Tracking with calories

[Beth]

What's the easiest way to begin tracking calories and eliminating them from my diet? Should I start with something like 100 calorie elimination per day until I get used to the amount I should be eating? I'm trying to do this smart and realistic for me. Any suggestions?

[Ron]

You could try that. If you feel you need to ease into it. That said, you're not going to see weight loss if you don't actually reduce your calories to the amount that you need to lose weight. In other words, what i'm saying is if you find out that you need to ingest 500 fewer calories, only eliminating 100 isn't going to be much progress. I would highly recommend you pay attention to the foods you eat and work on reducing potion sizes.

[ChristySmiles]

No. I wouldn't do that. You need to find out exactly how many less you need to lose weight (probably reduce by 500) and do it. If you only boost it by 100 calories per day, you're not likely to ever get to your goal because you'll end up making excuses. Honestly, you'll probably find it's not hard to reduce your calorie intake per day by 500 because many of the things you ingest (drinks and snacks) are filled with empty calories. For instance, if you don't drink pop, juice or alcohol and drink water instead, you're automatically cutting calories in a big way.

[Beth]

No. I wouldn't do that. You need to find out exactly how many less you need to lose weight (probably reduce by 500) and do it. If you only boost it by 100 calories per day, you're not likely to ever get to your goal because you'll end up making excuses. Honestly, you'll probably find it's not hard to reduce your calorie intake per day by 500 because many of the things you ingest (drinks and snacks) are filled with empty calories. For instance, if you don't drink pop, juice or alcohol and drink water instead, you're automatically cutting calories in a big way.

Ha! You might think so, but I'm finding it really hard to eliminate 500 calories from my diet. I just find I'm too hungry and I need to eat something. Plus, I've discovered, ever since I started tracking that a lot of the foods I eat are really high in fat and calories. Having to overhaul my diet has been really hard and it's just awful feeling hungry all the time. I'm getting really discouraged now :( I don't think I can do this.

[Gina]

You can do this Beth! It's all about figuring out how to do it in a way that make sense for your lifestyle! Start out small and work your way up from there. You don't have to follow what other people do or say. It's all about finding what makes the most sense to you and making it work. Take a break if you get too discouraged but then try again. It's all you can do. You owe it to your health and happiness to keep trying :)

[tobetinytina]

You can do this Beth! It's all about figuring out how to do it in a way that make sense for your lifestyle! Start out small and work your way up from there. You don't have to follow what other people do or say. It's all about finding what makes the most sense to you and making it work. Take a break if you get too discouraged but then try again. It's all you can do. You owe it to your health and happiness to keep trying :)

Gina is right beth! Don't give up!! I know it's discouraging sometimes, but you can't worry about what other people do or if you don't reach your own goals. It sounds to me like you really need to think about what you want and then break that down and make it happen in reality. For you, weight loss may require you to take baby steps. Others might be able to commit themselves to bigger changes all at once, but if that' not you, that's okay. It's not a race and you've got to stay focused on your end goal. We'd all like to lose weight quickly, but that's typically not how it works. Stick to whatever it is you decide to do and you will see progress! All the best hun.