I wish there was an app to scan a dish

[JennJen]

I tend to eat my culture food , (Jamaican) and so it’s hard to measure/count the calories.

I am struggling to keep up, and suggestions please

[Lytham 3 stone]

Hello and welcome, would you like to join us on the weigh in today? Here's the link, hope to see you there! x

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[JennJen in reply to Lytham]

I am popping out so will try get weighed and then report when I get back

[Lytham 3 stone in reply to JennJen]

Brilliant, I'll see you there! x

[Subtle_badger]

I have given up counting calories and am reducing carbs instead, but I don't think that is possible with Jamaican food.

When I was counting calories, what I did (and it was a bit of a chore) is created recipes in the app I used, cronometer. So I would weigh everything except water that went into the dish and add it to the recipe in the app. When the dish was cooked, I would either divide it into X servings, and the app would calculate the calories of each serving; or I would weigh the finished dish and then add or subtract water from the recipe to the total recipe weight matched the actual weight of food. Then I could weigh each serving and the app could calculate the calories.

Can you see why I stopped counting calories? It's exhausting! 🥵

Note: if you make your food consistently, I guess you only have to do this once for each dish. I wasn't that disciplined.

[JennJen in reply to Subtle_badger]

Thank you

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, JennJen

I personally find calorie counting a chore, wherever you live, so used a different method as outlined here phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...

MyFitnessPal say they can give the calorie counts for Jamaican food, so maybe you could try that first? You could also buy yourself a Jamaican recipe book that gives the calorie count.

All of the information you need about the forum can be found in Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and I hope you'll be joining all the Events, Challenges and Clubs that we run, especially a weigh-in and the daily diary.

We've found active participation to be key to successful weight loss and, of course, it's a good way to get to know people, find inspiration and share support and encouragement.

Wishing you all the best

[Abi2000]

I have the same struggles as well. It is really hard to calculate the calories.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Abi2000]

Hello Abi2000 and welcome to the forum

Please see the replies above about alternatives to calorie counting.

If you want to follow the calorie counting route, then I suggest you weigh everything before cooking (every item) andlook up the calorie counts (you can Google 'how many calories in 100gm of x'). If you're cooking for one, you have your total. If you're cooking for more, you divide the total by the number of dishes. Keep the calorie counts in a notebook or app as you're likely to use the same ingredients regularly so you aren't starting from scratch each time. But there are alternatives which cut out the counting, as noted above.

You'll find all the forum activities, clubs and challenges in our Pinned Posts by following this link healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... Active participation will give a boost to your own efforts so I hope we'll see you joining in, particularly with a weekly weigh in and the Daily Diary

[Abi2000 in reply to BridgeGirl]

Thank you for the tips ! I should probably start to weigh everything before cooking them! Yes, I want to participate in the daily weigh in !

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Abi2000]

And you'll need to check the correct calorie range with the NHS BMI calculator.

Why not weigh yourself first thing tomorrow and then join the Wednesday Wobble Warriors weigh in? They'll give you a warm welcome

[purpleswimmer]

I use my fitness pal and find it pretty good as I can log my own meals and calories. Xc

[JennJen in reply to purpleswimmer]

Thank you I actually have an account with FP. So will try to make use of it

[purpleswimmer in reply to JennJen]

I like it but takes a bit of getting used to

I look up calories sometimes on google, weigh portions and make up my own meals under my foods. Xx

[Peachy40 Maintainer 2 stone]

Hi JennJen, like others have mentioned, an app can be good to use.

I currently use MyFitnessPal and you can add recipes. So when I am making a meal, as I prepare it, I weigh (I bought a kitchen scale), sometimes I guess the quantity and scan the item.

I do that until I've included everything, state the servings, and it works out your calories per serving. It's not going to be 100% accurate and you might forget one or two items, but in principle it's what works for me.

After that, you don't have to worry about counting that meal again.

Hope that helps. If you need any other tips do let me know. I'm counting calories as well! 🇹🇹

[hellobeaut]

I love Jamaican food! Was there last year for my honeymoon... happy memories!