This may fall on deaf ears - I'm not sure if I will even be able to explain it correctly.

So, in Europe, calorie counts on packages are all displayed according to 100g. For example, 100g of gouda cheese is 365 calories. They do not list according to serving size like they do in the USA.

This means I have to weight everything accurately! I cannot just read "1 tbs is 100 calories".

At first, I thought this was TERRIBLE! But then I realized, it was AMAZING and taught me SO much about calories per grams - general information that I could not have deduced from varied measurements on the boxes in the US.

For example:

1g of Gouda cheese: 3.67 cal.
1g of Turkey breast: 1.05 cal.
1g of Peanut butter: 5.60 cal.
1g of Potatoes: .70 cal.
1g of Oil: 8.5 cal.
1g of Whole Grain Bread: 2.1 cal.
1g Broccoli: .23 cal.

So, if I have no nutritional information on an item, I can safely deduce from what I know about calories themselves, how many calories are in the dish I'm eating.

For example, a thin crust pizza. It is composed of bread, cheese, and tomatoes - so it will be located around 2.5 - 2.7 calories per gram. I can then weight my slice and make an accurate prediction.

I hope I'm not boring anyone. The point is: learn the simple calorie count for 1g of food. It will save you a lot of time and guessing. Oh, and get a good food scale!

Food scales are great! In the USA our packages have both the ounces and grams in the nutritional information list. I think in ounces and that does help in calculating.

I definitely understand what you mean. Oftentimes, I'll actually figure out how many calories is in 1 gram of an item because my serving size varies frequently, and when it does, it's pretty easy to figure out the calorie count by multiplying the number of grams by the number of calories.

Thumbs up; good post.

Good information, thanks!

Yeah - that is exactly what I wanted to say lin43.

It really helps if you do the math equation to figure out how much calories per gram (not per serving).

And knowing this helps you to have a better understanding of calories themselves as units of energy.

For example, the spectrum:

Green Vegetables 1g = .10 -.25 calories

to

Lean protein 1g = 1 - 1.15 calories

to

Cheese 1g = 3.5 - 4 calories


to

Oil 1g = 8.5 - 9 calories

If you have a good mechanical scale (mine is from Philips and works well), you can easily measure calories, even if the package isn't right next to you - simply because you understand about how many calories this type of food has in it.

For some reason, this general information is easier for me to memorize (it makes sense) and makes my calorie counting much easier/faster. It is also perfect to keep your portions in check if you order carryout.

Some make sushi rolls big and fat, and others quite thin - so understanding how many calories are in 1g of white rice (which is the majority of the sushi roll) allows you to weight the roll and easily stay within your calorie budget for the day..... and feel confident that you counted correctly.

I know often my problem in the past was that I'd entirely OVERESTIMATE how many calories were in things - scared I'd go over. Then I'd be hungry and want more! This helps solve the over and under - estimating problem.

I do the same! Then, like you said, I feel deprived.

Thanks for the tip on the general calorie counts per gram in certain foods. I can definitely see how figuring this out would make it easier to calculate calories in situations like eating out, dinner at friends' houses, etc.