I fell today: Fitness pal didn't give me... - Weight Loss Support

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I fell today

TomRL profile image
21 Replies

Fitness pal didn't give me the right calorie count on something I had today and last Friday. This was annoying since it was by a pretty big margin. I could do with a more reliable calorie counter. I'll try doing the calorie counting myself but that isn't always possible since it isn't always on the label. Anyway after I severely but accidentally stepped over the calorie limit with this I gave up entirely. This is the first mess-up so far. It's difficult because I can't tell the whole family that I can't have this or that, that just ain't democratic.

On Sunday the family wants to go to a fast food place. I don't know what to do.

I have a question. Is a Banana really over 100 calories?

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TomRL profile image
TomRL
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21 Replies
sueper profile image
sueper

Hi Tom. A medium banana is about 105 cals by the looks of it. I am sure others can offer you advice on the app - I don't use it.

As for the fast food place, get on their website and check out the calories in each item, then you can plan ahead. If I go out for a meal and have a burger I tend not to eat the bread and leave a few chips - ok it may not make a big difference but it can help. Unfortunately food from somewhere like MacDonalds doesn't tend to be filling but is pretty calorific. Perhaps you could have the fish burger?

Do your family know you are trying to eat more healthily? Are they helping you with this?

TomRL profile image
TomRL in reply tosueper

Ok thanks a lot. And they don't know I'm doing the diet. So telling them I don't want the food would seem ungrateful instead of necessary.

link65 profile image
link65 in reply toTomRL

Hi Tom, first time I've posted since joining a long time ago and I use MFP, The thing to remember about calorie counting is it isn't (and can almost never be) accurate, at best its an educated estimate.

Get back to using the app, I find the best way to get a good idea of calories is to use the bar-code scanner, failing that search for your food and go for one of the higher calorie results so you don't underestimate.

There's a useful article on the subject on MFP's blog entitled "Why tracking works even if calorie counts are off" give it a read and you'll see why it's not an exact science :)

As for you not telling people I'm sure you have your reasons for it but I certainly found it easier when I did tell people I'm watching my calorie intake, because people around me were/are aware of my diet they tend not to offer me things like cakes and sweets, my partner no longer buys any food high in saturates and our fridge is full of healthy foods! When we dine out now she is aware I wont eat high calorie meals like fast foods and so we can take it into consideration before we arrange a meal out, it really does help to push you when those around you know you're counting calories.

Good luck, and get back on that horse! Start counting and stick with it, you know you can.

- Andy

EDIT: here's the link to the blog blog.myfitnesspal.com/why-t...

fibronfedup profile image
fibronfedup

Hey a banana is approx 100cals per 100g. I dont think any calorie counter will ever be 100% accurate but i love that it keeps me being more aware of what im eating. You could check the play store for other apps and see which one you find works best for you.

Are you able to be more open with them about why you are watching what you eat? As its your health and they cant dictate to you what you can and cant eat. I hope that they are supporting you at least? Do you know where you are going to eat? Check what food is available and make the best choice possible. Maybe have a light meal before hand so you dont feel as hungry and drink plenty of water to help you feel fuller.

We all have slips ups and bad days, i find that as long as i get back on track i can usually counter act any negative ramifications pretty quickly.

Hope you have a good weekend

TomRL profile image
TomRL

By the way, this isn't what I'd call a big fall. This isn't me giving up. It's forced me to re-evaluate. I plan on replacing my usual friday dinner with pasta from Tesco. 600 calories and quite filling. I also need to take extra measures when it comes to measuring my calories because myfitnesspal isn't perfect.

geris profile image
geris

I use foodfocus.co.uk I find that it is a really good site. Hope it will help you too.

witchywoman profile image
witchywoman in reply togeris

Thank you so much for this link! I have signed up!

geris profile image
geris in reply towitchywoman

I think you will find Foodfocus very good to assist in weight loss. I have lost 10 pounds in 6 weeks using this site.

witchywoman profile image
witchywoman in reply togeris

Wow! Well done! Hope I can do as well!!

TakeTwo profile image
TakeTwo

I'm not a fan of MFP either! It's member driven, meaning members input the nutritional information without being verified. Calorie counts are all over the map, very frustrating for sure! I learned the hard way as well, not fun!

sammygirl38 profile image
sammygirl38

I use health sidekicks mobile app, I really like it. Their foods verified and less time consuming than using a journal. If you're doing a journal taketwo, you might want to check it out too. I've found it to be extremely accurate.

Good luck!

kiwifruit1 profile image
kiwifruit1

I use MFP and I try to never put things like 1 medium apple because what is medium to you might be small to me and so on. I try to weigh every single thing I can and put the gram amounts. It has been working really well for me so far.

Are you weighing everything or "eyeballing" the size?

There are 89calories in every 100g of banana. At least, that's what a number of calorie websites say, so I work on that one.

Remember to be exact with your measuring and you should notice a difference.

Don't worry if you ate too much in a meal-don't beat yourself up.

If you don't have occasional treats life would be miserable.

Just start each day afresh and stick to your aim.

Good luck.

elliebath profile image
elliebathMaintainer

If you eat 'too much" on one day , you can always carry the excess forward if you want . When I was losing weight I ate out a lot, had holidays etc.

You can change your meal settings on MFP to carry over any excess. On the settings in my case I changed mine to Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Previous Days Excess. So if I went over by eg 120 cals on Monday, I enter 120cal on Tuesday as Previous Days Excess. Or if its a big amount, spread it over several days.

This worked for me, it meant I mostly kept to a weekly average even if not a daily one, and slowly steadily I lost 30 lbs . I have stayed at my target weight since march and still log on Mfp to maintain.

June1965 profile image
June1965

ellibath...

You are a true professional at this aren't you !!! Sound advice & I enjoy your input.

😀 xx

elliebath profile image
elliebathMaintainer in reply toJune1965

Thanks June, but hardly a professional!! Compared to most of my fellow MFP members I break all the rules ( alcohol and dessert for example !!) But most of the time it works ok for me. Having said that, .Im currently on holiday in spain , so let's see the damage next weigh in ! Hope you're getting on ok now.

col20 profile image
col20

There is a good calorie counter on nhs 12 week plan tools section. The nhs update it so im finding it reliable and the change for life app on playstore give you recipes which tell you exactly how many calories exactly are in each serving. This is my first week of the 12 week plan and im finding it pretty straight forward. Mcdonalds food etc is on the nhs calorie tool aswell.

happynaz profile image
happynaz

I did a research om google n it sed medium banana is 95 calories you can get loads of calories counter app on google play iv got one dat you av to put in how much calories intake u want to take and it will tell you how many you have left. I think you should go out and just choose the healthiest meal they have or av half of what they give. That what I do. Good luck.

linggirl profile image
linggirl

Wow! I've just written a post about the same thing. Wish I'd read your post before I'd bothered to write mine!.It is so annoying!

My advice tell your family about your weight loss plan.

Knotty profile image
Knotty

"It's difficult because I can't tell the whole family that I can't have this or that, that just ain't democratic.

"On Sunday the family wants to go to a fast food place. I don't know what to do."

Saying what you want (especially telling your family) is democratic insofar as your "vote" counts as much as anyone else.

Because you want to restrict what you eat, doesn't mean that everyone else with you has to be similarly restricted. In exactly the same way, you should not feel compelled to eat whatever they want to put in front of you. If they feel slighted because you don't want to eat the same things as them, then that's their problem.

If your family want to go to a fast food place on Sunday, you can go too. I'm sure you could find something - and if you have to have something and chips, as it's family can't you move some to another person's tray?

Bslimsoon profile image
Bslimsoon

If you want a banana just have a medium sized one...call it 100 cal eat and enjoy it 1 lifes too short ! good luck with the meal..you can always say you have a stomach ache and don't want to eat too much...only a little white lie lol

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