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How to Count Calories

How to Count Calories

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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28 Comments

  1. Aj

    Thanks for posting this! It’s very helpful. I have counted calories before. When I first started I had an old book that had been my mom’s – a little calorie counter pocket sized book – way old school. I think counting calories totally works. I tend to eat the same foods during the day, so once I have a sense of those, it’s dinners that are the only hard part to figure out.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      No problem AJ! I think it was a good topic and with people starting to make resolutions for 2011 maybe it will help. 🙂

  2. Kelly

    I am counting calories. I’ve always lost more weight counting calories as opposed to other methods (points, etc).

    For home cooked meals, I use the sparkpeople recipes web site. There is a recipe calculator you can use to figure out nutrients. It’s been very helpful.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I’ll check out that website. I prefer recipes that include their nutritional information. It makes things easier.

  3. Lori (Finding Radiance)

    I count calories and actually pay attention to the macros as well. Well, I really only pay attention to protein. If I get enough protein in, the other macros fall into place.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I’ve thought about tracking carbs and protein–I even tried it for awhile. But it was hard for me to keep up with.

  4. Carbzilla

    My breasts are HUGE. They are like 2.5 decks of cards!

    I don’t know what kind of chickens have those tiny deck ‘o cards breasts.

    You knew I was talking about chicken, right?

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Wait–you’re talking about chicken? Boo!
      😉

  5. Beth @ Beth's Journey to Thin

    I am not a calorie counter – I’m a WW points counter. I go on and off plan, but know that when I go off, my weight starts creeping up. I just recommitted to WW last week and lost 5.6 lbs in the first week! Measuring portions and just writing down what I eat makes a huge difference for me, even though WHAT I eat didn’t change that much.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I’m really really happy for you Beth! 5.6 is awesome in one week! And it means it’s working.

  6. Lori Lynn

    I have counted calories in the past, and though I’m not doing it now, it helped me become a conscious label-reader. Sometimes it is hard to know how to calculate baked or something homemade, but I guess that’s when you have to take portion-control and moderation into consideration.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Baked goods and homemade recipes can be hard to calculate. I try to find recipes with that information available.

  7. Natalie O

    So true! Measuring food and keeping track of what you eat is key. I haven’t counted my calories in a couple months, and im definitely over eating. Using sparkpeople to track everything really helped me in the past, and im planning on starting again after the holidays for sure 🙂

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Good for you! I like measuring my food. It’s quite the eye-opener.

  8. Elise

    Years ago I used this for carb counting:

    http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

    And am starting to use it again for calorie counting. I also search out recipes that have the calorie count in them but I too am guilty of eating processed food when I don’t want to have to think about counting 🙁

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Elise-I ate a lot of processed foods for a long time because I wanted to know exactly how many calories I was consuming! It was easy that way. Now that I eat “real food” it’s a lot harder to be accurate which I part of why it’s harder for me to lose now. But I’d rather eat real food and stay the same weight.

  9. @irun2befit

    Great post! The measuring cup is a great great tool for this! I remember the first time I measured ONE CUP of cereal. I was like OMG I’ve been eatting like 3-4 servings of cereal this whole time!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      YES!! Me too! Most servings of cereal are 1/2 a cup or 3/4 cup. I was eating 3x that!

  10. blackhuff

    I like the new look of your blog and the new look where we comment 🙂
    Firstly, Happy Holidays to you and your family today and tomorrow.
    Secondly, I do count calories, that is how I lost the amount of weight this far.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Thanks! I’m glad the new look is a hit. I love it.

  11. Alan (Pounds Off Playoff)

    Lisa, very helpful post! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

  12. Donnau1

    Most people don’t believe that when you drink calories you put on more weight than when you eat them thanks for sharing. I heard that men lose weight faster than women is that true, and another thing do you agree with counting the calories that we take in? The fact is it is much easier to put on weight than to take it off.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Especially with sodas! That packs on the pounds so much.

      As for your question, I DO believe that men lose weight faster than women but I don’t know if that’s scientifically accurate. I’ve heard both things.

  13. Stop Counting Calories to Lose Weight » 110 Pounds and Counting

    […] Recently I read an article entitled “Stop Counting Calories to Lose Weight.” I was intrigued because I lost 100 pounds by counting my calories and I’ve kept the weight off now for 5 years by continuing to count my calories. (You can read more here: How to Count Calories.) […]

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