A lot of calorie counting is trial and error, and learning over time how to budget your calorie intake. A few tips:
1) Don't start off too low. Eating only 1200 calories a day at first will most likely lead to a binge. Instead, start somewhere between 1500 and 1700, depending on how much you have to lose (I believe there's some better info listed about this in the FAQ thread).
2) Pay close attention to the portion sizes on labels. Often you'll find yourself glancing at a product, being wowed by how low in calories it is, only to realize that the portion size they've listed is obscenely low. NEVER skim over nutrition labels! Pay close attention to what's written.
3) Always make sure you eat a decent sized breakfast, or you'll be likely to binge in the evening. Of all my daily meals, breakfast is usually the highest in cals -- it gives me more energy, puts me in a better mood and I'm more likely to get more exercise.
4) You probably already know this, but never go below 1200 cals a day, unless supervised by a doctor. 1199-1000 is generally considered a borderline starvation diet, and lower than 1000 IS a starvation diet -- you'd be likely to end up making yourself ill and slowing down your metabolism, which would actually hinder weight loss.
5) Don't waste all of your calories on a few high-cal small items, and don't eat too many sugary treats. Eating a wide variety of healthy foods is much better than eating only a few high-cal foods. Veggies, certain soups, tuna, etc. are all great low-cal choices. As well, if your schedule allows it, eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of three big ones really helps to keep your metabolism up, and you'll never have to worry about feeling overly hungry. Even just reducing the size of your main meals and eating a couple of small snacks during the day helps a ton.
6) If you're having trouble keeping track of your cals, carrying a small notebook around to mark things down is really helpful.
7) Take a multivitamin every day. Getting your recommended daily food groups is hard enough as it is, let alone when you're limited to X calories a day.
8) Along with limiting calories, it's also good to throw in some exercise. The more you work out, the more you can eat during the day, the faster your metabolism goes.
9) Most of all, don't be too upset with yourself if you go a little bit over your limit. 50 extra calories isn't going to do much to hinder your weightloss, and it's near impossible to eat exactly the amount of calories you've planned for the day.
That's all I can think of right now. Hope I didn't come off as condescending or rude... Good luck with your diet -- you can do this.
New to counting calories
