Keeping track of calories

M

Matt26

0
ok, some details about me first:

age: 30
height: 5'9"
weight: about 173lbs
desired weight (for now): about 150
activity: i walk at least an hour a day, usually fast paced/power walk; i'm not a stranger to running- within the last year or so i would run (moderate pace) 5km for 2-3 days a week.

i've been reading about keeping track of the calories i'm consuming vs what i'm burning each day in an effort to start losing some weight.. i'm planning to get started on a daily cardio excercise routine and want to incorporate this into my tracking as well.

so from what i've read, i understand that the basic rule of thumb is to burn more calories than you consume in order to start losing weight- a "numbers" game.. this is the nutshell of what i've read, my guess is there's a bit more to it than that.

what i want to know is how can i accurately track my overall progress in terms of the calories i'm comsuming in a day vs the calories i need to burn to lose weight, given that (as i understaend it) the body needs a certain number of calories to properly "function" in a day.

so for example, if i eat/consume 2000 calories daily on average, how much of that (approximately) would i need to burn off in order to effectively start losing weight? i'm not really concerned about a target date for the weight loss- preferrably i want to see some results every week or two.

hopefully all of this makes sense! i'm new to this subject and trying to get a handle on what's what when it comes to tracking calories properly in order to lose weight.

any and all help is greatly appreciated!

thanks!
 
You've got it right. It's a calories in vs. calories out ballgame.

I calculated your bmr on the calculater on this site and it says you burn approximately 1816 calories every day. In order for you be able to know you're burning more calories than you take in, simply cut your calorie intake to be lower than the 1816 you burn everyday. Add it your exercise and you'll be burning even more calories creating a large caloric deficit.

I count calories and I've dropped my calorie intake by 500 calories, which over the course of the week burns 1lb (3500 cals) Add in the all of my exercise which just adds to my caloric deficit and I lose more that 1lbs a week at least.
 
Yep... exactly. I agree with Fleur, you should aim for at least 1814 calories eaten a day. Choose an amount to eat and stick with it. Eat ALL of the calories you allow yourself, and work out! I love google for calorie counts, and I also love livestrong.com's calorie counters. They seem the most reasonably and accurate of what I've found. Keep a food journal, writing down EVERYTHING you eat. And, don't forget to incorporate strength training, which will help you burn more calories in general, as lean muscle burns a lot of calories. Good luck!
 
Hey man I recently started counting my calories and it has helped me immensely. I feel pretty stupid for not knowing what food has XX calories when it comes to going in my body.

Anyways I've been using a smartphone app that is free called myfitnesspal

I only use it to track calories, and that is all free. pretty big data base something like 400,000 foods. A neat feature is when you eat something that has a label say can tuna you can actually scan the barcode and get a pretty exact reading into the database.

Anyways if you do not just start writing everything down. I am sure there are free calorie counters online and you can just type in everything you ate for the day more or less and get a good read out.
 
FleurDeLis said:
You've got it right. It's a calories in vs. calories out ballgame.

I calculated your bmr on the calculater on this site and it says you burn approximately 1816 calories every day. In order for you be able to know you're burning more calories than you take in, simply cut your calorie intake to be lower than the 1816 you burn everyday. Add it your exercise and you'll be burning even more calories creating a large caloric deficit.

I count calories and I've dropped my calorie intake by 500 calories, which over the course of the week burns 1lb (3500 cals) Add in the all of my exercise which just adds to my caloric deficit and I lose more that 1lbs a week at least.
Click to expand...

so does 1816 represent an estimate of how many calories i'm burning every day based on my age, height and current weight, regardless of what i'm eating and how much i'm exercising right now?
 
There are a lot of programs/websites that will help calculate your BMR (base metabolic rate). Generally, it'd be smart to go on about 5 of the different websites and put in your stats, answer the questions and then average them out. Once you get your BMR you know how many calories your body burns without a single ounce of exercise (IF you put your activity as sedentary, which you should do for accuracy purposes). Then multiply that number by 7, subtract 3500, divide by 7 and you will have how many calories you should roughly eat a day to lose about a pound a week. If the number is too low (medical experts suggest you do not dip under 1,200 calories a day), manipulate your math until you get to a decent point.

An AWESOME program that I would buy over and over again is called 'Fitday', it helps you figure out how many calories you burn, how many to eat, helps you track your weight and measurments and many other neat little things! :) Good luck.
 
thanks for all of the feedback, greatly appreciated!

so are calories broken down in any way, like "good" calories and "bad" calories (those to avoid and those to consume more of) when it comes to losing weight?

on nutrition labels for certain food, i've read that of X number of calories, 20% are fat calories, 15% are protein calories, etc..

so when it comes to losing weight, do these percentages make any difference, provided you keep track of the calorie count, or should you be mindful of these percentages?

thanks again!
 
I'm not for sure, but I think that doesn't matter. As long as your burning more calories than your taking in you'll lose weight. Obviously eating chips and candy to fulfill your calorie needs isn't going to fulfill the nutrients your body needs. But if you do include an indulgence every day, maybe a candybar, etc. It will not make you gain weight as long as you burn morn calories than you consume that day.
 
does eating later in the evening, like in the 10pm to 12am range have any impact/bearing on the calories you're taking in? are the calories consumed during these hours counted any differently than calories consumed during the day?

i ask because as far as i know, late night eating is considered a bad idea when you're trying to lose weight.. something about your metabolism slowing down so you don't digest food as quickly or as easily i believe..?

so i'm not sure if late night eating has any impact/bearing on the calorie count process, and ultimately, the weight loss process.

thanks again for everyone's help!
 
I agree with Fleur. In terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter (it matters for nutritional reasons). I tend to find myself gravitating towards stereotypically healthy food when calorie counting, simply because of the calorie density. If food A contains 100 calories per 100 grams, and food B contains 20 calories per 100 grams, then (to a greater or lesser extent- there are some variables and it depends on your individual relationship with food), food B will be more filling for the number of calories you're consuming. But sometimes it's worth having an indulgence food, as Fleur said (and yes, it can be done every day if the numbers work out) so you don't feel deprived and are more likely to stick with it.

Theoretically, you could eat only "bad" food and still lose weight. But I personally would be very very hungry, as most "bad" food is calorie dense. (You may also end up malnourished that way, so it's not recommended)
 
And no, a calorie is the same at 10pm as it is at 10am (or if it is different, it's so minute a difference that it's not worth thinking about). From what I can gather, the "don't eat late at night" thing sprung up as a way to control late night binging. If you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and a midnight snack, you're worse off than if you have the same breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then stop eating (simply because there are more calories in the former option than the latter)- I'm pretty sure that's all there is to that. I personally eat whenever I feel like it.
 
so what do others do when it comes to keeping track of calories when eating out, like at restaurants? obviously there's not really a sure-fired way to track the calories at all restaurants, especially when they don't have nutritional information available.. it seems to me like this can easily be a guessing game when it comes to nailing down accurate numbers- does anyone have any methods that they use for these types of situations?


oh, and i'm losing weight, too! i'm down to about 173-174 lbs after 3 or 4 weeks! so a big thank you to all of you for the help you've provided!
 
When I go out to eat I use the basic rule of serving size. Lean meat.... the size of your palm and 2 vegie servings the size of your fists. I have cut out most starchy foods from my diet so, this works for me. As far as the calorie counting ( which I try to do ALL the time ) I guess when filling in my counters at home....based on what I ate. Chicken breasts of fish. I know it's not %100 accurate, but hey...you are allowed to splurge every once in a while! AND..... there is nothing wrong with bringing home a to-go box and have it for lunch the next day!


Congrats on the weight loss so far!
 
Livestrong.com 'My Plate' too is INVALUABLE. It's made me so much more aware of calories consumed and expended.


It also breaks down the nutritional value of foods so you can see if you're exceeding your protein/carbs/fat etc. for the day.


I've been tracking my exercise and calories for a week now I've gone from 178 to 172lb. I also have an Excel document where I work my calories consumed - calories expended - net calories, and then subtract this from my BMR to work out how many calories I've saved. I do this cumulatively - add it on to yesterday each day - to see how near I am to 3500kcal (1lb).


When I'm eating out, I've been looking online to see if I can find equivalent menus with calories or alternatively I've just done estimates based on the component parts. And then I've exercised super hard to make absolute sure I'll still be losing weight. :)
 
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