Skeptical....
 

I just started calorie counting today. I'm nervous because I've always gone to the low carb diets and lost, gained, lost gained more. A friend of mine lost weight calorie counting so I decided maybe this can be more permanent for me. I'm just so uneasy because if really never looked at calories before! I have the my fitness pal app so I started tracking calories today. Any one have any advice for me? Thanks in advance! I have A LOT of weight to lost. About 150 pounds!

Just give yourself time to get in the groove.... You will find staples and that will help you.

How long did it take you to lose the 52 pounds?

My best advice?
Record everything that passes your lips, no matter how small.
Keep your calorie budget for the day reasonable and sustainable.

Good luck!!!

I'm doing 1200 calories. Today it wasn't bad at all I was able to have my 3 meals and snacks in between so that I was not hungry all day long! :-)

My advice is to be almost to the point of obsessive about tracking your calories. The more it's on your mind, the more aware you will be of what foods you are eating and how they could derail or support your progress for the day.

I would also advise that you track the sodium content of the food as well (which is easy if you're already looking at the nutrition labels), I try to steer away from any food that has a sodium content of more than 500 mg's.

Good luck!

Thanks. Do you all exercise a lot? I really don't like exercising but I'm trying!

You can eat low carb while counting your calories. That's been the best solution for me.
I understand for a lot of people that feels overly complicated, although using something like myfitnesspal (or calorieking, dailyplate, fatscecret, etc) makes it easier to accomplish.

I did start myfitnesspal, If you don't mind, can you post what you eat in a typical day.

I love calorie counting. I can eat whatever I want and maintain my weight loss.

Typically I eat a lowish carb diet, as it helps me with my fitness goals. However it's really nice to know that NOTHING is off limits as long as it fits in my calories for the day.

Sure, I can tell you what I had today. :)

Breakfast:
omelette made with 3 eggs, mushrooms, and 1 oz sharp cheese
370 cals, 3g carbs (this is with the fiber subtracted from the total carbs for all of these bty)

Lunch:
large low carb tortilla, lean ground beef, mixed salad veggies, and tzatziki sauce (kind of a home made gyro)
400 cals, 9g carbs

Dinner:
chicken salad with light mayo, dill, some more mixed veggies tossed in, and on the side roasted cauliflower with 1 oz parm cheese on top (my fav)
400 cals, 5g carbs

Snacks:
1 oz dry roasted soy peas
130 cals, 8g carbs

Frozen yogurt (just made with full fat greek yogurt and sugar free syrup)
170 cals, 5g carbs

total for the day: 1470 cals, 30g of carbs

I batch cook on the weekends, so I just assemble meals during the week. Really makes planning easy for me.

If you just started with calorie counting, I would suggest not to start at 1,200 calories. I heard MFP starts everyone on 1.2k cal (default) regardless of weight. Looking at your sig, I think perhaps 1.2k is a bit low for you.

My best advice??
LoseIT and My Fitness Pal are GREAT tools, but they are practically worthless if you dont WEIGH your food before you eat it.
invest in a 20 dollar digital food scale

That said, since you ARE just starting out, you MIGHT be able to get away with guesstimating portion sizes... at first....

re:
 

I do not exercise regularly. That's a fact I'm not necessarily proud of, but it's shown me that most weight loss comes from diet, and not exercise.

Some things that work for me, and may or may not for you:

Tracking your food absolutely helps me, even though I know the calorie count of everything I eat at this point. There's something mentally powerful about writing it down.

Don't get stuck on exactly 1200. I shoot for around 1200, and have since I started, but vary anywhere between that and 1500. The right amount of calories for you is the amount you will stick to eating while losing weight for the long term. If you find you can't stick to 1200, you might have to raise it.

Don't forbid yourself from eating anything, but control the amount of it you eat. Want ice cream? Don't eat a half gallon, have a 150 calorie bar or cone.

Weight loss is not linear. It's very rarely exactly x amount every week. It's more like 2 or 3 one week and nothing for a week or two. Expect to see weird things on the scale even while sticking on plan. Don't get discouraged.

If you go off plan, it's not the end of the world and you're not a bad person. Just start right back on plan and keep going.

You might be surprised where you'll be a year from now.

Yup. And you might have to experiment a bit to find the amount of calories that's right for you. Lots of people do great on 1200 calories per day. I am not those people. ;) I am now at 1600-1700 calories, which works out to be my BMR and also my eventual maintenance calories. I'm also training for a half marathon (and then a full marathon later in the year), and I do allow myself more calories on long run days. Not a ton, but an extra snack or two.

Swinegeart... Actually I lost 100, and I did it within a year from calorie counting/ WW.... But 2 FT jobs and life got to me and I gained 40ish back.... I wanted a quick fix this time--- but to be honest if it comes off quick it comes on w interest.....

The good thing tho is there are many, many, many women here who have lost and kept it off.... Some who have gained some back (me), and some starting all over... But all have a good bit of info for free!!!! Just lurk, find what works... Tweak what doesn't and GO FOR IT!!!! Now that I have given you what I know.. You may have to remind me later... Lol.

Calorie counting is how I lost 185 in just under 2 years. Not calorie counting is how I gained 31 back in the following year.

I scanned over what everyone said here and it looks like all the advice I would have given based on my personal experience is about the same. I also want to reiterate that 1200 is probably not high enough and that little of a food allowance may be more of a de-motivator to keep going. If you have 150 to lose, I would GUESS that you could drop your calories down to 1600 and still lose up to 2 lbs a week. I think I started at 1600-1800 and lost really quickly for the first 6 months if memory serves. With ZERO exercise I might add.

One thing that really helps me is that I don't eat any sugar or much in the way of simple carbs. They are really high in calories for a relatively small amount of food to fill your belly and your mind.

The other big one is don't kid yourself. Just because you are snacking on carrots, doesn't mean those calories don't count. Every time you eat anything, whether or not it is on your plan for the day, you need to write it down. It is really easy for my brain to trick itself into forgetting things, or making the portion be smaller than it really was if I am not careful. Weigh everything! Using measuring cups is better than nothing, but not accurate. And eyeballing just doesn't work.

Start high and work down to a lower number as the months go by and your body keeps adjusting to less calories. And always be aware of what you need and how you feel especially if you're exercising. I am not a big fan of eat whatever you want all the time as long as its under the calories, I know its so important to get the nutrients in and the best thing for me has been the fact that after a couple of weeks my palette changes and things like broccoli and pesto is to die for ;D

I am starting at 1600-1800 when weight loss slows down go down to 1400-1600 and 1200-1400 on the days when I'm not doing any exercise. I'm cycling for one hour aprox 5 days a week and hope to fit in gym time to do weights and classes.