I am new to calorie counting. I will be starting tomorrow. I am 5/6 257 pounds and 20. Is 2000 calories ok to start with? On this website I googled it sad to times 13 times your weight and thats the calories to eat. Which was like 3300 calories? Thats a lot. So i think 1500 is to low and 2000 sounds good. If im wrong please correct me. I am about to measure my food out for tomorrow. If anyone has any tips on what to stay away from please help me. I have already promised myself I wouldnt drink soda and try and stay away from white starches.

You might want to sign up for a free service like fitday or sparkpeople.com to give you a calorie range, and to help you track.

Breanna.... Good for you on your new beginning. 3300 cal is way too much. The calculation must be off. You were right to pick closer to 2000. You should check out the intro posts under calorie counters. There are some good things under the basic advice. I myself have been counting my calories for the past month now and am down over 15 pounds. I watch saturated fat and then calories next. I keep my sat fat level for the day between 8 - 12g after that the calories fall into place between 1300 and 1600 cal. (I wouln't start so low in calories ...I'm being supervised by my doctor and dietitian). One useful site that I use every day is nutritiondata.com or webmd.com. You can find and track your food for the day. I wouldn't be able to do it without it. ...and when you have things under control to eat out I have some great finds.

Congrats on your first step!