional value and calories noted on them. Many recipes that you find in magazines and on the internet sites will show the calories, carbs, and fat per serving. The trick is to figure the serving or portion size. Not all serving sizes are equal. You could easily eat two or three servings in one sittng and not realize it.
But my favorite method for calculating the calories, carbs, fats, dietary fiber and other nutritional value in my meals that I prepare at home comes from using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Not only can you track your weight loss, your body measurements, and progress. You can also record My Recipes. Under the My Recipes tab you would list all of the ingredients that go into the casserole or other dish that you are preparing. You have to state how many servings that you will get from the finished product. A good rule of thumb would be to get a mental picture of what the 9" x 12" casserole pan looks like ( or whatever size of pan that you are using ).
Next get a mental picture of what the prepared food will look like in this pan. Instead of "spooning" it out and onto your plate, and guessing how much you have put on your plate,
think about cutting the casserole down the middle, length wise. Then determine how large is a portion size ? First, mentally cut down the center of the casserole dish on the width, and then repeating this until you can see the casserole cut into sections, sort of like you would brownies. You may end up with 6, 8, 10 or 12 servings depending on what it is that you have prepared. and the size of the casserole dish that you are usig.
When you enter the number of servings into the http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ program it will give you the calculation for how many calories are in each serving. If you think that the calories per serving is too high, adjust the number of servings that you can get from the casserole. If you were trying to cut it into 8 sections, try to increase it to 10 sections/servings therefore reducing the number of calories per serving.
Another side note would be to try this mental calculation for most items that you are eating. I was purchasing Philadelphia Strawberry Cream Cheeese in the 4-pack individual serving size, but it was not available in a lower fat version. I thought about what I could do to lower my calorie intake on this food choice, so I began buying the small tub of the 1/3 reduced fat Philadelphia Strawberry Cream cheese . I read the package and it stated that the container had 7 servings at 70 calories per serving. Well 7 servings is an odd amount, but once I opened the container, I used my knife to cut the cream cheese straight down the middle. I am cutting , from one side to the other. Then I split the two sections into four sections, and then I cut those into 8 sections so it looks like a pizza with 8 slices. Then every day I have a "controlled" portion of the lower fat cream cheese. And it is cheaper to do it this way too! And I am actually getting less than the recommended serving size than what is stated on the container. I get 8 servings at 61.25 calories per serving!! Wow!!! Way to use my math skills to count those calories!!
I hope you find this blog post helpful! It really is a little challenging when you first begin to keep track of the calories, fat, carbs, sugar, etc. but once you load your recipes, and other foods into the My favorites, or My Recipes, you will find it very easy to track.
There are many more short cuts and secrets that I am learning on My Journey To A New Me and I will be happy to share them with all of you. Remember it is Never too late to start your Journey. Please keep the comments and questions coming! I will do my best to answer them in a clear and hopefully encouraging manner. Sharpen your math skills today. Start counting and dividing today!
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