Newbie overwhelmed by calorie counting and IIFYM

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massoia
massoia Posts: 19
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all

I've always been slim and I've never had to think about calories before. Even now, I'm not looking to count them because I'm trying to lose weight, it's only because I'm trying to recomposition. Someone put me onto IIFYM and I looked into it. In principle it's fine, I'm more than happy to give it a try. What completely overwhelms me is how to keep track of the calories foodstuff, never mind the carbs/proteins/fats. How on earth do you all keep up with this every single day?! More to the point, how to do something as simple as count the calories without it taking over your life? After reading a post elsewhere by jayb0ne (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1250102-macro-micro-help) I understand that it's best to start with getting used to couting the calories before worrying about the IIFYM ratios, but even so... Calories listed for various foods are for cooked weights when it comes to things like rice, pasta, meat and fish, is that right?

I'm sorry, I appreciate this is *really* basic stuff to you experienced MFP members, but it's quite dauting to a newbie. Where do you start?

Seriously, I have utterly no idea how many calories I consume in a typical day. No idea. This could all be quite a revelation!

EDIT: Since I'm after recomp rather than just weight loss, how should I set my goals? Should I choose "maintain current weight"?

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    For recomp, set your goal no higher than .5 lb. per week.

    Definitely work on logging before you try to meet your macros. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Get a food scale, and weigh everything.

    Learn to identify reliable database entries. There's a whole lot of junk in there. For produce (& probably meat?), always search for USDA values. The first time you scan a barcode, verify the entry against the label. Next time do not scan it—find it in your recent/future lists.

    Logging works. It's simple, but it ain't easy.
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    Read, read, read. Seriously, recomp is a bit different than just straight up weight loss so you will need to be a bit more informed of the process.

    Recommend starting with this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    It hits on the topics you have listed, calorie counting and measuring, IIFYM, macro setting, and has a never ending rabbit hole of good posts to continue learning. That post comes out of a group called Eat, Train, Progress.....probably a good group for you to get familiar with.

    As for the food tracking tool here, you have to spend some time ensuring the accuracy of the entries, but once you have your staple foods used, it is a bit easier since they are in your list. For the food database, foods without an asterisk (*) are MFP entries and should be accurate against the USDA information. Not always easy to find those entries. Things with an asterisk are user entries and are a grab bag of accuracy. Double check the entries yourself if you can and look for entries with a high number of confirmations. It can get annoying to wade through the crap on occasion, but it is a good tool if you just take a little bit of time with it.
  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
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    I keep a notepad and a pen in the kitchen. Whenever I make myself something, I jot it down. Then when I have a chance I enter it in my food log. I do a lot of cooking, so it can get a little nutty trying to keep up with precise amounts. The more you cook from scratch, the more painstaking it can be keeping precise calorie counts. Although a lot of people are just that particular.

    For me, it's not about the calorie count as it is being responsible for what I actually put in my mouth. If I have pork chops and potatoes then I find something that seems relatively close, enter it, and I'm good. I put something in. I was accountable. When I do this, I find throughout the day that I pass on all the little crappy things. The nibblers. The junk. Instead, I think as I pick something up: "Do I really want to take the time to pencil this in? Is it really worth it?" When the answer comes back IT'S NOT WORTH IT!, I set it down and keep going.

    Get a scale and a collection of measuring cups so can understand serving sizes. What does 2oz of ground beef look like? Or 1oz of cheese? Or 1/2 cup of frozen peas. A lot of people complain that this was their downfall. They were guessing 1 serving when they were actually eating 2 or 3.
  • niftyafterfifty
    niftyafterfifty Posts: 338 Member
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    I would suggest you go to a website such as fitnessfrog.com; use the TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator to compute your daily calorie goal. Then manually set that as your goal on MFP. The calorie counting can be overwhelming at first, but you will fall into a comfortable rhythm. I've been doing it since Jan., 2012; I've been successfully maintaining since Jan., 2013. I hope you enjoy MFP.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    I keep a notepad and a pen in the kitchen. Whenever I make myself something, I jot it down. Then when I have a chance I enter it in my food log. I do a lot of cooking, so it can get a little nutty trying to keep up with precise amounts. The more you cook from scratch, the more painstaking it can be keeping precise calorie counts. Although a lot of people are just that particular.
    When you cook, enter the ingredients & number of portions here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/box MFP does all the math for you, and calculates the calories & macros per serving.
  • massoia
    massoia Posts: 19
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    Thank you. :) Yes, we cook a lot, I even make our soups. I'm currently putting together a table of values for the muesli I make. My head hurts....
  • massoia
    massoia Posts: 19
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    My macro targets (according to the calculator at IIFYM.com) are

    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,620 cal/day
    Carbs / Day 203.0 g
    Fat / Day 54.0 g
    Protein / Day 81.0 g

    How does that sound? To recap, I'm 5'7", 122lbs, estimates (according to bathroom body fat scales, which I'm not sure I trust!) 18%-21% body fat, looking to add some muscle for the purposes of recomp.

    I'm in the process of estimating how many calories I've been consuming in a typical day and so far I'm rather shocked...

    EDIT: Based on my typical meals and snacks, I've probably been consuming about 1000-1200 calories a day. That's not good, is it!
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    Thank you. :) Yes, we cook a lot, I even make our soups. I'm currently putting together a table of values for the muesli I make. My head hurts....

    Table of values? MFP has a built in recipe function in the food tab. Have you tried it yet? To answer one of your previous questions, calories for items like pasta usually refer to the dry food. If you notice, each serving has a weight, which is why it's important to get a food scale to measure your food prior to adding to the pan

    As for macros if you notice in your diary your total protein carbs and fat are summarized. Some prefer to prelog their food for the entire day or maybe just a meal before eating it. This can help ensure that you're happy with your calorie intake and macros prior to eating, plus you can tweak things if you're not ending up where you want
  • massoia
    massoia Posts: 19
    Options
    Thank you. :) Yes, we cook a lot, I even make our soups. I'm currently putting together a table of values for the muesli I make. My head hurts....

    Table of values? MFP has a built in recipe function in the food tab. Have you tried it yet? To answer one of your previous questions, calories for items like pasta usually refer to the dry food. If you notice, each serving has a weight, which is why it's important to get a food scale to measure your food prior to adding to the pan

    As for macros if you notice in your diary your total protein carbs and fat are summarized. Some prefer to prelog their food for the entire day or maybe just a meal before eating it. This can help ensure that you're happy with your calorie intake and macros prior to eating, plus you can tweak things if you're not ending up where you want

    Hi, thanks for your reply. I only discovered the recipe function late last night. At least I know for future reference!
  • codysloan1
    codysloan1 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi guys I decided a couple days ago that I was going to give iifym a chance. I've been working out for over a year with hardly any results so what could it hurt really. I'm a 28 yr old male 5'7 186 lbs I calculated my macros with the caculator on this website and I got 2,633 calories 73g of fat 296 carbs 197g of protein and fiber 38g. My first day was yesterday and my totals were as followed -39 calories f/spot on carbs/274 out of 296 and fiber 24 out of 38 and protein I went over by 27.. are these numbers ok??? Should I hit my calories and everything spot on everyday or not. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Options
    Hi guys I decided a couple days ago that I was going to give iifym a chance. I've been working out for over a year with hardly any results so what could it hurt really. I'm a 28 yr old male 5'7 186 lbs I calculated my macros with the caculator on this website and I got 2,633 calories 73g of fat 296 carbs 197g of protein and fiber 38g. My first day was yesterday and my totals were as followed -39 calories f/spot on carbs/274 out of 296 and fiber 24 out of 38 and protein I went over by 27.. are these numbers ok??? Should I hit my calories and everything spot on everyday or not. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. Eat 2,633 calories for a few weeks, then reevaluate.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

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