Tips on Estimating Calories

The skill of estimating calories is important when it comes to weight management because you wont always have a scale with you and that would be dorky to bring to every restaurant or family gathering. Having a good gauge of how much you're eating will allow you to stay on track with your diet.

Keys to Remember When Estimating Calories

• There are apps like chronometer or my fitness pal with the calories content of common foods or you can always use google.

• Always take into account the oils, sauces and dressing used to make the food because even if you don't see it, it's present. It can add 50-300+ calories to the meal.

• Use simple math to estimate calories and understand different macro-nutrients

• Use your hand to approximate portion size (See 1st picture)

• Read serving sizes on nutrition labels to avoid manipulation.

Calorie Estimates of Common Foods for Reference

(The following are general approximations)

Popular Carbohydrates

• Rice (260 calories per cup/ 200 grams)

• Pasta is (300 calories per cup/ 200 grams)

• Sweet potato (114 calories per cup/ 133 grams)

• Potato is (102 calories per cup/ 140 grams)

• Bread is (approx 120-180 calories per slice)

• Pita/wraps (150-270 calories per wrap)

Common Meat Sources

• Lean steak of steak has (150-220 calories per 3 Oz)

• Lean ground beef has around (210 calories per 3 Oz)

• Chicken breast has around (150 calories per 3 Oz)

• Turkey breast has (120 calories per 3 Oz)

• Salmon has (140-170 calories per 3 Oz)

• Tilapia/cod/haddock all have similar calorie ranges around (100-120 calories per 3 Oz)

Popular Comfort Foods

• 1 fried Dumpling (80-120 calories)

• 1 cup Mash potato (214-250 calories)

• 1 cup Potato salad (300-250 calories)

• 1 slice Lasagna (275-325 calories)

• 1 cup of Coleslaw (291 calories)

• 1 small bowl Cornmeal Porridge (200 calories)

• 1 slice of Cheesecake (300 calories)

• 25 Chips (250-300 calories)

Oils and Sauces

• Olive oil (90 calories per Tbsp)

• Butter (100 calories per Tbsp)

• Coconut oil (110 calories per Tbsp)

• BBQ sauce (30 calories per Tbsp)

• Syrup (50 calories per Tbsp)

• Tartar sauce (30 calories per Tbsp)

• Ranch dressing (30 calories per Tbsp)

• Creamy pasta sauces (75 calories per Tbsp)

• Mayo (94 calories per Tbsp)

• Strawberry Jam (50 calories per Tbsp)

• Honey Mustard (73 calories per Tbsp)

• For alternative to higher calorie sauces, click here

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