Calorie Counting-- how detailed do you get?

So,  when entering your calories do you ever estimate a little? Perhaps pick a similar product and call it good? I don't think I could do it any other way. I'm glad I just get close. How about you?

Absolutely!  For example, I picked up a Peach-Strawberry-Saskatoon Berry Pie at the Farmer's Market this weekend.  Not exactly something in the database and doesn't come with nutritional info. outside the ingredient list.  So, I searched on "pie", looked at a couple of different kinds (peach and blueberry) and went with the higher cal one.

Calorie-counting is only ever a guide, at best.  If you eat out, it's incredibly difficult to be accurate about it and even packaged foods are only required to be 80% accurate with their nutrition info... which is why preparing your own food isn't a bad strategy.  However, an overestimate or underestimate here or there is not going to make any difference to the outcome. 

Edited: Original post removed. Misunderstood the question. Whoops.

I just add up what I eat... but like Susiecue said if I cant find an item I just look around to add something close to the calories. And I usually add the higer one too. But I think I like the fact of having to report them.. I think it makes me watch mself closer. I have told friends my sis ect... about this site and yeah I think I am addicted lol..

I definitely agree that it really comes down to just watching what you eat; being aware of what's going into your body. After all, it's a good point that we can never get exact with calories, but even in the end in won't affect the outcome. (gi-jane)

But without this website I never even realized a lot of things about nutrition..!

When I first started I would stress out when I couldn't find what I was looking for in the nutrition data-base, and now when I think back to it, I think.. "how stupid!" I should have stressed more over NOT considering what I was eating!

I know some folks can be really obsessive about this sort of thing but I'm glad to hear that several people think like I do about this. I too like the thought that I'm getting a much better idea about what I eat and its nutritional content than I was before.

I measure and log everything I eat at home.  Since I don't work out of the home, this includes most foods.  We cook mostly "from scratch" and I bake my own whole grain  seed and nut sourdough bread.  I enter all ingredients into the recipe tool and get a good cal count per serving this way.

So at home I am very accurate (and obsessive perhaps)

When eating out I just estimate as best I can and don't sweat it.

All in all, it works out just fine.

I can get a lil obsessive sometimes... Like today I logged a small slice of iceberg lettuce XD Only 1 calorie, ya know. But yesterday I had a home-made brownie from a small shop in the center of my town in South Africa and I just logged a random fudge brownie, simply as an indication, no fuss.