Hello,

I am new to this part of the site. I have been counting calories to lose weight.

I was wondering...has anyone ever created daily checklists for themselves that include everything that they plan on eating during the day? I was thinking about doing this...I figured once I ate something, I could check it off my list. I am just wondering if I am going to drive myself nuts by getting that "obsessive" with my calorie counting.

Thanks!

I do something similar with my water intake and my dairy and protein servings, since these are the items that I tend not to eat as much of so I have to keep myself accountable.

I do it. It's been especially helpful in these early stages of dieting so that I don't go too far over or under my daily calories. I usually plan out my eating plan the day before. Then it's easy to get ready and stick to it.

What's been really good for me is that my husband got me Calorie King on the computer, so I use that everyday to calculate what I'm eating.

I think it's a good idea. I thought about it when I was reading that "SuperFoods" book.

I just started doing that as well. I feel more planned and in control. I plan for the week on Sundays including exercise. Good Luck!

I think the more we plan ahead the better. I have begun entering what I plan to eat for the whole day into my Fitday. Sometimes it works and sometimes I have to modify it. I have found that it keeps me much more focused when I know what I plan to stick in my mouth and why.

I've been counting calories since November of 2005 and, since day one, I have always written down everything I eat for the day. I usually plan out what I will eat a day in advance, log all the foods to see how many calories it works out to, and then tweak as necessary to make sure I don't go over my limit. At the end of the day, I'm never surprised by how many calories I've eaten and I always have a few calories left for an after-dinner snack.

I use fitday and I always have, and always will, enter my entire day's worth of food in the morning. That way I can manipulate my p/f/c ratios, check my fiber and sodium intakes and make sure I am getting the amount of protein I need. I think it's a great idea and works really good for me that way I know where I can add more and where I need to subtract and I can evenly space out my calories.

Yep, I sit down on Saturday and plan out every single thing I'm going to eat for the week. That doesn't mean I always follow it 100%! But I made a deal with myself that if I decide to eat something not on my meal plan, I have to figure out how I'm going to fit it into my weekly calorie budget first. I would say that planning my meals has been one of the most important parts of my success. I absolutely recommend it.

I too plan out my food every morning as soon as i get to work. I have a general idea on sunday what i am going to eat for the whole week...i tend to eat alot of the same things so making a plan every week or daily isn't much of a problem. But i always plug it into fitday every morning and that way, if i decide i want to splurge, i know what my calorie count for the day is, if i am going to go over, or do i want to take a normal food off and substitue it. I definately think planning and writing down (or making a checklist) is the perfect way to watch calories and lose weight.

Wow, thanks for all of the responses!

I am going to try it and see how I do with it.

I think that it would help me gain a new perspective as far as what I am eating (too little sometimes...or...way too much sometimes!)

Thanks!