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Old 12-07-2008, 02:06 AM   #1  
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Default DUMB "help!" question: count calories in cooking spray?

Hi---

I'm feeling kinda stupid for asking this.... I use extra virgin olive oil pan spray when making an omelet or grilling a piece of chicken. An estimated three second spray is about 20 calories.

As a calorie counter trying (and successfully so far) to lose weight I've been doing this already... my question is this:

For example when I grill a piece of chicken for lunch, do I include the 20 calories of olive oil cooking spray as part of my lunch calories, in addition to the calories for the serving of chicken and veggies?

thanks! tea
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Old 12-07-2008, 06:53 AM   #2  
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Hey!

Probably not all of the spray gets into the chicken, so it's hard to know what to put in. Do you grill more than 1 piece of chicken at a time? If so, you could divide the calories among them. I wouldn't count more than half, though.

For the omelet, it's more likely that the whole amount is in the omelet.

And what if you spray less than 3 seconds?

If you feel that counting those calories is better, then do. It doesn't hurt to count everything, even if you overestimate a little. Calorie counting is never completely precise.

Jay
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Old 12-07-2008, 10:45 AM   #3  
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I tend to count whatever I use in the recipe. ie. even when I make baked goods I count the spray I use then. I'd rather over-estimate some than under-estimate, but that's just me.

Last edited by RealCdn; 12-07-2008 at 10:45 AM.
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Old 12-07-2008, 10:47 AM   #4  
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If you are counting calories, count all calories.
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Old 12-07-2008, 11:04 AM   #5  
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Yep, agreed. If you are using it at anytime when making a recipe, count it. My cooking sprays are fat-free and calorie free though--just the generic type from Kroger.

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Old 12-07-2008, 11:42 AM   #6  
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Unless you're going absolutely crazy with the spray and covering everything, I don't think its really that necessary to count it. 20 calories or so isn't going to make or break your day, and you never know how many of those calories you'll actually eating.
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Old 12-07-2008, 11:49 AM   #7  
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I would count it simply because it's hard to accurately count a 3 second spray. There are a lot of people who use the 0 calorie butters and sprays, but use a LOT of them and can't figure out why they're not using weight ... come to find out that they're using more than the 1 second spray or whatever and that really means they're getting a lot of calories.

I would just count the 20 cals - that way you won't accidentally under count your calories.

Then again I'm of the belief that it's better to estimate too high than too low.

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Old 12-07-2008, 12:25 PM   #8  
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Really? There are people who actually throw off their diets with 0 calorie butters and sprays?
Wow, who knew.. I never really worried about that before.
Now I must go throw away all my sprays. Thanks a lot.
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Old 12-07-2008, 12:43 PM   #9  
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I would first make sure you're not using 5-10X as much as the actual serving size. Then I would count it. Not because it's a huge amount of calories (if you don't overdo it), but to me it's a mental thing. When I was calorie-counting, I just did better knowing I couldn't fudge on the calories on various things just 'cause I felt like it. I knew my count included everything, so I didn't have to wonder about it.
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Old 12-07-2008, 01:02 PM   #10  
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Peccavi,

The main difficulty with the "zero" calorie sprays is that they aren't really zero, and they are fats. I personally do not count them--as in, PAM--but I also don't use them much. I do count olive oil used in cooking, even if only 1 TBSP or less. I figure a teaspoon of olive oil is worth counting.

Oh please don't throw your sprays away! Think of all the people who are desperate for non-stick cooking all over the world!

Jay

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Old 12-07-2008, 02:57 PM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PhotoChick View Post
I would count it simply because it's hard to accurately count a 3 second spray. There are a lot of people who use the 0 calorie butters and sprays, but use a LOT of them and can't figure out why they're not using weight ... come to find out that they're using more than the 1 second spray or whatever and that really means they're getting a lot of calories.
Sorry to go a little off topic, but I have a question about what she just said... I use 0 cal butter spray all the time, I've completely stopped using butter. A lot of times I make a whole wheat grilled cheese, using low fat cheese & 0cal butter spray. I use enough spray to cover the piece of bread before grilling... Should I count calories there? I only ask because you say it stalls weight loss and it's been 2 weeks since I've lost anything and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong (other then Thanksgiving thrown into the middle of it!!!)

And to answer the original posters questions, I would count it. Only because I tend to over estimate the number of calories I eat. I don't have a food scale (yet, asked my DH for one for Christmas) so a lot of times when I input my food into the dailyplate, I will change the serving from 1 to either 1 1/2 or 2 depending on how much I THINK I ate. I know, I need a scale...
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Old 12-07-2008, 04:09 PM   #12  
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Well I'm not gonna say that *just* overspraying the butter sprays will cause a stall ... but there have been a lot of instances where people haven't been able to figure out why they're not losing and it turns out that they use the "0 calorie" sprays on EVERYTHING. I think there was a thread recently where someone said she loved the spray and she *covered* her popcorn in it ... every night. But she was stalled and couldn't figure out why.

If you use it a few times a week and don't count it, it's probably not a big deal.

If you use a "0 calorie" spray multiple times a day for more than the 1/3 of a second that they consider a single serving - then yeah, I'd be willing to bet that it's having an effect on your diet.

The thing you have to remember is that they are legally allowed to say an item is 0 calories if it has less than 1 calorie per serving. But then again, if a serving is one squirt .. or 1/3 of a second of spray ... then you have to take that into consideration. If you hit the bread with 10 sprays to cover the piece of bread, then it's not 0 calories any more - it's 10+ calories. And if you do that multiple times a day, multiple times a week, you can be adding 100 calories or more to your diet.

And for some people, depending on where they are in their weight loss, 100 calories can mean the difference between losing and stalling.

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Old 12-07-2008, 09:56 PM   #13  
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Ahh I use the grill/pan quite frequently... guess that explains why I'm still able to lose weight by counting the calories for each meal I use the olive oil spray for! LOL!

Thanks!
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Old 12-08-2008, 02:40 AM   #14  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayEll View Post
Oh please don't throw your sprays away! Think of all the people who are desperate for non-stick cooking all over the world!
Yes! Just like I was for the last week when I ran out of spray and had no money until today. I missed it. LOL. I *hate* it when my chicken sticks to the foil-lined pan.

Last edited by canadianwoman; 12-08-2008 at 02:41 AM.
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Old 12-08-2008, 02:57 AM   #15  
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I count everything except Pam but when I use Pam I try really hard to do 1/3 of a second (who can even count that, lol) I mean I just try to use as little as possible.

I definitely count olive oil - it has quite a few calories. Good calories, but calories none-the-less.
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