[tocrfl]

Ok I'm new on 3FC and to calorie counting. I started yesterday. I also registered for MYplate. What else should I do? The first for sure is I need a scale. I usually weigh myself at work. Thanks

[bargoo]

Go to the grocery store and buy the proper foods and get all cookies, candy, cakes and pies out of the house. Sit down and plan your meals for the day, this doesn't take long once you get used to it. Good Luck !

[beerab]

Yup yup. When I first started calorie counting I actually ate pretty normal to see how much I was eating and found I was eating 2300-2500 calories a day on average. No wonder I got to 235 pounds!!

Then after that I stopped buying junk, once it was gone, it was gone. I started buying healthier food and cooking more- now I pretty much have ZERO junk in my except the odd item or two my husband still buys (like a bag of chips that I make him keep in his man-cave, etc).

I now plan my meals for the week, I cook pretty much every night, and I make sure I have food available that's quick to prepare just in case, like vegetables and ranch dressing, or peanut butter and celery, etc.

[megems]

What works for me is planning ahead. When I go the grocery (about twice a month) I think about what I want to eat and make sure what I buy is whole wheat and unprocessed as possible! I then plan out (go ahead make & record) my lunch and snacks for the next day the night before. I find if I have already counted it, I am not tempted to go off calories! As for dinner, I just use whatever calories I have left, and make sure I eat some protien & veggies. There are GREAT recipes on here to help. Once you get in this habit, it all seems pretty normal.

I can't live without: several measuring spoons (all sizes), measuring cups, and my scale to weigh my food!! These are a MUST for all calorie counters!

Good luck!!! You will find tons of support in our forum, as well as 3FC as a whole!!

[tocrfl]

So besides a scale I need a scale to measure my food. Great! I will go to Walmart and pick one up today. I did food cleaning this weekend. Threw pretty much everything away. I want to start fresh.

What do you think about the frozen Healthy Choice meals are thos ok?

[lifeasme]

Originally Posted by tocrfl

So besides a scale I need a scale to measure my food. Great! I will go to Walmart and pick one up today. I did food cleaning this weekend. Threw pretty much everything away. I want to start fresh.

What do you think about the frozen Healthy Choice meals are thos ok?

They are okay, in moderation. They are still full of super fun things like sodium and they are still pretty processed...I would try to gravitate toward whole, unprocessed foods if you can, but if you need to start off with the frozen meals...then do it. Whatever it takes to get you started, go for it. I would do that with an eye toward moving on to doing more cookies and stuff as you progress.

[joyfulloser]

Frozen meals are good to keep for emergencies, but I wouldn't rely on them for everyday (expensive, high sodium and inadequate amounts of protein and fiber).

One thing that helped me at the start was purchasing a few good low fat/cal cookbooks. I'm not the "chef-boy-r-dee" so those really helped me create some really tasty meals.

Planning your meals in advance, portioning them out and freezing them has helped me immensly to succeed thus far. For me...food quality is important, I'm not your PB&J kinda girl though...I love FOOD, so for me to succeed, I pretty much need to eat gourmet every day.

[Nola Celeste]

You've already gotten some excellent suggestions. Here are a couple more that might help:

- Take a look at this site which shows images of 200 calories' worth of various foods. It's great that you're going to buy a food scale and I use mine many times a day, but it's not always possible to weigh (unless you smuggle your scale into a restaurant ). I've found it helps to become familiar with eyeballing portions. If nothing else, it really reinforces why I should choose that huge pile of turkey over that sad little half of a fast-food sandwich.

- Why buy Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine when you can cook extra food, divide it into portions, and freeze it yourself? It's way cheaper to make your own; plus, you get to tailor everything to your tastes. If you think you'll get bored, then make stuff that can go into other stuff. For example, Sunday's roast chicken is Monday's chicken tacos, Tuesday's chicken salad, and Wednesday's chicken-andouille gumbo.

- Calorie counting means being able to eat whatever you want as long as your portions are controlled. However, a lot of us who've been counting calories a while have learned that there are some foods we have trouble eating in moderation. You know the potato chips with the slogan, "Bet you can't eat just one?" I lose that bet every single time. I have a much easier time eating no chips than eating one chip. You might be that way too, so keep an eye out for foods that make you crave.

Good luck!