Friday, September 01, 2006

Numbers, Numbers!

First, I would like to thank Kimberly and Marshmallow for all their support and knowledge as I venture into the unknown world of calories and calorie counting.

Second, I made a mistake in my last post. I meant that my BMR was 2121-2421. Not BMI. heh heh. I’m going to edit that entry before some unsuspecting reader thinks I’m crazy huge.

Third, AARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

Recording sucks! I’ve recorded in the past, and hated it. I was hoping that recording calories would be easier and more efficient than what I recorded in the past, which was behaviour, FDA food group requirements, and portion size, but it’s not. It’s even harder! I have to play detective and figure out how many calories are in my food. Why is there no on-line calorie counter out there that has Filipino food?! I don’t even know what they’re called or what’s in them; how the hell should I know their calories? I talked about this with my husband before. My sister had joined Weight Watchers, but she had fallen out of it because she was discouraged of how difficult it was to calculate points for Filipino food. My husband said at the time, “If she really wanted to lose weight she would have taken the time to figure it out.” Now here I am in a similar situation, and I can rightfully say that it’s enough work to make me want to quit. It’s not like I have nothing else to do! I’m going to hold off on calorie counting for the moment and resume after I’ve settled into school and internship. I might even wait until winter break; it’s so much work! Until then…If there’s anyone out there that know of any resources that gives me the calories for Filipino and Vietnamese food please, please tell me. Ideally the resources would describe the food, because I have no idea what any of the rightful names are. I just call them “the pork dish”, “the pork and vegetable dish”, "sour fish", etc.

Thanks a bunch!

Update: Reading my past posts, I realized that I had a misunderstanding about BMR. I just want to clarify what that misunderstanding was before I mislead an unsuspecting dieter. BMR is Basil Metabolic Rate. It is the minimum calories required to maintain regular body functions. During this post (and another one), I had thought BMR was the daily caloric intake to maintain your weight. Sorry for the confusion.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I feel the same frustration as you and your sister do regarding not being able to find points for Filipino food. I find it very difficult to find calorie values for Fijian-Indian food - so what I generally do is look at what are the main ingredients (easy to spot - like pork or chicken or lamb) and just add the points/calorie value of that to my nutrition tracker.

Its not an 100% accurate reading, more lke 80% accurate, but I reckon thats better than nothing. A lot of spices and things have very little nutrition value anyway, so I figure 'eh, close enough'.

I will have a hunt around for you a bit later and see if I can find anything thats more accurate; and I'll let you know if I find anything :-)

Lily T said...

I think maybe I was being overly detailed oriented in terms of calorie counting. I get like that from time to time, especially when I'm stressed.

Thanks for you support.

I fear no one’s opinion! I am knowledgeable, focused, and efficient. I make this priority and build from experience. I do this for my children and myself. Supported by love, I will persevere.