Calorie Counting 101

Hello Readers,

A few days ago, Ann  left a comment here and asked how to begin counting calories if you’ve never really tried it before.  Before this attempt at weight loss, I had not tried it, either. 

This is not the only way, nor the best way.  It is simply what I did and what I do.  There are many ways and many sources to get this done.  You just need to start somewhere. 

I started trying to lose weight on February 14^th, 2010.  I just generally started reducing my portions and making sure that what I ate was healthier.  I was losing a pound or so per week (usually) but I realized I wasn’t doing enough, and that I had a lot still to learn.

I started counting calories on June 28^th, 2010.  I was inspired by my fellow bloggers, always giving the calorie counts of this or that, and the daily totals.  I knew I could do it, but didn’t know how to begin.

I have a book I bought in 2001 when I was doing Adkins, which shows the calories, carbs, fat and fiber content of most foods, including brand names and some restaurants.  If I ate it, or planned to eat it, I looked it up in the book.  I also used Google a lot, as in “calories in boiled egg large.”  I still use Google a lot. 

A few days and this was going okay.  Then I asked a friend, who has been on Weight Watchers on and off for many years, and has tried every diet ever known.  I asked the same thing as Ann:  “How do you learn to count calories if you’ve never really done it?”  For me, this was the key to really learning and remembering.

My friend told me to get a notebook and go to the refrigerator.  Write down all the things you eat and drink, and the condiments you use.  Look at the nutrition labels, find out how much a portion is, write that down, and write down the calories (and fat, if you’re watching it).  If you don’t know how much 1 oz is, measure it out, put it on a plate, look at it and remember how large it looks on your plate.  Same with ¼ cup and ½ cup, etc.  Then go to your pantry.  Do the same for your bread, crackers, chips, pancake mix, can of beans, cereal, nuts, oatmeal, peanut butter, cheese, etc.

At this point, I had a page and a half.  Then I just added to it as I would eat different things.  Now I know that my tuna salad that I eat almost every day for lunch is 160 calories, including the tuna, mayo, and pickle cubes.  Egg is extra.  My 1 piece of whole grain bread is 45 calories.  Applesauce is 45 calories for 4 oz.  That is usually my lunch, so I don’t have to look it up every day.  Same thing for breakfast.  We usually eat the same foods, or rotate the same foods in a week’s time.  I know my banana is 50 for half, 100 for the whole.  My apple is 75 calories.  My toast is 45 calories.  A smidge of butter I count as 25 calories, because it IS just a smidge.  If I have turkey bacon, it’s 35 per slice.  Half a slice of my 2% cheese is 25.  My pita is 60 calories.  A boiled egg is 78. 

Restaurant foods, for me, are an unknown, as far as calories.  You can look it up on their website, if they have one.  But I don’t trust them to be accurate.  So when I eat restaurant food, I count it anywhere between 800 and 1200 calories.  I may be high.  But I may be low.  Just another reason to prepare my own food.

I still have foods that I have to look up.  But it’s much, much easier than it was at first.  

There are also several good websites that do this same thing, and will even keep up with your calories for you.  I don’t use any of these on a daily basis, but some successful dieters do, and it may be easier than my method.

I have a small notebook where I keep track of this.  It is small enough to fit in my purse or my pocket, and several times a day I will jot down what I have eaten.  I try to subtotal every meal, then get a daily total, and then a weekly average.  It keeps me accountable.

Now for the question for you today:  How do you count calories?  If you don’t, why not?  If you use a website, which one?

I hope this, and your comments, will help Ann, and anyone else who wants to keep up with calories for awhile.  This is something I will always do, whether on paper or in my head, and I am hopeful that it will help me maintain my weight loss for the rest of my life.