Calorie Counting.

TerrorFirmer

I'm relying here on the good ol' regulars to help me out with this.

I know the recommended daily intake a day is 2500, but how do you measure this?

On an average day I eat a bowl of Bran flakes in the morning, a banana and a special k bar at lunch (although they say less then 90 cals a bar, thats not why I eat them, I'm just addicted ) and then a full dinner in the evening, usually consisting of meat, veg and potatoes/rice. Sometimes fruit at night time too.

How do I know if I am exceeding or meeting my advised daily intake?

And also on a seperate note, is eating alot of chicken good for you? I know in nutritional values it has practically no carbs or fat so does this mean you can technically eats loads and not gain weight or what.....hardly worth creating a new thread over or anything but it's just I always eat a pack of sliced chicken (chicken breast, not the cheap processed stuff) after I go the gym.....wierd tradition. Would stop doing it if it's not good!

Thanks guys.

pepper

MobileInfantry wrote:

I'm relying here on the good ol' regulars to help me out with this.

I know the recommended daily intake a day is 2500, but how do you measure this?

On an average day I eat a bowl of Bran flakes in the morning, a banana and a special k bar at lunch (although they say less then 90 cals a bar, thats not why I eat them, I'm just addicted ) and then a full dinner in the evening, usually consisting of meat, veg and potatoes/rice. Sometimes fruit at night time too.

How do I know if I am exceeding or meeting my advised daily intake?

And also on a seperate note, is eating alot of chicken good for you? I know in nutritional values it has practically no carbs or fat so does this mean you can technically eats loads and not gain weight or what.....hardly worth creating a new thread over or anything but it's just I always eat a pack of sliced chicken (chicken breast, not the cheap processed stuff) after I go the gym.....wierd tradition. Would stop doing it if it's not good!

Thanks guys.

before you eat anything check the rda box on the wrapper or box- the calories are there- but keep an eye on the fat too-you may think your eating something healthy but it could have a LOT of fat in it

whiteboard

try this, I find it useful
http://www.vhi.ie/topic/diet/foodfactfinder/index.jsp.

I have started to weigh out the food I am going to eat and record the calories for everything I eat. It might sound a bit over the top but I think it is the only real way to know your calorie intake.

g'em

whiteboard wrote:

I have started to weigh out the food I am going to eat and record the calories for everything I eat. It might sound a bit over the top but I think it is the only real way to know your calorie intake.

pretty much what I do too. I keep an excel sheet of all the foods I regularly eat and every few days I tally up what I've been eating to make sure I'm getting the right number of calories in. I always stick to the same portion size (1/3 cup pre-cooked rice, 1 medium chicken breast, 1/2 cup veg etc) to make it easier, and after while you'll be able to jusdge your calories without checking up on them all the time. I have a list of recipes that I've pre-calculated the calories from and generally speaking I try to eat equal amounts of calories at breakfast/ lunch/ dinner but with different macronutrient composition i.e. my evening meal will be higher in protein, low in carbs, whereas breakfast is all about the carbs!!! Snacks will be about half what big meals are.

Oh and you should really check on your recommended daily carlorie intake, the 2500 is a very general rule- obviously it'll differ if you're very big/small/do more exercise than the average person etc.

Dragan

1 gram protein = 4.5 calories
1 gram carbs = 4.5 calories
1 gram fat = 9 calories
1 gram alchohol = 7 calories.

As far as i am aware.

I know it might seem like a bastard now, but as G'em said, when you get some recipies down it's easy.

I have different one for different meals for different calories yields.

Sad, ain't it.

TerrorFirmer

Thanks guys. Think I need to intake a slight bit more actually then my current.

Currently about 6 ft, fairly broad, 14 stone. Need to shed some excess fat. Stupid, clingy fat that won't go away!

cousin_borat

open a fitday account, its free and will help get you used to calculating your calorie intake and p/c/f intake as well.

TerrorFirmer

Thanks.

So is eating chicken okay for after the gym and late at night?

It's when I eat it most

Eat a fair bit after the gym but not alot at night, maybe a few strips...

g'em

thats absolutely fine, low fat, low carbs, high protein, all good. in fact Dragan eats a small cow every night if his posts today are anything to go by....

rubadub

Dragan wrote:

1 gram alchohol = 7 calories.

This is the quote but many studies show that it is wrong. eg feeding people the same amount of cals, with an excess in one group of sugars.starch of say 500kcal and 500kcal alcohol in another. The sugar/starch put on more weight. I think this comes down to how they calculate energy, I am guessing they incinerate a portion and calculate the heat given up, so this is like saying petrol is high in calories! From my own experience it is not true, I know myself and a few others who used to drink like fish, then stopped and weight did not change, eating the same stuff at the time too.

Anyways, yes weigh the food. Portion sizes on packages is bull, the sizes on cereal packs are minute, and glasses of milk are usually 200ml whereas I would drink 350-400ml.

Unfried chicken breast is good. I have noticed ham is also very low in fat, I also noticed some prepacked stuff is up to 40% water.
There are sites where you put in your average daily routine, sex, weight etc, and it estimates your calories. A 20stone man cycling 10miles uses far more calories than a 6 stone woman doing the same journey. I think my estimate was 3300kcal a day.

TerrorFirmer

Well, the last two months has seen me drop from 16 to 14 stone, I'm a fairly big guy by nature, pretty broad, so now I look pretty decent at 14 stone even if I'm still somewhat carrying a fair bit of excess.

I just ate a brown pita with chicken there....okay, there was some bbq sauce, but ah well.....I was at the gym previous to that so not all bad.

I'm not the kind of person that obsesses with the calories, it's just I wanted to make sure I'm getting enough!

Although now that I'm not eating much chocolate/sweet stuff anymore, I have to have a special k bar everyday - so damn addictve....and only 90 calories apparently!

zAbbo

Have you looked into making your own bars ? with oats/peanut butter/raisens/honey etc.

Those specialK bars are tasty, but i cudn't justify the price on them.

Congrats on the weight loss mate