I think I'm gonna have to just somehow keep pasta out of my life because I want to cry with how confused and frustrated I am trying to work calories out from the batch I made yesterday. I portioned more for today and realised it's more a 3 portion than a 2 portion which I worked out yesterday so I've had to adjust it all. It's totally rough numbers I feel. I'm also confused since I cooked a full 500g bag of pasta but then only weigh it in the bowl after. It's roughly 250g (bowl itself is 600g then it goes to around 850g when I add pasta to it) but that's once its been cooked and absorbed water etc. Is there a way to translate cooked pasta with the dry weight or something? I feel I'm being extremely stupid and I'm sure all of you think I'm nuts which I'm beginning to believe myself tbh.
If I do have pasta in the future I'm gonna need to cook the portions seperately or something instead of putting it all in one container and having to work out afterwards. I cooked 500g pasta but there's still around half left in the container so I feel I have had 1 quarter yesterday and 1 quarter today. Each weighs around 250g but that's COOKED. If going by dry then 500 / 4 = 125 which would be 443 kcals? Yesterday I guessed I had around 200g which would be 710 kcals, I currently changed it to 150g which is 532.
So do I go by 250g cooked or 125 dried? I'm so confused.
Written by
Fittea
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Good decision. Stop eating pasta. Stop eating all grains, sugars and starchy vegetables, too. Increase the fat and don't be so obsessed with counting calories.
That's easier said than done though. I need to find more meals because I don't know what to eat. I think that pasta would be okay if spread out and eaten in moderation etc. I can't help but worry about the calories, I'm so convinced I'm gonna make a bunch of mistakes. However I know I'm eating way better than before so that counts for something right?
I have spoken to someone after asking about this on Twitter and they confirmed my answer of 443 kcals which is 500g / 4 = 125g, it's basically double the weight (so 250g) because of water. It's rough numbers but its something. Will try not to forget or fret in the future. Sorry for my stupidity.
Having just had a look at the pasta shells in my cupboard - they say on the packet they are 156 calories per 100 grams once they have been cooked. If I wanted to measure the calories in pasta I would cook it, then weigh 100 grams of it on a set of kitchen scales. The packet also gives the calories for 180 grams cooked pasta, again if I wanted that much pasta I would weigh the cooked pasta.
A google search says 100 grams cooked pasta is 158 calories which tallies with my pasta packet.
Personally, since I tend to eat a lowish carb diet I usually avoid pasta nowadays, and having got used to that way of eating I find I don't enjoy it much anymore. I used to virtually live off pasta at one time
Thanks for your reply. I'm still going through this "nightmare" as someone on Twitter has told me the opposite (basically what you're saying) - go by cooked. My packet just says 100g, not whether it is dried or cooked, only that its 355 kcals. When I weighed the pasta after cooking it was 250g, it was roughly divided into 4 portions so that would be 125g of the packet which would be 443 kcals but if I'm doing it by cooked then its double that which is obviously a huge difference. I've been told that just because it expands in size and weight it doesn't add or increase calories.
Hello, Fittea, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with the pasta. At one time I used to eat a lot of pasta, but it's really only nice if you put something else with it., and it has a lot of calories.
After I began thinking about my weight I decided I didn't really need pasta. I could just eat the something else without pasta (eg a thick vegetable sauce with some grated cheese, or something like that). If I felt I needed more bulk, I cooked some low calorie veg like cabbage or broccoli and used that instead of pasta. At first , I did half pasta and half veg.
I have gradually come to where I no longer buy pasta or rice or potatoes, and I don't miss them, but I do buy a great deal more green veg.
I hope you will start to feel less worried about it all, and able to experiment with cooking food you like.
I'm with you on the half pasta half veg idea - this works well for me! I agree pasta is a nice way to enjoy all those tasty sauces. If you start with the sauce and work backwards you can eventually find ways of filtering the pasta out
Thanks for your reply and advice. I don't have pasta often and I plan to just have it in portions when I do. It's roughly half pasta half veg, sauce, quorn etc. I actually need more calories tbh as I'm finding it hard to reach my recommended amount of 2,500 - 3,200.
I always weigh pasta dry. My other half has 100g (dry weight) and I have 75g (dry weight). So I weigh 175g before cooking. Then when I split it onto our plates to serve I judge by eye so it's a ratio of 3:4. So 3 spoons on mine then 4 on his, then same again until all served. I add extra veg on my plate and a spoon of cooked lentils then we both have tomato sauce on top (and he has cheese on his). Or I make a homemade pesto to stir in, a good way of sneaking in green leaves etc. Hope that helps 😊
Pasta isn't the best weight loss food but you can make it healthier - by adding fibre - e.g. buy wholewheat pasta, supplement part of your portion with veg and pulses/beans and also just have it fairly infrequently. (I used to have pasta everyday! Now it's 1-2 x per week).
I agree with you it's a good easy meal so I don't cut it out altogether, but I also don't have it everyday anymore.
Hi Ellie good to see you too. I've mainly only been posting on the Tuesday weigh ins and things are improving for me weight wise, nearly back at healthy bmi again... How are you doing?
Can't believe I've been maintaining since 2015, although I've definitely found it harder this year for some reason. Still a healthy bmi but approx 7 lbs over my happy weight, enough to make my clothes a bit snug. Pleased you're back ☺
That makes sense. I was going a little by eye with portion sizes etc. I'm just confused on whether I should be going by the 250g cooked weight or 125g estimate of the packet. From what I understand when its cooked it doesn't change or increase the calories, just size and weight so that leads me to believe I go by the 125g out of 500g, so a quarter, which is 443 kcals? I know pasta isn't the best to eat, at least not a lot of it, but I kinda need it for fibre and calories.
I think a quarter of a packet sounds like an alright portion size. So 125g dry. I'm closer to my goal so calories are tighter for me. Eventually you might be able to look at a 75g portion and see that it's enough too... I think pasta is a great basis for a meal as I love all the sauces that go with it. If you're looking for extra calories I really recommend adding a sprinkling of pine nuts on top 😊
I don't count calories or weigh food because I'm following a lower carb higher fat way of life. It stops me from feeling hungry and craving snacks in between meals. I think I've read that you were veggie or had other foods that you can;t eat, so I wont recommend any meals, my menus would be of no use to you. But certainly have a look at the LCHF forum to see if it would be of interest to you. Getting stressed over weighing, measuring and counting calories does not sound good if you want to continue long term. You need to enjoy what you are cooking and eating.
Hi thanks for the reply and advice. Yeah I have heard of LCHF and briefly tried it a few years back, I don't remember much but think it worked a little, I didn't stick to it though for some reason. I'm now vegetarian so I'm a bit limited and I think that's what I struggle with. I know pasta isn't very good for you, not in large amounts anyway, but I just need to get the hang of portion sizes and the calories then I'll be fine. I'm just being told various data and getting confused.
Hello Fittea, so sorry this is adding stress to your meal planning. Most of us started off by weighing, measuring and counting calories and sometimes ( after six years!) I still do this if I'm not sure about a new food.
Personally I've always found it easier to count the raw uncooked ingredients, not cooked.
So for your pasta meals I would do this:
Jar of sauce: if a label says one jar equals 4 servings then that would be my starting point.
Then I weigh 4 portions of dry pasta ( for me a portion is 75g) so I'd weigh 4 × 75 = 300g total pasta ) .
If you add cheese then weigh your lump of cheese before you grate it. (It weighs the same solid or grated, but I find I'm more likely to mindlessly gobble up the excess if I've grated too much!)
This may not look like a very big helping of pasta but if you also serve a side of green veg ( broccoli, spinach, kale or salad leaves) it bulks out your meal and adds extra nutrition.
Hello Ellie. Thanks for your advice. I think I'm just being stupid which is why I'm stressed lol. The more I talk about this the more I feel like I should go by the uncooked kcals because as far as I know and understand, cooking it doesn't change or increase the calories, just the size and therefore the weight? I do add cheese on top, I grated 30g onto the scales.
This is why counting calories sucks! I hate it! I try but am currently trying slimfast to minimise the actual counting.
One of the things I try to remember is that calories are estimates anyway so counting calories is not an exact science and being a bit out is not going to bring the whole thing tumbling down! Just remember that on the whole people underestimate calories in food and since we are dieting we can all be guilty of either consciously or subconsciously sneaking more onto our plate (I know I am).
Weight loss is a marathon not a sprint, you didnt put it on overnight its gonna take time to reverse so whatever you do it has to be sustainable for you. Full disclosure I also dont eat pasta but die to allergies but if you told me to not eat potatoes anymore I'd run a mile. I find it helpful though to try and reduce portion sizes, only have it in things I love, swap out high cal for low cal alternatives, etc.
Remember you are an individual and your applying general rules. Be kind to yourself your not failing or messing up and you dont need to be afraid of making mistakes, we all do! What helps me is reviewing regularly so every week or so if I have or have not lost weight look back what did or did not work, was that chocolate bar on Tuesday worth the extra effort the rest of the week etc. What can I do better next week. I think of it as experimenting to find the right dieting fit and it's ok to concentrate on part at a time. Okay your weightloss wont be fast but it will be sustainable and work for you. Like you said you've made improvements and that's excellent. Your making progress and that's awesome!
Some people work well with diving in at the deep end making massive changes some of us need to take the boiling a frog approach. I know I do I already restrict my diet due to a gluten allergy and the idea of making more restrictions makes me flat out bratty. So that doesnt work for me.
In terms of increasing your cooking repertoire nothing beats getting a cookbook and trying a new thing every week/fortnight, or looking up recipes of things you enjoy online or asking friends how to make something you enjoyed eating that they cooked. Again all you can do is try. The advantage of dieting cook books is that they often mark out the calories which helps with the counting.
I hope this helps. And if it doesnt ignore it.
Congratulations on your progress so far! Keep it up!
Strangely I quite like measuring and counting calories but not with pasta cos it confused me lmao. I was thinking of trying SlimFast and might add it into my current diet / plan but we'll see.
Yeah as you say its not an exact science, I have told myself that going a little over isn't the end of the world plus I'm still learning so mistakes will happen. Just learn from them and try again tomorrow.
I find it hard to be kind to myself with the amount of self hatred and lack of patience I have lol but I'm working on it. I think that because there's a lot of different diets and ways of doing stuff people judge me for "doing it wrong" but I want to try and make my own way that works for me. I actually designed my own diary which has a daily page then at the end of the week there's a review page before the next week starts.
If I try to limit or be strict with myself than I struggle and crave so I'm trying slowly and seeing what works for me. So far I'm doing great and although I shouldn't, I have been weighing myself every day and today I found out I have lost 4lbs! Lets hope its the same, or even more, when I weigh myself properly tomorrow
I work in the idea of doubling veg, halving protein and eliminating carbs and sugar. Where treats are concern I've realised that I'd I don't but them I can't eat them. I agree it can be terribly confusing, but this seems to work for me. Good luck.
I don't know if this will help and despite what people say don't feel you need to cut out pasta entirely!
On my bag of pasta it says 308 calories per serving of 200g cooked. Not helpful really. I want to know how much to weigh dry, as you do it seems!
But also on the bag it says '90g dry pasta roughly equals 200g when cooked' it may also say something similar like 'allow 90g dry pasta per person'
By that logic I know 90g dry pasta is 308 calories.
If you want it per 100g it's (308/90 x 100)
This way you can know the calories before you cook the pasta. And weighing the pasta afterward only needs to be done to work out how to split it into portions. Get the total weight (eg 850g) split into five or so portions say - you already know the calories you put in so just divide that by five as well.
The pasta may absorb slightly more or less water than the pack suggests, but it's just water and won't add calories to the pasta.
It seems the info is different depending on brand and stuff. Mine says 355 kcals for 100g but doesn't say if dried or cooked, which is why I'm having so much trouble lol.
What I do know is when I weighed the pasta after cooking it was roughly 250g and roughly a quarter of the full amount I cooked, so it should be 500g / 4 = 125g so should I do calories for 125g or 250g?
It doesn't help that I'm getting mixed info and people seem to do it differently. I feel once I know how to do it, I'll be fine but I'm getting so confused and it's upsetting me lol.
Hello Darling, I so sympathise because pasta is a food which is certainly addictive and some people eat humungous quantities of it, quite unnecessarily. As a young woman I spent an interesting (if not always enjoyable) six weeks in Italy, living with a family. The young ones were mostly slim as I was, but not the older ones. They ate what I can only describe as slag heaps of pasta, at least once a day. At first I couldn't get through it, and then, about week three I got into the shovelling involved and that was a dangerous habit.
Nowadays - and this is only my personal opinion and experience - I eat Naughty Carbs a couple of times a week in a reasonable portion, because that way I know I've got to exercise it off, but that I'm much more likely to keep up a diet if I don't ditch Naughties altogether but eat them occasionally in moderation, and this is the same for both pasta and rice.
With pasta I open a packet and take out a couple of modest handfuls - no more. It always works to buy two packets at a time, so if you end up with one handful you can make it up from the next packet. First, I decide what's going into it to make it interesting and more nutritious. I usually lightly sautée mushrooms, chopped onion, sliced peppers and chopped courgette or leeks and then when the pasta is cooked I toss the two together, or I might warm through some yummy cooked prawns with chopped tomato, basil and a little garlic. That way you get your pasta in reasonable portions and you're mixing it with the constituents of good vitamin/proteins/fibre.
The secret is to limit what you cook. You don't need a slag-heap of anything but a lovely colourful soup-bowl of chewy goodness that doesn't make you feel guilty. We need guilt like a hole in the head, especially at the moment. If possible, we need the comfort and delight of food and the exercise afterwards to burn it off so we can do it again another day!
Good luck with your diet regime, whatever that is. Try to eat so you feel Joy, not Guilt, and have a good week.
It's not like I eat pasta a lot, I would have it one or twice a week and I want to work on portion sizes as I would eat too much before. Once I get the hang of it I'll be fine, I think, but right now I'm so confused due to mixed info.
I'll have a look for Naughty Carbs in a bit. I think my mistake was just throwing a whole pack of 500g in, I had to actually bring in a second pot. I love having mushrooms, onions and peppers with my food.
I just need to understand how it works and do everything in portions. I'm trying to tell myself that I'm still learning, so mistakes will be made, but to accept them, learn from them and try again. I need to be kind to myself and not beat myself up if I make errors or slip up, tomorrow I can start again.
Thanks for the well wishes. I'm feeling good overall, just calories with pasta has me confused and stressed out lol.
All power to you. Sometimes let your instincts take over. Take a day without all the advice about calories. Handle your food raw and just think, 'Is this enough? Do I need more to make a satisfying meal? Have I got too much here? How much am I going to enjoy without feeling guilty?'
We often feel so much anxiety about this dieting stuff it chews us up. You're absolutely right, don't beat yourself up. This is a courageous journey not a quick sprint down the road. If you're changing life habits (I had to and I'm still working on it) that can take a long, long while while to do effectively. But you CAN do it, and you will, I'm sure.
Sometimes the most difficult person to love is Yourself but if you can achieve that, anything's possible.
As a favourite chap of mine with pointy ears used to say, 'Live Long and Prosper.' x
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
I love fish
Self-crusting corn quiche
Any advice on how to count calories
Diet idea
Pasta at night 
