Alright, tomorrow is my first day of calorie counting. I am switching over from the diet program I've been on, and what I would like is...

ANY tips or advice on things that have helped you with calorie counting. What has been the most important thing that you have learned?

THanks for the help!!

www.thedailyplate.com Without a doubt THE most helpful thing for me. For some reason, logging each bite makes me much more aware of what's going into my body. My husband just started using it 3 weeks ago and he agrees completely.

After that, probably making the most of the calories I have. Lean protein, complex starches, and fresh fruits are my favorite ways to stay satisfied. I still allow "treats" in my calorie range...but I find that more often than not I hate to use my calories up like that. If I want to, I do, but generally it isn't even worth it to me, anymore.

Good luck!

The best thing I have is a program I use for my palm pilot. I don't know if you have one, but I use it just for the program which is downloaded from CalorieKing. This allows me to put in what I eat each meal and the exercise I do for the day. The program has a data base of thousands of foods/restaurants etc. and general calories burned for tons of exercises. I would not have been able to be where I am without this program!! Good luck!

Planning ahead and keeping a log of every bite.

Planning ahead is the most important thing for me. Everynight I get my food for the next day ready and this is extrememly helpful! At night I have more time to plan and make sure what I eat will add up to what I'm allowed for the day which is 1200 calories. Also my food is ready and waiting at meal time so I wont end up eating something not healthy because I'm pressed for time and need a quick fix. Basically it's easier for me to make good decisions the night before so I never have to think about food planning and counting calories during the day.

Inputting my meal before I make it if possible, its suprising how stuff adds up and how much you can adjust if you just know! Also saving calories for an evening snack if needed, I try to plan at least 200 calories at the end of the day for a snack. I plan (for me) Breakfast, Lunch, Snack (afternoon munchies ALWAYS get me) Dinner and Snack.

If I am not hungry then I skip the snack/s and have a low end of range day or allow myself a meal that is more substantial or calorie consuming (still haven't found a way to make my healthy homemade pizza come in under 450 )

Good luck and remember you may need 4 or 5 days to adjust to eating this way but once you have its a great way to go!

1. Log every bite- EVERY bite- tastes test included. On my Fitday account, I made up a 100 calorie "Extra Calories" for times when I might take a bite or two of a store sample or a snack item that someone may have shared with me and I wasn't able to read the label to figure out how many caloriess I had.

2. Myself- I juggle my calories around daily. Look in my blog in my signature for "The Wendie Plan in Calories". If I know ahead of time that a special occasion is coming up, I use that as my high day (BBQ, weddings, out to lunch with friends, etc.). If something comes up unexpectedly that I go over on a day, I shave off calories the rest of the week until I've brought the average down to where it should be for the week.

3. I never deprive myself. If I want a Mounds bar, I eat a fun sized bar, but at night just before I go to bed so I don't crave more, lol (once in awhile, I do deviate and have it during the day- just make sure you're strong enough to say "no" after one.). Same with any other food- I enjoy it, but count every bite. 100 Calorie packs have been my friend for when I have the munchies.

4. Get a food scale, as measuring cups don't accurately measure the food, and often times, you end up consuming more calories than the serving amount alloted. Weight scales are much, much more accurate. I count everything by grams, except for meat, to which I use the ounce measurement. The one I use, you can put any bowl or plate on it, and it will set itself to zero so you can measure things like cereal right in the bowl.

5. Exercise! Even if it's just walking in place in your living room while watching TV or listening to tunes for a half of an hour, just do it. Also, when I watch TV, I keep a resistant band next to me and used it during the commercials.

Best of luck! I enjoy this diet much better than any other out there. It's just commen sense- consume less calories, exercise more= weight loss.

Sheila, you're going to do great.

Mostly I want to echo what others have said: log your food, PLAN, PLAN, PLAN and make sure you're getting most of your calories from veggies and lean proteins. I also agree with the food scale recommendation. I couldn't live without mine.

Good luck!

thanks for the tips guys. I will need to get a scale. I went to the store tonight and stocked up on Sugar free Oatmeal, Special K, FF cottage cheese, FF yoghurt, some lean deli sliced turkey, boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen shrimp, light whole grain bread and LF soymilk Hmmmmm... I already have tons of fruits and veggies (fresh and frozen). I will also still be keeping some of my entrees from my diet as they're convenient because they don't have to be frozen or refridgerated and are VERY low in calories.

So I think I'm going to get on fitday (after I check out thedailyplate) and record my stuff for tomorrow to see how things add up.

Exercise is definitly not an issue with me right now. I get plenty of that...in fact I don't watch tv. I find if I watch one show then I'll watch 2 shows and then end up in front of the television all night.

Anyhow...THANKS guys!!! I"ll let you know how my first day goes tomorrow!

I'm watching this thread with interest as I just started today!!

I am off to search for that Palm program ...

I tried fitday for about a week but I just couldn't keep up with the logging. It was actually discouraging me b/c I was seeing how much less I was eating than I was burning and the weight wasn't dropping at the rate I thought it should based on that. I just quit using it after a week or so.

I did find exercise to be one of the best things that helped me. Not only does it burn extra calories and build muscle but I find that the harder I work out, the less I want to eat junk. It just takes so much effort to burn it off...why put it in there in the first place. Now, not saying that works all the time, I'm eating junk more than I should again now that I'm close to goal but in the beginning it really helped.

Sheila, it sounds as if you've gotten everything under control.

I LOVE calorie counting. It's my way of portion control. I MUST always count or at least estimate my calories. It's what keeps me accountable - to myself.

You've gotten some great advice. I just want to mention that it does get easier and simpler and you go along.

For example - I have one of 2 or 3 breakfasts every day. One of several lunches every day and one of a bunch of dinners. I already know all these calorie counts, I've added them up the once and have memorized them. So I don't need to count them every single day. I sort of just mix and match so to speak and can tally up my calories right in my head. I know what all my snacks are as well. So, you really will get used to it and shortly at that.

Same thing goes with measuring. I've already measured what a 4 oz chicken breast looks like. Or 3 cups of cauliflower and so on. So now I just eyeball it - always estimating UP, just to be safe. I will ALWAYS measure my cereal though, it's too easy for me to overeat that and "eyeball" it incorrectly.

You'll get the hang of it. I have no doubt. I'm excited for you! Good luck.

Yup, planning. And you sound like you've done a bunch of that. Your grocery list sounds wonderful.
Measure, measure, measure.
I fiddle with fitday all the time. I pick a blank day and enter different meals and combo's just to see how they add up. You can remove them all after you've studied them.
Don't try to figure out your exercise expenditure yet. Almost all computer generated estimates are flawed.

You two should start a thread "We're Starting to Count Calories Today" or something like that.

Okay, so today is going well. I have a question though. I decided to use thedailyplate and it's great! It actually has the meals and meal replacements from my previous diet so I can add those if I decide to have one!! I was thrilled to see that!!

Now..my question is.. It tells me that I can consume something like 3,500 calories a day and lose 2 lbs a week. Is that for real? I mean...I don't intend on eating that much, I don't think I could. Then I put in my exercise and it's telling me I need to eat more?!?! Today I burned 1893 calories ALREADY with exercise. This is a LIGHT day for me. Should I be eating closer to 2,000 or even 2,200 calories a day???

Help me out guys! So far I'm up to 1,100 calories for the day after my afternoon snack.

Well, I'm off to the gym!

Sheila I urge you to please, please, PLEASE ignore the activity portion of all these calorie counter things. THey are HIGHLY inaccurate. I have never once went by those things. If I had listened to those things I'd still be obese. I keep my calories separate. I keep my exercise separate. I eat what I eat. And I burn what I burn. If I get in some extra exercise one day, I look at it as a bonus.

Keep on doing all the phenomenal exercise you are doing. Keep to YOUR calorie range that you've been doing.

Sounds like you are doing just fine. 1100 calories and you still have to eat dinner - that sounds perfect.