Unproud Member of the: ONE cheat meal leads to another Club....

I would ask why you are tracking your calories/food-to lose weight, or to get your nutrition in order? Yes, they are related goals-but consider trying to take on one bad habit at a time, rather than a complete overhaul. If getting nutrition in order is your thing- use your maintenance calories, and sort out meals that you can deal with that are healthier before restricting, then once you feel pretty good about the types of foods you are eating, try reducing portions to lower calories. If you really feel like losing the weight is more important right now, care a little bit less about what you are eating while you get used to how your body reacts while restricting calories before trying to foist new foods upon yourself, then try slowly making better liquid decisions, then snack decisions, then altering each meal until you are where you want to be.

I only suggest this because I tend to try to make everything perfect all at once, which pretty much always sets me up for failure as soon as I slip up. (This is not to say it's not possible- just not a good plan of attack for me) I'm currently working on my diet from the calorie portion of the equation, then building up to better nutrition, and aside from the fact that I had a vacation that set me back a bit (airline delays are NOT friendly to controlling calories for me...) it's been going pretty w ell- usually I can't maintain a calorie deficit as long as I had been before the vacation.

Good Luck!