(Yes, another thread) Calorie question
 

I've been ordered to switch from low-carb to calorie counting. I'm still afraid I'm going to go over and start quickly packing on the pounds. Since I haven't actually eaten carbs in many many moons, I'm concerned about the quantity of food I'm eating. Could anyone let me know if this seems like the right amount of food, too much, or too little, so far today? (I won't get to see my OB for another 5 weeks, so I'm a little SOL until then)

Breakfast
- 1 package Kashi GoLean hot cereal
- .25 cups blueberries (frozen, mixed in)
- 2 scrambled eggs (no butter, .25 tsp salt)
- 16 oz water

Snack @ park
- 1 package apple slices (40 calories, and about a third of it went to the dogs ><)
- 1 oz almonds (salted)
- 1 oz co-jack cheese
- 12 oz water

FitDay guesstimates that I'm already at around 600 calories. I'm still hungry, though, and have lunch, another snack, and dinner to get through. Feedback? Suggestions?

I know people recommend nuts but I find when calorie counting they use up so many calories. What I do now is use half a serving of peanut butter on celery so I am eating less calories and yet getting more food overall.

How many calories are you planning on eating per day ? It is important
to plan ahead. I plan my meals for the day, usually the nite before, takes me about 5 minutes. I usually stick to my plan but can change if necessary sticking to my calorie allowance. Calorie counting is something you can do long term. I still do it to maintain my loss.
I notice you don't have the calories listed,except for one item. You really need to account for all calories. It is not difficult to do and is so worth it.

I actually don't know how many I should be eating. My mom said to go for 1,500, which seems awfully low. But, then again, 1,800 seems awfully high. :P

As far as listing calories, I was going off the notes in my notebook, and had jotted down that 40 cals next to the apples. I have all the calories (as accurately as possible) logged into FitDay.

It is important to plan ahead, if you are posting them after you have eaten you may run out of calories before noon! You have just so many calories per day. I eat 6 times a day, not 6 meals but 6 times about every 3 hours. Breakfast,snack, lunch, snack. dinner, snack. The snacks are usually under 100 calories.

Altari: In your post you mention your next visit to the OB. I am sorry if this is too personal a question, are you currently pregnant? If so then you want to be eating more than just 1500 calories to make sure that the baby gets all of the nutrients it needs especially protein and calcium.

I agree that I stay away from nuts and usually go for peanut butter because it is more filling. I usually put it on celery or apple slices if I am having it with something.

I notice you do not have many vegetables yet in your day. I would make sure that my lunch and dinner had a variety of veggies in them. The fiber in the vegetables can be really filling.:)

Originally Posted by bargoo:
It is important to plan ahead, if you are posting them after you have eaten you may run out of calories before noon! You have just so many calories per day. I eat 6 times a day, not 6 meals but 6 times about every 3 hours. Breakfast,snack, lunch, snack. dinner, snack. The snacks are usually under 100 calories.

I second this. If I'm at around 700 cals after lunch I know I'm good to go. Sometimes I have to drop a snack if I eat a bigger breakfast or morning snack.

Also, after you've been calorie counting for a couple weeks your body gets used to the amount of calories you're consuming and you're a lot less hungry (has been the case for me at least). It may just take a bit for you to switch gears between the two plans. I'm aiming for 1500 calories but lately I've been busy and stressed and I'm having trouble eating even that much! :dizzy:

I love nuts, cheese, and eggs etc but they can be high in fat and calories so I tend to keep my portions really small or just eat egg whites.

You mentioned you used Fitday. It's SO helpful to use a program to keep track. Often I'll put my meal values into fitday and tweak them around until I get a number I like, then measure and prepare my meal.

Hope that helps!

If you are pregnant you need to talk to your doctor about the calorie level that's apropriate for you :).

I don't have an answer to your question, but I did want to give you a heads up, based on my experience. I was on low carb for the first 9 months of my weight-loss. When I switched to calorie counting, I was starving (and basically holding steady weight-wise) for 3-4 weeks. I think my body had forgotten how to process carbs or something. I was just about ready to throw in the towl, but after a month or so, everything has started falling into place. I actually lost 3.5 lbs last week. So, don't get discouraged if the switch in plans doesn't seem to be working at first. Just stick with it!

Oh, and ditto the planning ahead. Even if you don't plan exactly what foods you will have at each meal, I'd at least plan the number of calories for each meal.

Aha! A light has dawned! I missed the OB remark. But I see being pregnant is not new to you. I see you have found the Pregnant-Nursing Forum. I think the best advice should come from your doctor. He/she can tell you how many calories are appropriate.

Hm.

You're eating a lot of calorie dense stuff that doesn't have a lot of volume to help you feel full. Almonds and cheese in the same snack, for example, gives you a lot of cals for not very little volume.

For my snacks I like to mix one protein and/or fat rich item with something that is less calorie intense. Like a WHOLE apple (not giving part of it to the dogs! :) ) and cheese. Eating the whole apple will help you feel a lot fuller than just a few slices and the cheese and almonds.

Or I might have a container of Fage yogurt (130 cals) and a handful of blueberries (3/4 cup is only 80 cals).

Another favorite snack of mine is a serving of steel cut oats (1/4 cup dry is 150 cals) with 1/2 a serving of shredded sharp cheddar cheese mixed in (60 cals).

Veggies in hummus is another one; 1/4 cup of hummus has about 100 cals, but you can dip tons of veggies for very few calories and really fill up.

.

Yes, if you are preggers, it's different. If not, you should be at about 1600 calories a day right now to lose weight.

I'd say, consult with your OB! Make a sooner appointment if needed. It's critically important that you get enough vitamins and nutrients at this point in pregnancy. Your doctor should tell you how many calories to be eating, and if he or she doesn't know, have them give you a referral to someone who will.

Jay

You shouldn't be trying to lose weight when you are pregnant. Your OB may not want you to gain much, but I'm fairly certain she won't want you to continue to diet. Obviously talk to your doctor about it, but I think you should just be trying to maintain right now. I'd think that 2000 calories is not unreasonable.

Your breakfast looks fine to me, but your snack is heavy on the fat. I choose either the almonds or the cheese and add some more veggies or a carb with fiber (like a whole grain cracker.) Nut butter on whole grain bread and yogurt with fruit are good snacks as well.

I'm 5'6, same as you, and weigh 6lbs more than you and according to the daily plate, I should eat around 1790 a day to lose 2lbs a week. If you're pregnant, like they said you should get a calorie rec from your doctor. Just in general, though, 1800 is not low for your weight.

Thanks guys.

PhotoChick - I didn't even think about the "denseness" of the foods. Almonds with cheese was a standard snack on low-carb, so I figured throwing in an apple would help. :P

MonteCristo - Thanks for the heads up on the hunger.

Re : Pregnancy - I'm going to the same OB that I have for the other three. She likes me to continue to lightly diet (up to 2 pounds per week) during the first 5 months, and then begin to gain. When I had my second, I actually lost 30 pounds during the first 5.5 months, and gained 15 pounds in the last trimester. She was thrilled with it. I can't see her earlier, since this is a repeat. I see the nurse on Saturday, but the OB herself won't see me until I'm 3 months along (assuming all the blood work comes back OK).

Edited to add : I found a site that said to add 300 calories to however much you *should* be eating, so maybe I should just to stick to the good ol' 2,000 calorie a day diet (1,700 for me, 300 for the belly).

Altari-

You need to be eating more than 1500 or 1800 calories a day when you are pregnant. 1500 and 1800 calories a day are WEIGHT LOSS calorie levels, depending on what your current weight and fitness level are.

Just by looking at your ticker, etc. I would suggest 2000 calories a day for your FIRST trimester. This is actually what I was recommended to eat during the first trimester of my most recent pregnancy. During your second and third trimesters, however, that amount needs to go up by about 200-300 calories a day-so you would be consuming approximately 2200-2300 a day during the second and third trimester.

You need slightly less (2000) during the first trimester, because most of the baby's development is going to be more detail oriented (all of the organs, limbs, etc.) during that time while the baby stays small in size.

The extra calories come in (2200-2300 a day) during the second and third trimesters, because at that time, the baby is already perfectly formed-it those trimesters are where the length and weight of the baby start growing rapidly.

I had the same questions as you did for my doctor when I became pregnant with my third, and this was what was recommended to me. :) Please be sure to talk to your physician or a dietician to back up the information that I was given.

Much better advice on the right eating for being preggers from the others - and for sure check with your OB - I know you won't be seeing her right away but maybe you could write up an average days meal plan and ask the nurse to have her approve it?

Really wanted to pop in with my 2 cents on the switch from low carb to calorie counting - It's a little bit of a flip in mindset but don't be scared of adding lots of fruits and veggies - I eat (what seems to me like) a HUGE volume of food every day for an average between 1500 and 1600 calories. There are times when I can't even finish everything I planned because, by the end of the day I'm just too full.

Other little aside, apples are yummy but for some reason they make me feel like I'm hungrier after I eat one than I was before I ate it. Maybe the apple did the same thing to you (or, maybe, you're just pregnant :D )