Okay, now I get this calorie counting thing and why it's important. I logged my calories and when it was time for dinner I decided I was going to have a cheeseburger (beef, because I seem to be low on iron today) and the rest of the tater tots in the freezer. So I logged everything while I was cooking, including the 2 servings of tater tots (16 pieces).

Then I said "no" to the cheese; the burger was going to be tasty enough with lettuce, tomato, and a honey-wheat english muffin for the bun. 70 calories saved.

Then - and this is the good part - I ate the first 8 tater tots and STOPPED eating. I felt that I was full enough. A whopping 150 calories saved!

And that 220 saved kept me in my goal range for the day! Yay, I understand now why this works and why so many people do it this way.

Thanks for indulging yet another post from me. It was just so exciting, I had to share.

Excellent!! It's like if you squirrel a little money away here and there soon you end up with a lot. And by squirreling away calories, you'll end up with a lot less!

Awesome! Isn't it cool that you can have a burger and tots and still be in your calories for the day? It's so neat to make a usually high-calorie meal into a low calorie one!

Very cool!

Those little saves here and there do add up!

Congrats! I love it when I eat fewer than my goal for the day, especially if I hit my target deficit, cuz then I have like extra calories the next day if I needed them for some reason.

I like calorie counting a lot I avoided doing it for years and tried other things instead, but no need to deprive yourself of anything as long as you stay within calories, and you soon learn you get to eat more if you make sensible choices. I've had a lot of nice burgers without having a very high calorie meal by doing what you did and yes it is enough food without adding cheese, etc.

woohoooooooooo.... that is great!!!!

Thanks everyone. This is actually kind of exciting. I had a big lunch today, but I still stayed close to my goal. Thanks for all your support and advice.