calorie counting... and more?
 

so i think ive got myself in control of my calories per day. i'm at about 1200-1400ish. but i know there's got to be more to it than that. how much sodium should i have a day? and total fat grams? anything else i should be tracking? i am losing weight but i know i could be doing so much better if i watched more than the calories......:chin:

2300 mg sodium a day for women- I don't know if you are eating out- but that always kills me for the daily sodium intake :(

For me personally I shoot for no more than 60 grams of fat a day.

Sign up on a calorie counting website like livestrong.com/thedailyplate. It shows what percentages you should be eating and the percentages you are eating in a pie chart. It will track carbs, fat, and protein, as well as sodium, cholesteral and a few others. I love it, you should try it out.

That seems like a very low amount of calories.... you could eat MORE and lose weight. I'm losing almost 3 lbs per week on 1700 calories....

honestly my calories usually are closer to the 1400. and there are definitely days i go over. i'm still sort of at the beginning where i'm trying to see how many calories work for my body. i may end up extending my range a little higher..... though i seem satisfied on about 1300 so i don't really know what to do about it.:?:

everyone is different, but I am losing at 1500-1700 calories a day (as long as I dont stray from my plan). I think you could go up if you wanted to. You dont want to go so low, and then have to stay very low at maintenence.
as for the other stuff. I use the daily plate. I try to keep protein at 100 g or more a day, fiber at 25 g or more, low sodium, low sugar..but TDP will guide you with the percentages. I thought this was all confusing at first, but you get used to it. good luck :D
the more sodium you eat, the more water you should drink. Salt doesn't necessarily make you fat, but it does cause you to retain water which bloats you. drinking more water will flush out the salt and prevent the water retention. (you probably already know this, but just incase ;)

To give a different perspective: I don't count anything. I use common sense, load up on fruits and veggies and stick with whole grains and whole wheat.

Calorie counting works great for some. I just keep an eye of fat grams and sodium, but don't add them up at the end of the day. For me, it's just the obvious -- if it's 30% of my daily sodium intake for a serving, best to steer clear, I try and avoid processed foods -- that sort of logic.

But whatever works for you! Good luck!

I watch everything through fitday.com What I really like to watch is sodium and fiber. A low day for me is 15 grams... but a couple times a week I hit 30! :)

Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Eat fresh or frozen (not canned) fruits and veggies :carrot: