I did a day yesterday just eating healthy and tallied up my day's calories. First I tallied up my points like I would on Weight Watchers which was 29 points. I get 30 in a day. That was very shocking. I then tallied up my calories for the day and came up with 1690. I was figuring on a range around 1600-1800 daily so you can just imagine how shocked I was realizing that I had a lot to work with.

I also want to thank everyone for their support here. I feel at home and I also think I will lose these 80 1/2 lbs. I have one day ahead next month which is my birthday and I'll be fine no matter what. If I goof up and splurge some, it won't be the end of the world but I'll try to eat sensibly where possible. I have a sick Mom and I have a huge stress on me right now. I got some awful news yesterday that was bad enough to make me binge but something in me won't. It just won't help to lose control like a year ago and gain back 50 lbs. lost. No way! Whatever happens, food is not going to comfort me. I think that calorie counting ought to help me quite a bit. No meetings, no extra money spent except for books with calorie counts and I know that it works because I have done it in the past and it's so easy to do.

I went to Boston Market yesterday. I was surprised to see they had a booklet on Nutritional Info for their food. It worked out very well for me. I was very impressed that I was full. The only thing I don't eat is their cornbread. I think it has too much sugar and I could spend my calories elsewhere. As it turned out, I could have eaten it without a sweat which is so funny because I would still have been within range. Who knew?

I realize I need to have a little note pad to write calories down. Any pointers with this? How do you keep track? If I were living alone it would be easier but my Mom is all about end of life issues and for now wants to eat dinner out every night so I have to adjust to whatever she wants and work around it. I've been able to deal with that spur of the moment eating but some days I just know go conservative and don't dwell on it.

Hey NurseChef,

Calorie counting is definitely an easy program to fit with a varying situation like yours. You can eat at restaurants every night and still manage to stay within your range, but it does take some attention. Good for you for keeping track!

A lot of us here use the FitDay calculator on line (or as the downloaded version) or TheDailyPlate. Having a small notebook to write things down in is a good idea, and you can use both! That is, list your foods in your notebook when you're out, and then enter them later into the computer program.

For some the computer is a convenience, but for others it's not--so do what seems easiest for you. Web sites like Calorie King allow you to look up a lot of foods, and often restaurants have nutritional info on their own sites.

After you've done this awhile, you'll know what a serving size looks like and can estimate pretty closely. I go to Boston Market from time to time--my calories are lower than yours, though, so I usually skip the starches, get vegetables. I love their chicken pot pies, but they have WAY too many calories! (around 900)

Good luck! Sounds like you have a lot to deal with, but at least you now know how to eat well.

Jay

Congratulations on finding a plan that works for you. Jay is right. A combination works well. I can usually remember everything I eat throughout the day (mindful eating really helps here), but occasionally, I note what I have eaten and log it into Fitday later (PC version). Is there a notepad option on your cell phone? Do you carry a PDA? Do you carry a small notepad in your purse? All of these are good ways to make notes to yourself. From work, I sometimes email myself as a reminder (usually if I deviate from my plan).
If I plan my menu and my day, I enter it into Fitday ahead of time, and then adjust as needed. This really helps me stay accountable if I eat out. Knowing exactly how much I have planned for keeps me from grabbing that slice of bread in the basket on the table, etc.

Try a few things and see what works best for you - there is no right or wrong way to journal your calories - the important thing is just doing it

Thank you both for your support! I am going to carry a little note pad but also I want to get a pocket size or should I say a purse size calorie count book that I can quickly glance at and get that info I need right away. I am bound and determined to get rid of these next 80 1/2 pounds. I am going to work on this for Year 2008. My focus is just get into a safe weight for my 5 ft. 5 in. height and maintain it. I'll worry about the rest later on. This weight will allow me to get medical insurance and also allow me a chance to just maintain and get my so called "second wind". Those last 30 pounds are going to be slow and harder to get rid of and I know it!

Counting
I do the same thing lol. Generally plan out what I am going to eat tomorrow tonight and put it on fit day. I see no difference in this than when I took meat out of the freezer the night before for dinner. If things change for some reason I go in and change fit day. I do carry a little notebook in my purse in case we decide to get something while we are out, doesn't happen to often. The thought of other people touching my food YUCK lol.

I'm ok with food prep in a restaurant. I just want to be honest with myself and eat properly to get rid of weight, trying to stay enthused and excited.

I make sure, 95% of the time lol, that i get the required amounts of the four basic food groups in.

An eletronic scale is very useful as well. Keeps you honest when you are pouring out that cereal or whatever! Also, guestimating how many calories is in the "medium" sweet potato you just ate is pretty hit or miss. Doing it by grams SOO much easier for me.

I've found that the easiest way to keep track of what I'm eating is to know what I'm having for the day that morning. If possible, that's the best way. Then you know what you can and can't have. I keep my food diary in a little notebook. I jot down what I ate and the calories/fat grams. I usually don't tally it up at the end of the day. For me, the diary is just a way of ensuring I don't eat more than what I intended that day.

Hello All,

I just joind the form last week. I decided that i should start 2008 in a healthy way and get rid of my extra 100lb. I find the idea of keeping track of what you eat is very good, foucault.

I jumped on the scale tonight and I found that I am 240lb. Hating myself to be so near to the end of my bathroom scale, I am hopeful because this morning I decided to plan ahead for my meals. I hope this will work for me. To give myself a jump start, I decided to become vegiterian for 9 days.

I planned 6 meals/day. However, counting the calories in my 6 meals, I found the total to be 410 calories. I think this is too low. However, I made a table with 9 columns and everyday I will write down what I ate and how much calories I had. I am hoping to reach 1000 calories/day.

My other plan is to do more exercise. However, I currently get tired quickly when I do hard exercise. I will try to walk at least 30 min/day until I reach 200lb. Then I intend to go to the gym and exercise in moderation.

I really hope to stick to this plan. Every pound I gain makes me feel more depressed. I was 180lb 1.5 years ago. Back then, I was annoyed because I felt I was fat! Now, I feel terrible!

Are you saying that you the total calories per day for 6 meals is only 410? That seems pretty impossible unless you are eating just raw fruits and vegetables and in small portions. No this is not healthy and 1000 calories is not healthy either.

In general, it takes a minimum of 1200 calories per day to have a nutritionally balanced day. If you consistently eat less then this you are only setting yourself up for failure, mucking with your health and metabolism and only going to make the next attempt to lose weight that more difficult.

Where are you getting your advice for this diet plan? I think you are missing the whole point of being a vegetarian.

Look around this site a bit more, read the success stories. You will be hard pressed to find anyone that took this approach and it worked. So why do you think it would be different for you?

We want you to be successful, we want you to be healthy - please rethink your plan.

Lori

I went and talked to a nutritionist, she said I should have at least half what I eat as vegitables especially lettuce and decrease the amount of carbs and protiens I eat.

I have the following plan which is not pure vegiterian I still eat dairy products and eggs.

So every two hours I have the following schedule:
1) 1 egg and 1 fat free toast = 60 + 40 = 100 calories
2) One cup of strawberries = 50 calories
3) 1/2 a bag of lettuce and 1/2 a bag of spinach = 10+10=20
4) Steamed vegitables (2 servings) = 100 calories
5) 1/2 a bag of lettuce and 1/2 a bag of spinach = 10+10=20
6) 1 cup of fat free yoghurt 120 calories

total: 100+50+20+100+20+120= 410

I am having protiens (eggs and yoghurt), inaddition to a piece of toast. The rest is raw/ steamed vegitables and fruits.

I can't think of adding more healthy food to the list. I thought I should try it for a day and see how hungry I will feel. I am used to easting pasta, cheese, and chicken. I really don't want to add these to the list.

Any advice? I will look around to see how I can improve my plan.

That really is almost nothing to eat. I would predict that you could maybe last a few days doing that, but at some point you will feel very hungry! That can lead to binges and throwing in the towel!!

There are lots of healthy foods you can eat -- not to mention just eating MORE! If you want to be a vegetarian, it can be tricky to get the nutrition in, but think about trying beans! And what about more dairy? Cottage cheese is an excellent source of protein.

And you also really need some fat in your diet! Please talk to the nutritionist. Fat helps us actually absorb nutrition and keeps us healthy! Healthy vegetatarian sources of fat come from foods like olives and olive oil, nuts and nut butters, avocados...

Please talk to your nutritionist about your specific plan and see what he or she says!!

As a calorie counting vegetarian, I am going to echo what Heather said. Talk to your nutritionist. See what type of plan they suggest.

Think lifestyle change. Think slow, steady habit change. Eating so few calories is a recipe for failure. Heather is right, you need to balance your foods. I aim for a 40/30/30 (carbs, protein, fat) split while making sure my calories come from whole, nutritious foods. We eat a lot of beans, yogurt, nuts (and nut butters), and low-fat cheeses as protein sources. I also try to combine beans or nuts and grains for more complete proteins throughout the day.

I like your plan to eat regularly throughout the day. This has been a very successful strategy for me. Just increase the amount of food that you are eating each time - and try to balance each of those meals with protein and carbs and fat as much as you can.

A typical menu for me would be:
Breakfast - High fiber cereal with soymilk (150 cals)
Snack - fruit and a low-fat string cheese stick (150 cals)
Lunch - brown rice and beans, steamed veggies (300 cals)
Snack - apple with peanut butter - (150 cals)
Dinner - salad, stir-fried veggies, ww pasta with marinara sauce and Morningstar farms chicken strips (350 cals)
Snack - glass of dry red wine, Wasa cracker and cheese (200 cals)

Total - 1300 calories

I also take a multi-vitamin daily, just in case I miss a nutrient or two on my restricted calorie intake.

I have averaged losing 2 lbs. per week eating real, wonderful, satisfying foods. I have given up nothing -all foods are OK to eat - some are better than others. Learning to eat some foods less often and healthier foods more often has been a real key for me. Lots of veggies everyday - chocolate and cheesecake - not so frequently - LOL

I would be shocked if any qualified dietician thought your menu was appropriate.

Here is one of my days. This actually was higher in fat than typical for me (29% vs. 25%). The calories came in at 1532, my fiber at 44g and my sodium less than 2300mg. You could eliminate the one non-veggie item I had and still be healthier then what you are proposing:

Breakfast:
50g Fiber One Honey Oats Cereal
20g Fiber One Cereal
8oz Skim Milk
2oz Pomegranate Juice
1 Banana
20oz Coffee

Snack:
1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper
35g Hidden Valley Fat Free Ranch

Lunch:
1 Amy's Burritto
65g Paul Newman Peach Salsa
1 Apple

Snack
1oz Almonds - Wasabi & Soy

Dinner:
6oz Salmon (5oz would have been enough)
7oz Roasted Asparagus

Typically I would have a nighttime snack or 100 calorie dessert but I was full from the large piece of Salmon.

Plus I worked out that day light cardio (45min) and 1 hr weight training. And I drank 72oz of water throughout the day.