Got your attention, huh? What did I peak at? My calorie intake. I could be sick. No wonder I was plateaued. It was a fairly bad food day, but that’s the day I chose to check up on the calories. See, I used to keep a daily calorie count, but stopped. That’s the exact same time my weight loss stalled. I’ve been keeping track of my food lately, but not the calories. Well, I tallied them one day and was shocked—almost 3,000! Like I said, it was a bad food day, but not the worst I’ve had in the last week or two.

So now I’m counting, which simply has me taking in better food. Before I’d have popcorn with butter, now it’s an apple, maybe an ounce of nuts with. That’s half the calories (I like my butter).

I want to know what you’re damage is. I managed to cut it down to 1600 fairly easily, and the results are instant. I had gained 3 pounds over the holidays, and I’ve now lost 1.5 of that in 2 days! That’s while being sick and not working out near as hard as normal.

What is your total? Go ahead and peak, I did and it did wonders!

Bree

Hey Bree,

Ouch!  I’m glad you figured out what the problem was!

I don’t really do a check for calories, but I stay pretty aware of what I’m eating.  That said, I haven’t been too good the last few weeks.  I haven’t lost my holiday weight yet (about 2 pounds), and I’m committed to doing that in the next few weeks.  So it’s time for me to be better!

Cheers,
Julie

It’s pretty shocking how things add up, even a small little bit of this or that. I keep a pretty tight food log and most of the time keep the intake about 1500-1700. It’s the weekends that kill me with eating out and alcohol. Sometimes the totals go up to 3,000. And I wonder why I’m stuck where I’m at. I see it constantly and yet I keep letting it happen. I really wish I hated beer. That would fix everything!

Peaking is a good thing to do because it’s so darned easy to lose track. I have used CalorieKing Exercise & Nutrition Manager daily since I started my journey almost a year ago, and it has been a God-send. The reason is because it’s easy to use and keeps me honest as the calories are added up for the day and automatically subtracts calories burned through exercise. I even use it ahead of time to “plan” my weekends when I know we are going out with friends or having a special meal at home.

I eat about 1,800 NET calories per day and I have never really plateau’d longer than a week or 10 days. I think it’s because I have been so diligent in calorie counting and I have gotten really good at adding it up in my head even when I don’t have access to CK.

I’d suggest getting this software to anyone. I know at least 6 people in my company along with family and friends who are using it and having amazing results because it’s so doable and easy to use. You can even download a free 7 day trial to see how it works for you.

Check it out at http://www.calorieking.com/software/ and click on the “Download free 7 day trial” link on the top left section of the page. Trust me, you will love it and really make calorie counting a TON easier.

And no, I don’t work for them, just a big fan of their product.

Haven’t tried their software but i have the australian edition of the calorie king book which is great

I have the ck book, and go on their site to find calorie totals, but I know I won’t type in everything I eat. I used to try on fitday, but never kept it up. With the book next to me, or in my purse, I’m sure to write everything down.

Oh, got up this morning at my preChristmas weight!

Bree

Way to go Bree, and you’re right. the CK book is also very good. My mother uses it to keep her"honest" and she finds it very vauable. I’m just an online guy who likes to automate as much as possible, thus why I like their software. It takes the math aspect out of it for me, and that’s good because I suck at math

Good topic, Bree!  There’s nothing quite like getting to the “too-smart-by-half” phase where you think by experience you know how much you’re eating and what the ‘cost’ is, only to find out you’re way, way off. I find that I tend to eat the same foods a lot when I’m being really buttoned-up, but I’ve definitely been there where I think I’ve made okay choices, then look it up afterwards and have a big “oops.” Ever come home from a restaurant and look up their nutrition/calories on the restaurant web site, thinking you’ve done well, and—oh, THAT other item was the way to go?

I think that’s maybe where I have been, not really registering the ‘extra’ eating I’ve been doing here and there. Back to the little notebook.

Well, being sick is definitely helping all this along. Yesterday I only took in around 500 calories. I slept most of the day. But I’m doing a bit better today. I’m not counting today’s low weigh in as fact, but wouldn’t it be cool if we could keep the weight loss we have when we’re sick?

Bree

Hi Bree,

Feel better soon!  Being sick is definitely no fun.

Though I know you meant it tongue-in-cheek, being sick is really not a good weight-loss strategy.  Some friends of mine were sick for extended periods of time and lost a lot of weight, and it’s not the healthy weight-loss, either.  A lot of it was lost muscle, and they were very, very tired until they gained it back.

Hope that doesn’t happy to you, though!  I know you’re on the right track already and you don’t need my nagging.  I’m sending good thoughts (and virtual chicken soup) your way!

Cheers,
Julie

I hope you get to feeling better really soon, and that weight loss stays.

I don’t keep track of the calories, but I do try to keep track of what I eat, and about how much.  Just the process of recording that makes me more aware of what I’m eating, and I control portions better.  I am guessing I’m eating between 1500-1800 cal a day right now, though I think yesterday I blew it with a big bowl of cocoa pebbles.  At least it wasn’t chocolate ice cream.