Calorie counters-questions & confusion

[bestoutwest]

This past week I started keeping track of everything I eat and counting calories. I am using the DietMinder Food Journal, which seems to work well for me. If I have it with me I can write down anything I eat, then look up calories later. At home I have a complete food book with calories, fat, carbs, ptn, etc. Just curious what systems some of you use. I know quite a few people use FitDay.com. Does it eventually get easier, ie, do you start to know what calories things have in them & remember them, or do you still write things down? It has been quite enlightening for me to keep track of things. Really makes me think twice before eating some things, now!

Ok, now onto my confusion....Today for lunch I had a SouthBeach Diet Southwestern Chicken wrap. Here is the nutrition panel:
Calories 250
Fat 10g
Carbohydrate 27g, Fiber 15g
Protein 26g

Ok, from what I know about nutrition, fat has 9 calories per gram and carbs & protein have 4 calories per gram (?). So, this is how it adds up in my book: Fat 90cal, Carb 108cal, Ptn 104cal, for a total of 302 calories. So am I missing something? Why does the label say 250 calories, when if you calculate based on the grams, it is 302 calories? Can someone clarify this for me or am I being dense?!?!

 

[fitxme]

What did you do with the fiber...I think you can subtract the fiber from the carbs and then multiply x4. That should get you closer to your number. Let me know if you agree...



~Marietta
FITXME
http://www.picturetrail.com/fitxme

 

[bestoutwest]

Marietta,

That is a good point....subtracting the 60 calories from the fiber would take it to 242. Just not sure if that is the way most nutrition labels work?!?! Does the fiber not count toward the total calorie count? I'm hoping that someone who knows more about nutrition than I do will help explain it to me! Thanks for your answer, any you're probably right on track!

 

[fitxme]

From what I understand you can deduct the fiber from the carbs it counts, but the fiber is a good thing and does take away from the net carbs...I'm going to see if I can find where I heard that....I'll be back.

~Marietta
FITXME
http://www.picturetrail.com/fitxme

 

[fitxme]

Edie,

I think that it all centers around the Net Carb theory....here's what I found:

Q. What are net carbs?
From Apply Now,

A.
Net carbs is a term first used by the Drs. Eades in their book Protein Power, then adapted by Dr. Atkins to reflect the amount of carbohydrate that is rapidly available in any food or product. You can calculate the net carb value of any recipe by substracting the grams of fiber, sugar alcohols and glycerin from the number of carbohydrate grams.

Example: 40.5gm of Carbohydrate less .5gm of fiber gives a net carb value of 40gm.

Personally, I think net carbs are a gimmic as calories are not reduced when you lower the "carb count" of a food or recipe. To show the extreme of this "net carb" concept, alcohol is ALL sugar alcohols, so although it would be 66 calories it is 0 NET CARBS.

So basically some manufacturers will lower the calorie count based on this information.

Hope this helps...


~Marietta
FITXME
http://www.picturetrail.com/fitxme

 

[bestoutwest]

Thanks, Marietta! It does help!