| Implementing this principle requires you to know the weight and kcal per 100g of everything you consume. No exceptions whatsoever. Beverages of any description included. Anything at all that includes kcal. This was once followed by endless tedious mathematics. Now it is not. Your computer will do all the mathematics instantly.
Most packaged products include data on the kcal per 100g. That includes shrink-wrapped fruit, vegetables, fish and meat as well as processed products in tins and bottles.
For millilitres on bottles, read grams. Any miniscule difference does not matter. Add 10% to kcal per 100ml for oil and alcoholic beverages. Not strictly accurate for alcoholic beverages but you are on the safe side of the equation.
Where this information is not provided, perhaps when products are purchased loose at a market or supermarket, there is a useful online application which can be found on this page, which is an external website (opens in a new window):
https://www.nutracheck.co.uk/CaloriesIn/
NB: The link above was introduced by me on 06.06.2022 because there used to be an NHS link to the same source. I cannot now find an NHS link to the same source or any other source so I have linked directly to the nutracheck source. There may be an App but I do not use Apps routinely. Much easier on the computer. Why they did that I have no idea.
Supermarkets offering online-shopping invariably publish nutritional data with most products sold. Exceptions (interestingly) are usually very high in kcal. It is a useful source of data to enable you to set up your spreadsheet initially. This is a one-off task. Once kcal per 100g data for any product is on your spreadsheet, it can remain there indefinitely.
It is important to be consistent. The kcal per 100g of a potato differs before and after being baked. Once baked it is lighter because water has evaporated but the kcal is the same. Select the correct figures. I always work with raw-produce data by default. Easier to remember that simple protocol.
Produce (i.e. packet soups etc) sometimes state the kcal per 100g as-prepared. The kcal spreadsheet TABLES page includes a calculator to deliver the data you actually need for the produce as-sold (usually powders like cup soups and gravy granules). A neat little tool that excludes water from the total of your weight consumed on the day. Water of course, nil kcal.
The workbook also includes the powerful COMBO spreadsheet that enables me to produce my own meals and side-dishes. The application delivers an accurate food label (kcal per 100g) for those dishes.
Weighing Produce
Using electronic scales is a delight. Accurate to one gram, these are essential to success.
Tip: If you only require a small quantity of a liquid from a bottle, place the bottle on the scale first and touch the ON button. The scale will read zero. Pour out as much liquid as you need into your food or recipe, then return the bottle to the scale. You will note a minus value but the number is all you need. This saves messy measuring spoons, saves waste and saves time.
In the weight-loss phase, it is hugely important to be obsessively accurate. Yes, even that portion of tartare sauce (42 kcal per 100g) on your Plaice. Take heed and beneficial results must inevitably follow. Gradually, and crucially without sudden discomfort. It cannot fail. |
