It seems that a lot of people on this board are calorie counting. Due to an athletic injury, I'm unable to work out at my previous activity level. So, I (obviously) can't eat as much, and was thinking about calorie counting.

How did you determine your daily caloric intake goals?
What are the best (prefereably free!) online tracking tools?
-FitDay is a bit of a pain in the butt.

Thanks!

I used to use FitDay, but now I use The Daily Plate. It's on the livestrong.com website. I find that TDP has more foods in it's database. You can also enter in your weight, age and activity level and it will tell you how many calories you can/should eat. Be aware that this is just a good estimated starting point; some people find they have to adjust their calories up or down to lose. But it has been pretty accurate for me.

Best of luck!

I determined my intake goals by trial and error. I learned that I wasn't eating enough and have slowly increased to between 1300 - 1500 calories per day, depending on whether I exercise. I may try to bump the range up even 100 cal more (1400 - 1600) to see what happens.

I use FitDay. I set my activity level to sedentary and use the Miffin equation as opposed to the Harris-Benedict (you can edit these on the "home" tab) because it is a little less forgiving.

Then, I just enter in whatever activities I've done throughout the day and for how long.

I find this is pretty accurate, as I did successfully lose fifty pounds. I gained ten back, but that was my own fault

Whatever you do, do not go below 1200 calories. Your body needs at least that much to function well.

I am also a big fan of The Daily Plate.. I tried the other Fitday.. and it was complicated and alot of my foods weren't there.. and TDP has most of them.. I also consume between 1400-1500 calories a day... But I have stopped losing weight.. very discouraging with all the exercise that I do... uuummm

I use myfitnesspal (dot) com

If there isn't a food listed then there is an option to enter it in. It also have a diary for exercise, and general notes that some of the other sites don't have.

I actually print it out and take my entries to my dietician every month. It tracks calories, carbs, proteins, etc. and she really likes the lay out.

When I did count calories, I used caloriecount.com....there is a place to determine your amount needed a day.

Thanks, everyone!
I started using The Daily Plate yesterday and really like it.

Just eat 6 times a day, 3 meals and 3 snacks, and drink plenty of water....and you'll be fine..just make sure it healthy meals and snacks..

I like Fitday but think you should use whatever works. I am just starting to track my calories again. Hope we are all successful!

I started using the DailyPlate too, I love it

rachin,

I see you don't have very much to lose. I would recommend probably 1400 to begin in addition to getting more movement. See where that gets you two weeks down the road. I did not go by any online calculators. I try for nutrient dense, low-cal foods and just judge by how my measurements and scale are going.

Calorie counting has been a GOD send for me. I love it. The thing I love about it most--well there are several:

1. Flexibility---you can eat as you like as long as you build it in to your day

2. Cheap---fits any budget

3. No Special Foods---eat like the rest of your family

4. Educational---retrains your brain to see what a portion looks like/feels like, helps you make decisions when at restaurants or dining at a friends

5. Long-term completely DOABLE---doesn't depend on mail delivery, doesn't depend on a physician or nutritionist, doesn't depend on a meeting...etc.----completely INTERNAL---it's all about YOU!

Tracking on Spark People dot com is quite easy too.

dwizzlex: Just eating 3 meals and 3 snacks never works for me. I'm very numbers-oriented and naturally obsess about nutrional info.

TBG: Unfortunately, upping my exercise is a problem right now. I'm weight training, but my cardio has been nil for the past 6-8 weeks due to a pretty serious calf injury. I went from exercising 6-8 hours a week to almost zero and put on 5lbs, seemingly overnight.

Until I get get my activity level back to what I consider an acceptable and maintainable level, I'm trying to be very careful about what I put in my mouth.

Thanks!