Calorie Yikes

SunFun25

My first day and I’m 413 calories over my goal. Good to know but now I have to make adjustments!

nk9o

Make take a while. Also an eye opener especially as time and your progress comes along. Welcome and good luck....you can do it!

Danp

SunFun25 wrote: »

My first day and I’m 413 calories over my goal. Good to know but now I have to make adjustments!

Was that logging food before or after you've eaten it?

If you're not already I'd strongly suggest pre-logging. Make it a rule that nothing passes your lips until it's in your diary.

Speaking personally there have been many many times where I've wanted something in particular but when I logged it all of sudden that particular something wasn't so appealing anymore. This would lead to me to making much better decision such as just not eating (if I wasn't really hungry and just indulging) or I was able to adjust the serving size to better fit my calorie target or it would force me to be mindful about making better choice and consider substitutions / alternatives that would satisfy me while satiating my craving/hunger.

Mrsindepenant1

I’m very much the same as you Danp. I would sometimes not log my food until later in the day and end up shocked and hungry because I had wasted my calories. Now I pre log and I know what I can and can’t have and if somethings too high in calories I suddenly won’t want it anymore.

Danp

It's a useful form of sticker shock.

It's like walking into a store and seeing, say, an amazing t-shirt. You're like "OMG! That shirt is AMAZING I just *have* to have it".

Then you flip the label over and see the price-tag and it says $450 and then you're all. "Forget that. I didn't even like that shirt anyway. Terrible colour"

Mrsindepenant1

😂 yes!

kzshelbi

I couldn't believe just how much I was actually overeating all the time until I started tracking my foods in a diary. Its a real eye opener. Just have to be 100% honest with yourself about what you are eating everyday... I found that hard to swallow sometimes.

Opalescent_Topaz

When I first started looking at the calories from my favorite-ish restaurant foods in the early days of my weight loss journey, I thought "well, no wonder I'm overweight". Some of my *former* favorite sandwiches are nearly my whole calorie allotment for the day. I'm looking at you, Jimmy John's. So not worth it.

zeejane03

The first few days don't worry about it-just get familiar with reading nutrition labels, using your food scale and then getting into the routine of logging. After you get comfortable with these things, then start dialing your calories into line.

Welcome aboard

Cahgetsfit

I actually find it is useful to track your "normal" for about a week before you go into deficit mode. This not only is a massive eye opener as to how much you actually are eating (especially people who think they are being so "healthy" but not realising that that healthy banana muffin just cost them upwards of 600 calories).

YOu can then look at the foods and go "this - not worth eating it" and swap for something that gives you more calorie bang for your buck, or modify it - if I make banana bread for example one serving comes to just over 150cals instead of store bought which is upwards of 300.

So yeah - familiarise yourself with the app, with how much each food actually is worth and so on and then you can start to pre-log (very recommended - I pre log until dinner, then dinner is leftover calories that i use for whatever I feel like eating - but I already have some idea of how much each thing will cost me and what I can actually eat with the leftovers).

Good luck!!!