Calorie Calculator for Weight Loss AND Carb/Calorie Counting

**Marie Anna** · February 17th, 2009, 05:07 PM

Here's a link to a calculator that gives you what you need to eat to loose and to maintain your weight. http://nutrition.about.com/od/change...a/calguide.htm
I'm not that big on calorie counting, but I am doing it now as an experiment with carb counting.

I have done a lot of research between calorie counting and carb counting. The over all information is that you can do either, you have to adjust the overall amount of food irregardless of what plan you are on.

Carb counting is dependent of physical activities. Calorie counting is dependent on continuation of calories counting.

Anyone else do any research?

**Hellcat07** · February 17th, 2009, 05:12 PM

There are two sites I really like for the calories:::

www.myfitnesspal.com

and

www.sparkpeople.com (sparkpeople has actual menu ideas that you can click "change" on and select from different things which makes it SO easy to plan what you eat to stay on track!)

I only use the sparkpeople menu when I run out of healthy ideas to fix something new. It helps!

**Marie Anna** · February 17th, 2009, 05:16 PM

Cool, thanks!

I'll give them a go!

By the way....10 pounds off and you look great. Good job!

**Hellcat07** · February 17th, 2009, 05:18 PM

Thank you so much! I meant to post that those sites have Carb and Fiber and just about anything else-counters too. I log onto the first one every day and put my food in to make sure Im still on track. So far so good. I usually go under 1200 by a bit though. It's hard to eat when you aren't hungry or craving anything anymore lol! Hope you like the sites!

**Mary-Mary** · February 17th, 2009, 05:28 PM

i have tried everydayhealth.com and they also have menus and they track about everything too

**Hellcat07** · February 17th, 2009, 05:31 PM

I'll check them out too

thanks Mary

**indiana_lady** · February 18th, 2009, 11:52 AM

I have tried using the calorie counter/estimator things. I just don't know which one to believe. Fitday says I should be eating 1521. I went to the one that Marie Anna suggested and it said I should eat 2081. My fitness pal says 1200. Web md says 1350. So, those are some pretty big jumps. I just don't know which one is correct and my doctor didn't really give me a clue; just said to focus on starting cardio and cutting back on the junk food. Guess I will wait til March 2nd to ask him. Until then I am just going to guess.

**Hellcat07** · February 18th, 2009, 11:53 AM

Every woman at my weight loss clinic is given the same 1200 calorie diet, so I would try to stick somewhere around there and ask your doctor when you see him/her again.

**youngkeish** · February 18th, 2009, 12:52 PM

I have tried sparkpeople.com they are great. Also prevention.com & calorie-count.com are helpful too!

**Marie Anna** · February 18th, 2009, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by indiana_lady

I have tried using the calorie counter/estimator things. I just don't know which one to believe. Fitday says I should be eating 1521. I went to the one that Marie Anna suggested and it said I should eat 2081. My fitness pal says 1200. Web md says 1350. So, those are some pretty big jumps. I just don't know which one is correct and my doctor didn't really give me a clue; just said to focus on starting cardio and cutting back on the junk food. Guess I will wait til March 2nd to ask him. Until then I am just going to guess.

Whatever you're doing, I would keep it up. 1500 calories may be just what you need. You and I started this at the same time with the same weight (I was 174). You are currently at 161.5 and I'm at 165! WOW, well done. How much cardio/weights/strength training are you doing??

Below is very boring,

but it explains the method to my madness about that site I gave you:

It could be that 1200 calories would slow down your metabolism. That may very well be the problem I'm having now. I used that calculator basically to get what I needed to subtract for calories. I.E. I can eat up to 2000+ calories a day with all of the exercise, cardio and weight training I do. If I eat 1500 calories and burn 700 calories I am at 800 calories for the day. 2000-800=1200 calories x 7=8400 / 3500 means that I should loose around 2.4 pounds a week...which I am doing. This is the mad-scientist in me. I always always have to have proof. I'm a building inspector and a law enforcement officer.

Why am I doing this? I have been on low carb for years. I am counting both right now. I am just trying to get a handle on what works best of weight loss for me. I know low carb will keep the weight off. But will calories counting actually give me more predictable weight loss...so far, "yes". UGH!

BUT, I am the observer in this experiment and the observer always changes the outcome of the experiment. It's very easy to say, "what one expects always happens." Quantum Psychics.

**indiana_lady** · February 18th, 2009, 02:07 PM

Thanks for the "well done", Marie Anna. You are doing pretty well yourself; even though our weights are similiar, you look so much thinner than I do. Of course that could be a mental issue for me; I always see myself as way more heavy than I appear to others.

I am guessing that around 1500 is what I need. I know the days that I eat more I tend to lose a little more. It just scares me sometimes to eat that much because I am afraid the scale will go up not down. My weight loss definately slowed down during the second week, but I look at it as at least I lost something.

I just started working out last Friday. Before that I wasn't doing anything. I am currently doing only thirty minutes of cardio a day via treadmill. The program that I do on it says that it burns 300 calories, but I only use that as an estimate. Different people burn calories different. I am hoping that now that my TOM is almost over I will have more energy to bump up the cardio to two 30 min sessions a day.

So, I am guessing that my slow weight loss this past week was due to several factors; TOM, gaining muscle, not eating enough and huge amounts of stress. I am hoping for a better week next week and in doing that I just wanted to get a better understanding of how many calories to eat.

I figure I will try the 1500 and see how it goes. I think the 1200 is just too little for me and kinda stalling my progress. Thanks for the tips! And good luck with the carb/cal counting. I tried to do that while on Adkins and just got too confused.

**Marie Anna** · February 18th, 2009, 02:16 PM

You probably are seeing yourself as heavier. I also am a weight lifter so my weight is going ot be higher. At 150 pounds I am size 4.

I am so sorry about your stress! I hope that you have a better week!

**indiana_lady** · February 18th, 2009, 02:40 PM

I usually don't hit a size four until I get to 130 so you have me beat. I know at my current weight of 161 I am in about a size nine/ten. I know I have lost inches; should have probably measured that too, but too late now. The day I went into the doc office I was wearing a size thirteen and they were so tight I decided to wear flip flops in the snow so I wouldn't bust open my pants while trying to put on shoes.
I tried to wear that pair of pants on Sunday and there is no way. They wouldn't stay in place and they were so loose in the belly area the zipper kept coming down.
As for the stress, I am hoping it gets better. I have a doc appointment tomorrow for my youngest son and hopefully they figure something out with him before he gets kicked out of kindergarten. I don't know how much longer I can handle all this stress if they don't give me some hope that things could get better.

**cilla37** · February 18th, 2009, 03:25 PM

This is the site I use I really like it it tracks cal, protien, sugar, fiber, sodium
http://www.everydayhealth.com/member...0logged%20out.
just wanted to share