I've never counted calories but it's time to start. How do I begin?

I've never counted calories but it's time to start. How do I begin? I wish there were an easy way on this website to log and keep track of daily calorie totals. How do you keep track? I 'll take as many ideas as you can give me. Maybe I'll find one that will work for me. Thanks.

Sat. Sep 24, 9:00am

measure everything, read all the nutritional info on packages, in the diet and fitness section on this website you can look up foods and cals, there are lots of websites for that too...log what you eat and next to it right cals, seems tedious but you will get used to it!

Saturday, September 24, 2005, 12:19 PM

my $.02

I was never one for counting calories either, but I've recently been made aware that it really DOES matter. Calories in (food) and calories out (exercise) is what it's ALL about.
So here's my advice.
Start out simply. Just get the general idea. I took one day of entries (I chose a day when my entries were typical) and counted everything I had eaten that day. That in itself was an eye-opening experience for me. I was surpised to find out the other day that one slice of swiss cheese had 110 calories! And a flour tortilla had 200 calories!! Granted, these are not junk foods, but calories DO add up, so it's good to be mindful of them.
And as a side note: For me, personally - I don't worry about calories when they come from vegetables or fruit - as long as they aren't covered in butter or sugar or some hidden-calorie-something-or-other.

Saturday, September 24, 2005, 8:46 PM

The easiest way to start is buy a calorie book. You can pick one up anywhere for under $10. Get one that gives you all the info (calories, carbs, fiber, etc.), after a week or so of measuring you'll start to be able to eyeball a serving.

Saturday, September 24, 2005, 10:09 PM

what if you don't eat any processed foods?

Saturday, September 24, 2005, 11:04 PM

counting calories

check out the new program called "reach your goals" at www.self.com It is helpful.\

Then make yourself a couple of weeks of menus of foods that y ou like that are within your calorie maximum, so that you won't get sick and tired of counting every little thing. That is something that could make you want to give up!

Sunday, September 25, 2005, 10:40 AM

my favorite web site for counting calories is www.nutritiondata.com

It lets you build recipes or whole meals or whole day's worth of food, and it tells you not only how many calories, but also if you had balanced sources of protein, how much of a bunch of different vitamins you ate, and what percentage of calories came from carbs/fat/protein, etc. It is very comprehensive for all sorts of foods - both processed and fresh.

I agree with the poster that said it's a pain in the neck to count calories, so just try it for a typical day. I try to do that once or twice a month, just to make sure I'm still basically on track.

Sunday, September 25, 2005, 12:09 PM

don't count, but pay attention

I don't count calories, but I pay attention to my choices.
Example: went to get a muffin from QuikTrip, for 1/3 of the muffin, 220 calories, so I grabbed a Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal Bar which had 120 calories total.
I don't have the time to keep up w/ my calories, but I have lost a lot of weight just paying attention to my calorie in-take choices.

Monday, September 26, 2005, 8:30 AM

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