Caloric intake

Hey everyone, this is my second post, I have done alot of reading today as I have found that this site is really cool.

Little about my self- I am a 41 yr old male 5'9" now 216 I was 232 almost a week ago. I coached wrestling for almost 16 years.( injury) Two culinary degrees. Weight lifting since the early 90s( Army)
I love food as much as the next person. My wife has also lost 10 pounds in the last week and a half.
I am not a nutritionist nor do I claim to be. I do know how to lose weight and eat well. I will say this also I have done most diet pills in my life- but with out eating right and some exercise they dont' work. I have also used HGH and anabolic steriods( Pill form 6 weeks on 4 weeks off cycle system). On that topic please no soap boxes. There are pros and cons and I have heard them all. I am not a promoter of them so please don't go there.

I have read alot about peoples what to eat not to eat and whats in the ingredients. I have read on here about always hungry at end of day. I love the topics about I am worried about this item and that item and what do I do what should I try. Everyone has their ideas and what they have or have not tried. All of which are awesome. Heck I read some things on here that made me scratch my head and some other things that I went ohhhh that is so cool.

In my experiences in helping my atheletes gain weight or lose weight, growing stronger or just getting leaner. everyone is totally different and everyones body reacts differently to items ate. Your caloric intake is the most important thing you can do, along with some other big factors.
1. Sleep -7-8 hrs. helps moderate the metabolism
2 Never eat when your starving, span your meals out over the day.
3 never eat heavy vegis after 3-4 in after noon if your a earlybird that goes to bed, body has a tough time digesting them and they turn to wasted sugar. Now if your a person like me that goes to bed late then figure out a good time rule of thumb about 4 hours on vegis. remember this is just a estimate like I said I am not a pro just lots of reading and experimenting thru my self.
4. Caffine can work if used in moderation- green tea- great item aquired taste. LOL Sodas not a good thing diet or not.
5 Exercise is your friend not an enemy do as you can in moderation. I myself go to the gym 5 days a week 4 with weights and one day of aerobics., I warm up thru tread mill for 15 minutes every day. Remember though you do walk every day, just pick up the pace a little bit makes a hugh difference. Those that count steps 10k in steps a day is hugh as long as it is comfortable for you keep it up, those that don't count just try to get in 30 minutes a day total. Raising the heart rate it the most important thing. OH and SEX does count not much but it does count. there is some sites that will actually give you a caloric count for it. But your on your own for looking that one up.
6 stay away from processed foods prepackaged. High in sugars and salt and lots of other crap.
7 Most important- Dont starve yourself., and every now and again spoil your self, WHY you say because dieting is rough and is not easy. So find what best works for you. and go with it, adjust it as you need too. NOONE says you have to stay the same all the time.

When dealing with food items- stay fresh in ideas no idea is a bad idea, in cooking. use fresh ingredients when you can, Stay away from Salt, this is not your friend. If you do want salt I reccomend Sea salt that you can grind up or even a kosher salt. Peppers, Cinnamon are metabolism boosters. ( I use both as much as possible, plus they taste good. Herbs are awesome they spice up everything if used right. Lentils are a great source too,

Now I weigh everything out I have a good electronic scale that goes to the 100th of an ounce. I shop once a week for protens and vegis. and once a month I do the non perishable items. I don;t make a menu as not to get bored all the time. But when I shop I do have list of all the items i need for the week. Just so you know there are Two adults and 6 kids at home so Dieting is rough. But the kids enjoy what dad makes and I will pending what I want make something different for them but they usually eat what I do. Impotant note I do increase their caloric intake due to they exercise and burn more. Rice and pastas and meats in larger quanity. Now I do break down all my meats, I only buy low fat meat-96/4 beef, higher grade turkeys and chicken- Of which i buy roasters and break them down myself that way I have complete control of the fat amount. Wife and kids love their fish - dad wont eat- sorry just a bad taste, love my tuna though.
Try mustards instead of mayos. Dressings make your own vinegaretes.Infuse herbs to create different types. Balsamic is great acts like the peppers do.
Pastas and rice are great fillers too.
here is a great snack idea- 1 lb. Ground beef/ buffalo- 1 lb. italian sausage. combine in to 1.5 oz meatballs and cook off. high protien low fat and taste great and they are great for thru out the day. just one or two will kill the hunger cravings.
FOR those that are worried whats in the items you are eating rule of Thumb- Low fat items-dressings and such are higher in sugar. If you are like me and love your ranch dressing you will find that the regular is better then the low fat, just use in a smaller portion. Dont perseverate on the small items and don't let items that tell you that they are low fat throw you some are good and some are bad. Remeber the more you do nothing and the more sugars you bring in your killing your self. Look into the fats your eating. Try to eliminate the bad ones but remember you have to have some just not a lot.
For you caloric counters its easy I promise you, beggining is tough, but you can have fun with it. Break down all your items into numbers, ozs., pieces. If the package has the calorie count use it but look at the serving size and when you break it down you devide the total weight in ounces or how ever you did the break down in to the number of calories. This will give you the calories your intaking. Using the sytstem on here you can get downt to the 1000th of an ounce to get a good caloric count. I Promise you, you will find you do get to eat alot even on the small amount you think your eating. Like I said spread it out thru the day< Usually about 6 times a day, try not to eat anything at least 2 hours prior to bed. Water is a good thing to have before bed helps flush the system, yes I know you have to pee but it is worth it in the end.
I know I babbled on alot but hope I was able to help someone with the info. here is a brief idea of what I had so far today

5 low fat low sodium crakers with 2ozs.of oven roasted Turkey with one table spoon mozzarella chesse twice today.128 calories
1/2 cup ginger ale, 1/2 cup gatyorade G2 this three times a day. TONS of water 172 calories for the day
4oz of 96/4 Ground beef with garlic powder, paprika, light sea salt and a dash of fresh rosemary panfried, no oils or sprays added- tasted grate 112.5 calorie. with one bottle of water with lemon wedges squeezed into it along with one pack of splenda.
I am alotted 1398 calories a day. right now I am sitting at 412.5 calories with two meals to go. I DO NOT splurge at one meal I break them up. but if i do have some extra I can use them up on a treat or just let them go. Last night I took the kids to dairy queen and even treated myself to a large cherry dipped vanilla ice cream cone boy was it good.

The biggest thing is to have fun and don't stress if you go over don't fret.Don't go and work out to come down on your intake, to make up the difference. Play with your diet to fit you. Remember you are you and only you know what works for yourself. FOR those of you who think going from 4k in calories to 1500 is going to be easy your kidding your self take in in gradual increments you will lose the weight but once again don't kill yourself.

Have a great day if you have any questions please ask I may not know the answer but will try to get it for you.

Lonnie- Denver Colorado