Ok, I know this will be different for everyone, but I thought it might be fun to see how much more "anal" some of us are than others
I try to be a good CC'er and count everything I put in my mouth, but there are a few things I just don't bother with. And yes, yes, I know every calorie counts and 10 calories here and there can add up over the course of a day. But since I tend to round up and over-estimate most of my foods a bit, I think it usually evens out. Here are some of the things I don't count:
Low calorie condiments: the smear of yellow mustard on my sandwich, the drizzle of hot sauce on my chicken taco, small amounts of ketchup. (If I'm cooking with a larger amount of these kinds of things, I will count them, but if it's just a "topping", I don't.)
Coffee creamer: Most days I just drink one travel mug's worth of coffee with a very small "shot" of creamer. This is something I probably *should* be counting, but I just don't.
"Garnish" veggies: shredded lettuce or sprouts on top of a sandwich or on the side of a dinner plate. Just so few calories, I don't bother.
Breath mints, throat lozenges, etc. Again, just doesn't seem to be worth the effort to document such small amounts of calories, especially if it's just one or two in a day.
I don't count gum. Everything else I log, or if it's something little like a condiment I may not log it but I will leave room for it.
I definitely count my coffee- just milk (not cream) adds up to 60 calories in a large coffee from Tim Hortons (I'm so Canadian) when I'm working down town I could have 2 a day and 120 calories is not nothing!
I don't count:
water
diet pepsi
sugar free jelly
gum
pickled onions
carrot sticks
black coffee
I also count coffee - I can get through 5 or 6 a day and even with 1% milk in them, that adds up to almost 300 calories - although milk is good for you so I don't stress about it. I don't have sugar.
I don't count stuff like the 2 pickle slices on my sandwiches, Iceberg lettuce, hot sauce, mustard... stuff like that. I do count ketchup because I use a lot of it, but anything under 10-15 calories I don't bother. I over estimate everything so I think I am okay, and it isn't often that I eat the things I don't count.
I'm like you, I don't count the things you do not count (unless I'm having quite a few breath mints, for example).
I also do not count:
Low cal beverages (crystal light, diet soda)
Pretty much any veggies I put on a sandwich (tomato, lettuce, etc).
Sugar free jello
Spices / herbs/ seasonings
I'll count anything if it's going to be over around 20 calories or so.
I find when I try to count EVERY calorie, I get overwhelmed and give up, I just can't be that fanatical. I'm also like Lindifer and DexterMom, I tend to overestimate anyway. So far it's working for me!
I don't count mustard, crystal light, Equal, and a few other things I can't remember.
My reasoning is this: I eat almost the exact same thing every day. One day I might eat 100 calories of popcorn and the next day 120 calories of triscuits, but the basics of my diet stay remarkably consistent: the same things in the same proportions every single day. If what I am counting as 1600 is really 1700, it doesn't matter provided I am losing the weight I want to lose at the rate I want to lose it.
If I were the sort of person who ate dozens of different things over the course of the week, I would be more precise because I would want to be sure every day was equal, calorie-wise. But I know they are equal now because they are the exact same food.
I count pretty much everything. I figure if I'm counting calories already, I may as well count all of them.
The obvious ones I of course don't count - calorie free beverages. I don't count gum, but apparently some of you do, so maybe it's not that obvious .
I have mustard rarely, so I don't really bother with that when I do eat it.
I like to estimate my calories UP, which gives me a little wiggle room for not counting things like vinegar and sheesh, I really can't think of anything else.
I am similar to Shmead, in that I eat almost the same things every day. And when I don't they are pretty much interchangeable calorie wise. If it's not an apple, than it's 100 calories of popcorn. My calorie counting has been done for me eons ago.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 09-18-2010 at 01:32 PM.
I don't count black coffee, but I do count the creamer or milk
I don't count any veggie or condiment that is under 6 or 7 calories. If I'm eating a bunch of small veggies like in my tuna salad then I count the higher ones like onions or carrots and just count up a few calories to cover the lower stuff like lettuce leaves and celery.
I don't count sugar free products, which mostly consist of Splenda for my coffee and tea.
I don't count Tic Tacs or gum
I don't count spices even though the cinnamon I sprinkle on my cereal does have calories, but I don't use enough to matter.
I like to count up with several things so that I know I have some wiggle room. Plus, as I've learned from looking up calories on the web that counting calories can be subjective to where you look. I just go with what works and keep an eye on the scale.
I usually do add in tomatoes and lettuce and stuff like that on my sandwiches. Not so much for the calories, since they really are negligible, but because my dietpower adds up all the nutrients, and tells me how close I am to RDA and that. I like to see if I am extra short on something. Mustard I dont bother with, and I admit (and this is my only cheat in my dietpower program) that when I do use a dash of soysauce, I dont add it in. The calories are low, but I dont want dietpower to nag at me for the sodium. Soysauce is my one sodium failing. I dont use a lot of it when I do, but I do like the flavor, so it is used at least a few times a week in one thing or another.
I don't count gum... even though some say 5 calories, I think I read somewhere they don't really get digested or the chewing burns the 5 calories. I don't count diet soda, tea, coffee, pieces of lettuce on a sandwich, herbs and spices.
I used to not count the coffee creamer, but now I do add in an extra 100 calories or so for it... because it is quite a bit.
Interesting to hear what people do and don't count though, sometimes it's the small things that add up and stall us.
Last edited by ringmaster; 09-18-2010 at 05:42 PM.
Is there anything you DON'T count?
