[cornellchick]

Shmead, all your tips are awesome. I like the idea about looking up what you will eat and logging it before you go to a restaurant - being in my 20s and just out of school, I tend to meet up with friends on the weekends a lot, and that's usually the thing that knocks me off plan. I like your idea better

I love Lose It! In particular I like that you can get to your log from your phone or through your web browser, and the other updates automatically (if you use it both on your phone and online), and I also like that you can create your own recipes and custom foods that will stay in your list of foods forever, so you only have to calculate all the ingredients once. Highly recommended.

As for dealing with logging calories... having a good tool helps a lot, and I also eat the same things frequently, so it's easy to just copy previous meals over to today and then not worry about it. I too like to log what I *know* I will be eating as early in the day as I can remember, and then I also have an idea of how many calories I have left over for the day to work with - e.g. if I get hungry in the afternoon I know I have X calories to use apart from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and that helps me make an informed choice of afternoon snack.

Good luck katy trail - the hardest part is starting, of course, but you've done that now, so the rest is easier!

[Eliana]

I figure my way of calorie counting is "calories for dummies".

I want to consume 1200 calories across six mini meals, so I divide 1200 calories by six meals and get 200 calories. Each of my "meals" simply adds up to 200. That's Fiberone cereal, 1/2 cup soy milk, cut strawberries. Or that's a yogurt with Fiberone. Or that's half a sandwich plus a piece of fruit. Or that's lean meat plus a portion of vegetables.

I never count more than 200, basically. If it's dinner time I know I've had four meals prior, so I've already had 800 calories and have 400 left.

This plan leaves no room for grazing.

[angelskeep]

My best tip for beginners...and even for myslef that I am just beginning to understand is to have something healthy available that isn't necessarily included in my pre-planned food. I have been planning exactly what I will eat and buying only for that. It's great 95% of the time, but the last couple of days, I think I would rather die than eat one more yogurt and bran ceral lunch. I still love the combo, but I shoulda had an alternative today and it would have helped me stay on plan. I fell off. I'm right back on, but I think planning ahead is the best way to stay on track. And not just planning rigidly, but planning to be flexible. I hope tht made sense. it does to me after the fact.

I am going to try and have 3 possilbe lunches in the fridge so that I can just pick one of them. Most of the time it doesn't matter, but the one time it does, it could be really important.

Barb

[katy trail]

thanks so much for the tips. i hardly leave the house. but if something doesn't apply to me, it would help most other people.

i haven't been planning ahead, other than bringing home healthy food from the store.
actually, i wait untill i'm hungry, decide what to eat, then log it. i've already lost 3#. i started on...sat. i think this is is just one of those honeymoon periods. i'm all paranoid so my cals and fat are probably lower than before. but i feel satisfied. lots of healthy choices. as i get used to it and more educated, i'll be more willing to count and eat certain foods.
with planning ahead, cooking it ahead, i'm just afraid i'll think too much about eating it too much, too soon. if i had planned it, i would've planned 2 or 3 hundred more cals, but i'm surprisingly satisfied with less. loaded up with fiber