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- Thread starter babrewer
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Thanks! I was just enjoying your "rant" about routines. I really would like someone to hand me the formula but realize how silly that is. I am just doing my best to make good choices when eating and making sure I do something active every day. I know choosing salad instead of a burger will make a difference.
I really need to learn more about "counting calories" though.
Have a great day!
I really need to learn more about "counting calories" though.
Have a great day!
KaraCooks
New member
Hey there. Welcome to the forum. 
Counting calories is really easy, IMO. I think a lot of people make it more complicated than it has to be - or get all caught up in the calculations and measuring thing down to the n'th of a calorie.
The first thing most people need to understand about calorie counting is that it's not a hard and fast rule. Counting calories is a guideline and a place to start. Each of us is so different that how many calories we need, how many calories we burn, and how that translates to weight loss is going to be different for each and every person. The fundamentals remain the same - but the devil is in the details, as they say.
A good way to start is to figure out what your current maintenance level is. I like to use a simple figure of 14 calories per pound of bodyweight. For example, as I said in another thread, my current weight is 177, so my maintenance calories to stay this weight would be 2478. Then I knock 20% off of that to get 1982 calories for a reasonable amount of weight loss.
Now, having done this for a while, I know that if I eat 1900-2000 calories I will lose really really really really slowly. So I know that for me, dropping down to 1600-1700 calories a day is a balance between losing a little faster and eating enough. The trick is that you don't want to eat too few calories for too long, or you can drop your metabolism enough to stall yourself out ... so I try to eat as much as I can and still lose weight at a healthy rate (about 1.5 - 2 lbs a week).
Once you figure out what works for you, then it's just a matter of tracking what you eat carefully. I highly recommend a food scale - measuring and weighing your food is the best possible way to make sure you're eating the right amount of calories.
Within those guidelines, you also want to make sure you're eating healthy calories. For example, I could eat 1600 calories of junk but I know that I'd suffer for it. I'd get fatigued, undernourished, and eventually I'd make myself sick. I wouldn't be able to exercise efficiently and I wouldn't look good. So make sure that whatever calorie level you set, you get lots of veggies and fruits, lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats. It's tricky to balance at first, but with a little practice you can get the hang of it.
Good luck to you!
Counting calories is really easy, IMO. I think a lot of people make it more complicated than it has to be - or get all caught up in the calculations and measuring thing down to the n'th of a calorie.
The first thing most people need to understand about calorie counting is that it's not a hard and fast rule. Counting calories is a guideline and a place to start. Each of us is so different that how many calories we need, how many calories we burn, and how that translates to weight loss is going to be different for each and every person. The fundamentals remain the same - but the devil is in the details, as they say.
A good way to start is to figure out what your current maintenance level is. I like to use a simple figure of 14 calories per pound of bodyweight. For example, as I said in another thread, my current weight is 177, so my maintenance calories to stay this weight would be 2478. Then I knock 20% off of that to get 1982 calories for a reasonable amount of weight loss.
Now, having done this for a while, I know that if I eat 1900-2000 calories I will lose really really really really slowly. So I know that for me, dropping down to 1600-1700 calories a day is a balance between losing a little faster and eating enough. The trick is that you don't want to eat too few calories for too long, or you can drop your metabolism enough to stall yourself out ... so I try to eat as much as I can and still lose weight at a healthy rate (about 1.5 - 2 lbs a week).
Once you figure out what works for you, then it's just a matter of tracking what you eat carefully. I highly recommend a food scale - measuring and weighing your food is the best possible way to make sure you're eating the right amount of calories.
Within those guidelines, you also want to make sure you're eating healthy calories. For example, I could eat 1600 calories of junk but I know that I'd suffer for it. I'd get fatigued, undernourished, and eventually I'd make myself sick. I wouldn't be able to exercise efficiently and I wouldn't look good. So make sure that whatever calorie level you set, you get lots of veggies and fruits, lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats. It's tricky to balance at first, but with a little practice you can get the hang of it.
Good luck to you!