How to Make your Calories Count

My Fitness Pal will set everyone's target calorie intake at a different number, based on your height, weight, lifestyle, and your desired pace to lose weight. It will even adjust that number as you lose weight in 10 lb intervals. The one thing that will remain the same for everyone is that the number you are given will seem too small.

To help make that number seem a little more realistic, here are some food choices that you can make, which will give you the wiggle room you may need to stay inside your daily goal.

• "Hold the Mayo. I'll have that with Mustard." - Instant calorie savings in the biggest way. Regular Mayo can run 100 calories for one serving, which is a tablespoon. In most cases, we use more than a tablespoon, so the calories will add up quickly, while mustard has ZERO calories. Pile it on and adapt to the taste. You'll thank yourself when you are hungry for an evening snack and have calories to spare.
• "No cheese, please." - This is a tough one, but once again, a cheese slice starts at around 60 calories and goes up from there with other types of cheese and serving sizes. A lot of needless calories spent where you can avoid it.
• Always get the dressing on the side - A great idea shared with me at one time is to actually dip your fork in the dressing before picking up the salad. This way you get trace amounts of the dressing, but you do get the flavor.
• Diet Jello = Awesome - With virtually no difference in flavor, diet jello has approximately 10 calories per serving. For anyone with a sweet tooth, like me, this will probably get you through the need for dessert.
• Divide and Conquer - If you are in a situation where you really can't (or don't want to) eat a low calorie meal, use the divide and conquer method. Just because there is a foot long sub in front of you, it doesn't mean that you have to eat all 700+ calories in one meal. Half today and half tomorrow is a great way to manage your intake and prove to that filthy little snack food that you are in control.

I hope that these tips help to get you into a pattern of saving calories in places where you won't really miss them, and spend them in places where it will benefit you. I didn't get into all the obvious stuff like eat your fruits and veggies, etc., but obviously, do all that crap too.

In my next post I will start talking about working out.