I am new to calorie counting. I just saw a nutritionist yesterday for the first time and I was given my calorie intake limits and some suggestions. Today was my first day actually recording the calories that I eat, and I even made sure to only serve myself the recommended serving size as stated on the nutritional facts on the bags and boxes of food (even pulled out my rarely used measuring cups).

I felt really proud of myself for limiting my portions and making healthy choices in vegetables, fruits, and other food groups. When I went grocery shopping, I made sure to get such things as whole wheat, and even the Dannon Fit & Light yogurts because they had the least amount of calories.

But when I got home and started preparing my meals as suggested by the nutritionist, I started adding up the calories and in just one meal I nearly hit my daily calorie intake limit! Now I'm very confused about how I am supposed to divide these calories up while still getting a good meal as suggested to me by my nutritionist.

Does anyone have any suggestions at all?

What did your nutritionist suggest? Can you give us more info about what that one meal was?

I use Fitday (fitday.com) PC version (the online version is free) to count my calories. It really helps me

What daily calorie intake are you striving for?

Post some specifics, and I'm sure that we can help you figure out a way to make calorie counting work for you. IMHO - it is a great lifestyle change that CAN be sustained for LIFE!!!!

Can you maybe list what you had today? I'd venture a guess either portion sizes are off or maybe whatever you are using to look stuff up is off? Kinda hard to tell without more detail.

Oh yeah -

Yes - more details please! We can probably make some suggestions. What is your calorie limit? What did you eat today?

Yes, more info would be helpful! I used to have a lot of problems getting it to all add up. But now I think about it in meal chunks. Like if I'm aiming for 1500 (my current range is 1500-1600) breakfast is 350 morning snack is 100 lunch is 400, afternoon snack is 150 and dinner is 500. None of these amounts are fixed, somedays breakfast is 200 and lunch is 650 without a mornign snack and so forth. It just helped me in the beginning to plan by meal instead of a whole day at once. And even now that it comes relatively naturally, it helps in case I can't figure out how much is too much.

Best of luck to you! It sounds like you made a good trip and I'm sure the ladies here can help you with wonderful meals.

I plan my meals and calories before I eat . It's kind of like having money in the bank , I can't spend more than I have in the bank.
I have 1500 calories per day , I plan my meals and snacks around that figure,being careful to spread the calories thru the day and not eat them all at one meal.
How many calories per day did the nutritionist suggest?

My range is 1200-1500... and to be honest.. I only had 1 meal yesterday plus a snack. In my one meal I had 2 chicken tacos made from 1 small chicken breast the size of my palm. The tortillas were whole wheat and all I put on them was a few slices of avocado (not even half) and half a slice of cheese. The chicken was seasoned, but none of the seasonings had calories in them. I also had 2/3 cup of corn and a small (4 oz) yogurt. For my snack earlier in the day I had a hot dog (I hadn't gone grocery shopping yet, else I would have had a fruit or something) and 8 oz. of OJ.

My nutritionist suggested that my plate proportions should be divided by splitting the plate into three parts.. one half should be veggies, a quarter should be protein, and the other quarter should be carbs. Then on the side I should have one serving of fruit and one serving of dairy. That is the dinner plate by the way, which I thought I had kept to. Is there a better way to split things up?

I think it would be more accurate to count the calories in each item rather than going by portion sizes, too many variables. How did you determine that you had hit your calorie limit in one meal ? At 1200-1500 calories you should be able to divide that into 3 meals and a couple of snacks.

By my calculations:
Chicken breast - 130
Wheat tortillas - 280 (140 each)
1/2 avocado (I know you said less, but I'm erring high): 160
Half slice of cheese - 45 cals (obviously this depends what kind, but that seemed pretty standard for a lot of cheeses)
Corn - 90
Yogurt - 50
Hot dog - 150
Orange juice - 120
Now, obviously a lot depends on brands and whatnot... but I'm getting a total of 1025.

It definitely sounds like you didn't eat a lot, but be careful of foods that are very calorie dense. I always check calories before eating, and for example, for me, two tortillas aren't worth close to 300 calories: I'll pack more into one, or have it plain, etc. It's all about tradeoffs. I think once you do more calorie counting, you'll learn what seems "high" and "low," and then can judge appropriately. To hit 1500, think of each meal as 500 calories. If one is lower, you can add a snack (definitely a good idea to snack). If one is higher, make your next meal lower. Etc.

I have a similar calorie limit to you, so feel free to check out my DailyPlate and see what I've been eating: http://www.thedailyplate.com/diary/who/SceneStealer. I'm definitely not perfect, but I generally come close to what I'm supposed to eat. Yesterday I even had extra calories and had some ice cream for dessert!

I did count the calories in each item... I made a mistake by saying in one meal... the hot dog is what made me hit my limit... This is what I had: 1 small chicken (cooked in oil.. I tried to catch my husband before he added the oil, but it was too late) - 253; avocado - 120; 2 whole wheat tortillas - 260; 1 slice cheese (half on each taco) - 60; 2 tbsp ranch - 80; 2/3 cup corn - 100; 1 (4 oz) yogurt - 40; 8 oz OJ - 110. This all totals to 1023... just in one meal. The hot dog (which I will never eat again) was 310 (hot dog - 170; 1 slice white bread - 120; ketchup - 20).... all totaled is 1333, which doesn't leave me hardly anything for Breakfast and Lunch.

Laura, I took a look at your food diary.. this site is interesting.. I may consider doing this... I was keeping a written diary because I have to show it to my nutritionist.. your bio on the side sounds just like me! I'm 22, female, and that is my favorite quote :]

Trying thinking about it like tradeoffs. For example, you don't have to 'never eat a hot dog again'. Save a hot dog as a snack when you've had really low-cal meals that day.

I usually break my day down as:
Breakfast: 200-400
Morning snack: 50-150
Lunch: 300-500
Afternoon snack: 50-150
Dinner: 400-600
Evening snack: 100-200

All those ranges vary depending on what I ate at the other meals. For example, if my afternoon snack was raw veggies like green peppers or celery, I usually treat myself to a fun "real" dessert (ice cream, brownie, etc). If I had a cookie for an afternoon snack, I might have half of a frozen banana for dessert instead. Hope that helps!

Also, I hope this doesn't come off as spam, but I just started a blog, and I post my dinner recipes every night (I usually bring the leftovers for lunch the next day). I JUST started the blog a few days ago, so there are only a few recipes there now, but you could try some of them. I also always post the recipes on DailyPlate, so you can check out my user history there to see others.

Don't stress too much - I promise calorie counting gets easier as you go!

Hmm.. I'm thinking a lot of this is trial and error... since I have never done calorie counting.. I have to learn what is good and what isn't.. even though it may sound alright to begin with.. when added to other things.. it might not be. I'm really determined to do good. I have to prove to my doctor's that I mean to keep to this because I am supposed to be getting the weight loss surgery. My weight has started to affect my breathing.. and now I am having back problems. My goal is to lose all my extra weight and become fit so that i could join the military.. it's a dream that I've always had. Hopefully now I can do so.

I eat an occaisional hot dog but save calories by not putting it on a bun. It tastes just fine eaten with a fork. Corn is high in calories there are other vegies lower in calories. You learn this as you go along.I personally keep my diary with pen and paper. Many people use the internet , there are several good ones, it is just a matter of preferance.

i have to have a hard copy for my nutritionist so I will keep a hand written journal, but I may consider an online copy just for a backup. I bought a ton of veggies yesterday.. frozen ones because my finance budget doesn't allow me to get too many fresh veggies. I love squash and zucchini myself. I also got things like spinach (I love to add to rice) and green beans.