Help! Calorie counting

[Seannyb]

Hi everyone im a newbie and new to calorie counting so i appologise if this soubds stupid.

As a for instance say i went to a relatives and had stew how do you work out the calories that you have consumed?

As im aware you could tally up every thing that went in and divide but that wouldnt be a true calorie amount or is that how it works? And how would you know how much to divide it from as we all eat different portions in my household.

Please help xx

[Windswept1]

As you say, if you made it yourself you could add up the ingredients to get the calories. To work out calories per portion divide by a number of portions, say 4. If you only have half a portion then divide that number by 2. More difficult eating out. I use a book called pocket calorie counter, which gives calories for a portion. This is based on a standard, average sized portion, so if the recipe was for 4 it would be 1/4. For beef stew it gives 360 calories per serving. You would then need to add any potatoes, other veg etc.

[IndigoBlue61]

That's a difficult one Seannyb but you just have to guess-timate ☺ stewed beef (meat only) for example is 86 calories per ounce (25 g) so a small helping of 4 oz is 344 calories. The most important thing is to try to fill up your plate with veggies and watch portion size.

Please don't think you are "stupid" for asking questions, it take a while to get used to calorie counting and finding your way around the site ☺ We are a very friendly group so please ask away! ☺

Best wishes

Anna

[JiminyCricket 7lbs]

Thats tricky if someone else has cooked, you are basically guessing. That gets a bit easier in time as you get used to counting calories.

If you cook yourself it is as simple is adding up the calories of all the ingredients and dividing. I often cook about 20 portions at once of things like bolognaise, stew, curry etc. then I measure the final result using a ladle, and count ladlefulls. then divide the grand total of calories so that I know a ladleful = 120 cals, or whatever it is. Then you just need to remember to use the same ladle to serve the meal! At the end of the meal I use the ladle to dish it into freezer pots, and label with how many calories are in each pot.

Good luck!