Question re calorie counting

luvlylady

I've just been reading through some other threads there and have worked out how many calories I should be eating a day (less 15% as I want to lose fat). My question is, how do I know how many calories are in different foods? Do I take it from packaging? Is there a website listing this information? Any help would be appreciated.

blah

Generally the calories are listed on the packaging as kcals or Cals. You will have to take into account how this is defined on the packaging. For example, it may be a 100g packet, but it lists "132 kcals per 30g". Also you'll have to take into consideration whether or not you eat the whole packet. For things like fruit/veg, meat and so on, there's a website called fitday.com, where you can track your daily calorie intake. Measurements are in american units but you can use google to convert. (e.g google "1 pint in litres" etc). Might take some time to get used to, but you can learn over time. Good luck.

neuro-praxis

If you are eating anything out of a packet, look at the calorie information on the back. If you're eating fresh wholefoods, try signing up to fitday.com. They offer free info on almost all foods.

eviltimeban

http://www.calorie-count.com/

EileenG

You'll probably find that the first week of calorie counting is a major pain, after that, you'll have a good grip on the foods you eat regularly. You also need to either weigh the food you are eating, or divide out each packet into even portions of a known weight.

Pigletlover

Didn't really want to start a thread on this, but does anyone know how many calories are in a packet of Koka Noodles? There's no nutritional information on the pack. I've googled it and most sites are saying around 145, but that seems very little??

EileenG

Check the serving size. You'll probably find that that 143 calories is for a very small serving.

I was really impressed when I looked at a packet of bagels and saw it was only 160 cals. Then I read the small print and discovered that a serving was half a bagel! Who eats half a bagel?

rubadub

Pigletlover wrote: »

Didn't really want to start a thread on this, but does anyone know how many calories are in a packet of Koka Noodles? There's no nutritional information on the pack. I've googled it and most sites are saying around 145, but that seems very little??

You must be joking! it is one of the most common foods that people think is "OK".

I have a smaller pack 65g dry of tesco noodles. It is 420kcal per pack. I do not know anybody who eats half a pack of noodles, and most are more than 65g. The bigger tesco packs, I think 80g have one type that I think is 600kcal, I reckon the kokas are ~500kcal per pack.

If in doubt just pick up a similar product, e.g. supernoodles or tesco ones (tesco have nutritional info on everything, even alcohol).

I remember guys in work "dieting" who would have noodles and loads of other "healthy" stuff, they were having over 1000kcal in one sitting, and convinced they were eating feck all. Just READ, all the info is on the packs! it is no secret, and DO NOT read the front of the packs! it is all BS, the real info is on the back.

bigpinkelephant

I find www.sparkpeople.com excellent. They tell you how many calories you need, how much exercise you need, and you can log your food intake and exercise every day. You can do graphs on your weight loss over time etc.

Xiney

Koka do make baked noodles though, that have less calories than the fried ones (most instant noodles are fried)

I don't quite remember what the calories for the baked ones were (I don't really like instant noodles since they don't provide long lasting fullness) but 145 calories sounds about right, actually.

Pigletlover

Thanks Rubadub, it was actually your post in the healthy snacks thread that got me thinking. According to calorie-count.com there's 143 calories per serving, and they class a serving as 80g, thedailyplate.com lists the same nutritional values.

There's no info on the back of the pack btw.

g'em

EileenG wrote: »

I was really impressed when I looked at a packet of bagels and saw it was only 160 cals. Then I read the small print and discovered that a serving was half a bagel! Who eats half a bagel?

I remember a couple of years ago when bagels started becoming in vogue reading that the dieters' way to eat them was to toast them and then scrape out all the gooey dough leaving the crusted shell!

Xiney

Mr Xiney recently purchased a 6 pack of wholemeal rolls.

Upon checking the back of the pack, (after already eating a roll), I was horrified to discover that each roll was well over 600 kcal!! How can that be possible, I asked myself, and eyed the fat content with trepidation. No... nothing out of the ordinary there. Hmmmmmm I said to myself.


It took some five minutes frantic squinting at the back of the packet... but I eventually found the error. They had listed 144 kJ and 600+ kCal - in other words, they switched the units. Whoops! thanks for the heart attack guys! (due to stress, not unhealthy eating!)

rubadub

Pigletlover wrote: »

Thanks Rubadub, it was actually your post in the healthy snacks thread that got me thinking. According to calorie-count.com there's 143 calories per serving, and they class a serving as 80g, thedailyplate.com lists the same nutritional values.

There's no info on the back of the pack btw.

That 80g, would be 80g cooked. I think my pack said a cooked serving was a full pack, 265g, i.e. 200ml water +65g dry=265g. That was 420kcal I think, for 265g, so that is correct, 80g cooked would equal 126kcal (so close to the 143kcal).

BUT! you would not give a toddler 80g of cooked noodles!, that is less than 1/3rd of a miserably small packet! It would probably be less than 1/4 a normal pack of mcdonalds supernoodles.

This is what I keep harping on about, portion sizes! they quote ridiculously small portions to make them appear low in calories. The WW guides for chinese food are a joke, in another thread I was saying this. I only now realise/remember my mates GF always gets singapore chow mein from the chinese, I just presumed she liked it, but now I see these posters saying "WW say singapore noodles are the lowest points", as though all chinese takeaways are the exact same ingredients! So now I figure she believes this and thinks she is eating feck all. The portions are MASSIVE, I would estimate her singapore noodles from our local to be over 2000+kcal or 40+ WW points, yet I think WW say 12 or 15!.

I hear heard her talking of WW points before and think she loosely follows them, I remember she was equating normal sized bars with those little slips of dairy milk you get, as though all bars are equal.

Xiney

but as I previously mentioned in this thread, koka noodles DO do a baked instant noodle whose calorie content is in the ~150 calorie region.

rubadub

Xiney wrote: »

but as I previously mentioned in this thread, koka noodles DO do a baked instant noodle whose calorie content is in the ~150 calorie region.

Fair enough, lets say there is no fat. So if they are dried out they would be basically just pretty much flour

http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/Foods/2000/20080/Food.aspx

this gives flour at 407kcal per 120g, so that would be 44g to be 150kcal. This is about half a normal pack of supernoodles, still a small amount.

Cereal companies do the same thing, I have never seen a picture on the packet with a bowl containing the portion quoted on the side.

It is strange koka do not have to display nutritional values, I noticed it before but I thought it was law. On site said it only must if they make claims like "low fat".

I did find this

this is info i got when i asked about chicken pot noodle type things from koka

CHICKEN NOODLE POT.


Average Values per 100g Per 100g
Energy (kJ) 1873
Energy (kcal) 446
Protein (g) 8.70
Carbohydrate (g) 59.90
Of Which Sugars (g) 3.19
Fat (g) 19.11
Of Which Saturates (g) 9.07
Monounsaturates (g) 7.17
Polyunsaturates (g 1.47
Cholesterol (mg) 0
Fibre (g) 3.85
Sodium (g) 1822

Approximate Values , Calculated Using : Individual Noodles & Soup Base Nutrition Value

and this http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/75583.html

That gives the portion as

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Piece (80.0 g)

Amount Per Serving
Calories 143Calories from Fat 0
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.0g0%
Total Carbohydrates 30.4g10%
Dietary Fiber 0.8g3%
Protein 4.8g

So tot up the numbers (not Zero fat, probably the baked ones). That site is including the fibre weight in the carbs, so it is 35.2g of solids, so looks like it is a half packet, and the remainder of the 80g is water. That is another trick BTW, the tesco ones had way more water included in the "per 100g cooked" kcal content.

Again, if there is nothing on your packet just compare to other similar products, and read between the lines on all the info.

Xiney

I think you may be right about the half packet thing, but it's been about six months since I ate my pack so I can't be sure of what it said.

Still, it was a lot lower in calories than the fried type.

EileenG

Most packet noodles are not fried. I definitely remember reading the back of a packet of the noodles my kids had bought, and being horrified to see they were eating over 500 cals a packet, almost pure carbs.

In fact, I don't remember ever seeing fried noodles outside a takeaway.

A useful tip for food that isn't calorie counted (like takeaways or fresh meat, for instance) is to spend half an hour wandering around Tesco or M&S with a notebook, and writing down the calories and macros for things like fresh meat, or pizza, or croissants, or BBQ ribs, or lagagne etc. And take a very close look at the size of portions they use. Tesco now even label a lot of their meat with the calories and macros for a portion that has been cooked and trimmed of fat.

rubadub

EileenG wrote: »

In fact, I don't remember ever seeing fried noodles outside a takeaway.

Same here. Never saw "baked" ones. The oil is just part of the ingredients in making most noodles. I looked at koka tonight, no info, 85g packet. Tesco had a 85g pack, 280kcal per half packet, so 560kcal per 85kcal pack, and most people I know would have that FULL pack along with something else.

McDonalds Supernoodles were 100g packs, and I think 260kcal per half pack.

Koka where wheat flour & palm oil, so were definitely not the fat free ones I posted. Also I find many on-line sites are incorrect.

EileenG wrote: »

A useful tip for food that isn't calorie counted (like takeaways or fresh meat, for instance) is to spend half an hour wandering around Tesco or M&S with a notebook, and writing down the calories and macros for things like fresh meat, or pizza, or croissants, or BBQ ribs, or lagagne etc. And take a very close look at the size of portions they use. Tesco now even label a lot of their meat with the calories and macros for a portion that has been cooked and trimmed of fat.

Yes, and then add on a percentage! since takeaways usually add a lot more oil, same with pizzas, that why they taste so good, your body loves the energy. Many foods are watered down in supermarkets, for 2 reasons, cheaper on the ingredients, and seemingly less calories per 100g. Just like the noodles I mentioned earlier were 200ml per 65g dry, ones in the Chinese are denser, i.e. not so much water. So if looking at packs, avoid the lean cuisine/WW watered down, check the full fat "finest" ones with thick sauces like you really get. Most tesco indian microwave "non-diet" fresh meals are ~400g and ~650kcal. While the average chinese portion from a takeaway is 700-1000g.

If you insist on the weekly Chinese it would be better to go splits with your partner/friend or save some for the next day, you could always get a chicken breast and cook it and split it if a half portion seems to little.

Pigletlover

Calculating the calorie content based on the cooked weight seems to make the most sense alright, I knew 143 calories seemed too few, but didn't think it would be as much as 420. I think I'll have beans on toast in future!

cozmik

Pigletlover wrote: »

Calculating the calorie content based on the cooked weight seems to make the most sense alright, I knew 143 calories seemed too few, but didn't think it would be as much as 420. I think I'll have beans on toast in future!

Clytus

Xiney wrote: »

Mr Xiney recently purchased a 6 pack of wholemeal rolls.

Upon checking the back of the pack, (after already eating a roll), I was horrified to discover that each roll was well over 600 kcal!! How can that be possible, I asked myself, and eyed the fat content with trepidation. No... nothing out of the ordinary there. Hmmmmmm I said to myself.


It took some five minutes frantic squinting at the back of the packet... but I eventually found the error. They had listed 144 kJ and 600+ kCal - in other words, they switched the units. Whoops! thanks for the heart attack guys! (due to stress, not unhealthy eating!)

Whoa...thats a pretty bad mistake on the part of the manufacturer.
Were the rolls packed and had a label attached or were they in pre printed packaging?

Xiney

it was the pre-printed stuff that the big companies use.

And yeah, it's a pretty bad mistake.

watna

Xiney wrote: »

but as I previously mentioned in this thread, koka noodles DO do a baked instant noodle whose calorie content is in the ~150 calorie region.

I actually emailed somewhere about the nutritional info on Koka noodles about two years ago. I was eating a lot of them and wanted to know what the damage was. I found some contac us address online.

I never got a response!

rubadub

watna wrote: »

I actually emailed somewhere about the nutritional info on Koka noodles about two years ago. I was eating a lot of them and wanted to know what the damage was. I found some contac us address online.

I never got a response!

Just compare to similar products in that case. The tesco ones were the exact same 85g packet, I would not be surprised if they are from the same factory. I forgot to check the ingredients, many products can be seen to be the same as supermarket brands by comparing ingredients & nutiritional values.

Years ago I worked helping loading trucks, and you could see the supermarket brands coming out of the same factories, like chivers, shamrock etc.

If Koka do not openly display the values then I figure they have something to hide, in which case you should presume the worst and go for the most "bad" similar product, in this case the tesco ones.

Koka also use palm oil, which is high in saturated fat, so they might want to avoid the WW brigade branding them high in points, even though the palm oil probably makes you gain less weight than veg oil, which conflicts with their points system.