How exact are you?

Just wondering how exact people are when they are counting their calories. For example, I don't measure exactly what I'm having for dinner to cup-sized portions etc, I'll just type what I had in to the browser and pick the thing closest to what I had. And if there isn't a brand I eat on the browser I'll just pick the closest thing to it. Is this okay, or do I really need to get exact portions/brands?

Thanks! :)

Veggies I just estimate. Anything high calorie I try to measure exactly. The difference is... messing up with the veggies will be a 10 or 20 calorie difference max. But, if you overestimate mayo, peanut butter, loose nuts, oil, beef... you're talking about hundreds of calories in the course of a day.

IMO its important to measure everything out using measuring tools in the beginning because then at least you have a good idea what each serving looks like... then later you will be able to estimate more accurately.

for brands of foods...I would start looking at the nutrition info on the back of whatever container it comes in because the calories will be right there. sometimes different brands can turn out very different because without you knowing it they might contain a very different product or portion size... 

You do need to be accurate to start with. As the previous poster says.... some low-cal foods you can be quite liberal with and it'll make no difference.  But an ounce of dry pasta is 100 cals, a teaspoon of olive oil is 40  cals.... a few too many of those and you'll be back here asking 'why am I not losing weight?'.

Measure your food to start with and once you have a better idea of how big a portion-size should be then take it from there.

peachysam  I do the same thing as you.  I have lost 19 pounds.  I must not be too off.

I used to measure my portions with a measuring cup, but I've since invested in a digital kitchen scale and now measuring the weight of the foods I consume I can be far more confident about the accuracy of my food log. Especially with tricky substances like protein powder I prefer using the scale, because it turns out the 0.3 cup of protein powder I thought weighed 40 grams is actually closer to 28 grams and to get the actual serving size of 40 g I have to scoop out at least half a cup.

peachysam its really up to you to decide... I lost 70 lbs and to be honest I measured some things and not others...I did not spend a lot of time analyzing certain foods and especially when I changed ingredients in recipes I just took a good swag however, I will say that if I used on-line info I tried to look at a couple of sources and take the higher cal counts.  The one thing I did learn is once I did it and that food came up again I stayed with whatever I initially put to be consistent.

Edit:  I did purchase a digital scale and I do use it but not as often as in the beginning.

I only use three cups for liquids, one is 1 cup, another is 1.5 cups, and the other is 2 cups.  For condiments I measure 100% exact since they're caloric values are very high and therefore very sensitive to amount.  For everything else I just estimate; I know what a cup of rice/pototoes/corn looks like, as well as 1 oz of most meats.

Typically, the only time I ever measure anything out so that I'm pretty exact is when I buy a new food and am uncertain of what a serving size looks like (or two, when it comes to cereal). Once I've done that a couple of times the size is ingrained in my mind and I will guesstimate from there on out. If I think my estimations are starting to get much bigger than they should I measure out again for a couple of days to get reacquainted with what a serving size looks like.

Since I've been losing a steady 1.5 pounds a week or so, I think it's been working out rather well for me. =)

I have a digital paint scale that I use to measure everything I eat down to the gram.  After using it religiously for over a month I took a couple of weeks off thinking that I should be able to eye the same portions.  Well after the two weeks passed and I didn't lose an ounce I decided to start using my scale again.  I made a normal lunch that I would probably log at around 500 calories, but when I weighed everything out and entered the weight in grams it turned out that 500 calorie meal was actually more like 800!!!  No more eyeballing for me!  A food scale is the way to go.  Even preportioned foods (like a slice of precut cheese for example) that list the calorie content per serving on the package can be WAY off!  A slice of muenster cheese is supposed to be 80 calories according to the package, but when I weighed it the grams were way off!  Turns out that 80 calorie piece of cheese was actually 120 calories!  Definately get a scale, you'll be shocked at how many more calories you're taking in than you think.

I guess at most things.  Every once in a while I will measure in a cup or throw a piece of meat on the scale just to check myself.  I have been loosing regular so until I stop I will just most likely guess.  And then I will start to measure before I come back and ask you all whats up.

This is exactly why I eat mostly frozen meals, they are already portioned, and calories counted. Although I always check the box and make sure it matches what CC has because it has been off a few times, due to portion changes and updates to particular ingredients.

Plus accuracy leaves less room for error.

I usually use measuring cups and/or get a rough estimation of stuff.  I think the way you're doing things is fine.  I've done basically that and over the course of a year and a few months I've lost 70+ pounds.

I agree with measuring highly caloric foods accuratly. I bought a scale a couple months ago. I find it very helpful on items like icecream, chips, and pasta. I used to overeat those things but not anymore.

Can you use a digital postal scale instead of a kitchen scale?

Meh, I just try to be as correct as possible without obsessing. Sometimes I get a little more, sometimes a little less.

carolann - as long as it measures in grams instead of pounds / ounces then yes.  Although I'm not sure if postage scales have a "tare" function and if it doesn't then that makes it more complicated since you'd have to remove each ingredient prior to weighing the next, or keep a running total and subtract the grams as you go along...

i measure out everything but...

i'd say if you don't want to, guesstimate for now, but then if you hit a 'plateau' or stop losing weight, then be more accurate.  it's surprising how off one can be and, like it was said earlier, if it's a calorie-dense food, you could really be adding on a lot unintentionally.

if nothing else, measuring will accustom you to how big food portions actually are, and then one you do it for a while, you'll be able to 'eye it' with more accuracy.

I don't measure by volume, but by weight.  I have a scale in the kitchen - measure to the 1/10th of ounce.  Put my plate on it and tare.  Then, measure out each item of food and tare after each item.  Scribble it on a post it note and enter it in after dinner.  I know exactly that I'm eating 3 oz of chicken, and not estimating it based on a deck of cards or whatever. 

Some things you kind of have to estimate, though, such as the amount of oil you may have used to stir fry something, etc.  This gets particularly tricky if you are cooking for more than 1.  I dont measure the entire pan of food and then say I had 1/3rd therefore, 1/3rd of the oil used is on my plate.  In cases like that, I just put all of the oil calories in - figure I'd rather be higher than actual rather than lower.  (If all of that makes sense).

I think it's more accurate than measuring by volume, plus, it's easier when entering in on CC - just skip to the bottom and enter in the weight instead of having to try to convert tbsp to tsp and come up with 1.767679532160 servings, etc.

You can get a decent digital scale for under $20.  I use a Digiweigh.  Originally bought it for when I was selling on ebay, so it goes up to 50 pounds, but you can get scales that only go up to 10 pounds for very cheap. 

Thanks for all the tips!

I guess/eyeball everything.

If I want to lose slowly it says I should eat 1450cal.  If I want to lose a bit quicker and I change my lifestyle to sedentary then I should eat 1200cal.    So I figure as long as I'm over 1200 on the calorie count I have to be somewhere in that range?  lol!

I have lost 18lbs since July 1st - so I guess its working ;)