Calorie counting help for a semi-newbie

Gretegettingfit
Gretegettingfit Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all! I just joined mfp and have a question about calorie counting. My goal is to lose 30-40 lbs and now that I'm nearly done weaning my second baby, I'm ready to get serious. My plan is to count calories, eat smaller portions, and move more -cutting edge stuff, I know. :) The 4 months before I got pregnant with my second, I lost 25 lbs by counting calories and walking around the neighborhood every day, so I know it's possible.

Here's where I run into trouble with calorie counting, though - It is so time consuming when it comes to cooking. I love to cook and make homemade meals for my family, but thi includes a lot of soups and dishes that mix a lot of ingredients together. So, I end up spending so much time adding up all the ingredients and then when the meal is prepared, measuring out the whole pot to see how many servings are in it, an what the calorie count per serving is. So, if I make soup, then I'll use a 1 cup measuring cup and stand there and scoop it cup by cup into a different bowl. Also, I don't really use recipes, so even if I make the same dish, it's usually slightly different so I can't even use the counts from before.

Is this what everyone does who counts calories to figure it all out? Is there an easier way that im missing? Or do you just eat basic meals that are simple to count? Also, what do you do about stuff like homemade stock and broth? I have no clue how to figure that out.

I'd like to try just eating smaller portions and not being hung up on exact calories, but I'm not sure that's wise. Does anyone have experience with that? It's not as if my cooking is unhealthy to start with (I don't use canned stuff, things with preservatives, etc. Typically, just fresh ingredients with lean meats). It's just hard and tiring to be caught up in calories with two little kids to also chase after all day. But, I do think keeping a food log is what helped me be successful the first time. Are there people who just record their food without specific calorie counts? Or do half and half? Because I have no problem measuring out my food during th day - that's all easy since its usually things like Greek yogurt with raspberries, sandwiches, etc. Its just dinners that mainly trip me up, especially with a clingy 11 month old at my feet while I'm cooking.

Sorry this is so long, but any advice and insight would be great. Thank you!

Replies

  • me4iam
    me4iam Posts: 2 Member
    Hello, on making your own meals...once you do the first one (soup), then even if you make it again and it may be more or less servings...if the ingredients are the same...then it shouldn't matter and it is all ready put in...I assume the liquid amount may change. I myself use tons of cookbooks and use the calories listed but I also track with Weight Watchers at the moment too!. When I eat out that can be the challenge for me...but I just use the best guess principal there . As far as the amount of calories...I do not know how to figure that...you may need to speak to your doctor who can refer you to a nutritionist (sp)...any way good luck...that you are doing this is the major stepping stone for this... and this still can be your food journal...which is a great help. Not sure if this helps or not but sometimes you just need an "ok your doing fine".
  • egrusy
    egrusy Posts: 196 Member
    One thing that might help is if you add a meal (say a soup) with all ingredients accounted for to your diary you can then click on Quick Tools and Remember Meal (forgive if you already know about this feature). Then next time you make it you can just choose it from your Meals. Even if the next time it is "slightly different", in my world it would undoubtedly be "close enough". If you want to get exact, you can adjust your diary after adding it of course. Don't know what else to tell you; I tend to ballpark it a lot when it comes to recipes with a ton of ingredients :smile: Good luck on your journey!!

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