Counting Calories?

Unfortunately, what we are doing to lose weight isn't as simple as looking for a number on a pre-packaged "lean" meal. First off, most of what we are eating isn't pre-packaged. Secondly, most of those meals aren't very filling and I'm ready for more way too soon.

We also found out that the average American (us included) no longer knows how much a "serving" is of most foods. Meals served at fast food and other restaurants have been growing in an effort to "out big" the competition. Just because you are getting "more" food for your money doesn't mean you are getting a real value for your meal.

All of that means we need to count calories and actually measure out servings. As we get a feel for which foods provide the most nutrition, flavor and satisfaction we have been able ease off counting calories.

The whole process is pretty eye opening. When making a chicken dish early on we had a piece of breast we figured was about a serving. It was actually two. I remember looking at 1/2 of that and thinking... man, we're going to starve eating like this. But, after adding proper servings of vegetables and a potato with toppings the final meal was so filling that neither of us actually finished everything on our plates.

On the other hand, if you plan to just eat less of the same foods you always ate then you are setting yourself up to fail. A lot of what we eat every day gets most of its taste from sugar, salt and fat. So most of it is high calorie, low fiber (less filling, hungry again faster) and low on nutrients.

For example, if I were to head down to the local BK and get a large double whopper w/ cheese value meal, I'd be getting pretty much ALL of the calories someone should eat for the entire day. I'd also only be getting a fraction of most of the nutrients we need. I definitely wouldn't be satisfied all day. In fact with a regular diet like that I'd be craving more food due to vitamin deficiencies. Yet that is what millions of us eat on a pretty regular basis.