Many people think that when they decide it’s time to lose weight, they have to count every single calorie that touches their lips. This really isn’t necessary. In fact, it could become quite tedious and cause you to give up.
So how do you know how many calories you’ve taken in during a 24 hour period? Estimate! Count portions instead of each individual calorie. This is where effective meal planning comes in!
When you know approximately how many calories are in that piece of bread and 2 ounces of tuna, you can have a general idea of how many calories you’re consuming when you eat a tuna sandwich.
If you insist on tracking all of your calories, you’ll have to be diligent about reading labels and eating only the portions that the label gives calories for. You’ll also have to carry around a small notebook to jot down what you’ve eaten so you can assign a calorie value for reference.
A much easier way might be to utilize a spreadsheet that lists your planned meals along with their caloric content. Be sure to include other particulars such as protein content, carbs, and fat grams as well. Then print it out and post it on your refrigerator to give yourself something to aspire to.
Almost all packaged foods will contain information about the caloric content of those foods, but what about those fruits and vegetables you consume. Maybe we should give you some ideas!
Food Portion Calories Apples 1 medium 125 Asparagus 4 spears 15 Avocado 1 305 Banana 1 105 Beef Roast, Lean 3 oz. 205 Beef Sirloin Steak 3 oz. 240 Blackberries 1 cup 75 Broccoli 1 cup 45 Cabbage 1 cup 30 Cantaloupe ½ melon 95 Carrots 1 30 Celery 1 stalk 5 Cherries 10 50
Chicken, Roasted 3 oz. 140 BreastChicken, Fried 4.6 oz. 369 Breast
Yellow Corn 1 ear 85 Crab Meat 1 cup 135 Cucumber 6 slices 5 Egg, Fried 1 egg 90 Egg, Hard Boiled 1 egg 75 Egg, Scrambled 1 egg 100 Flounder, Baked 3 oz. 120 Pink Grapefruit ½ fruit 40
Ground Beef, 3 oz. 230 BroiledHalibut, Broiled 3 oz. 140 Lamb Chop, 2.8 oz. 235 Broiled
Lamb Leg, Roasted 3 oz. 205 Lettuce 1 cup 5 Mushrooms 1 cup 20 Nectarine 1 65 Okra, Cooked 8 pods 25 Orange 1 60 Peaches 1 35 Pear 1 100 Peanuts, Salted 1 cup 71 Pepper, Green/Red 1 15 Pineapple 1 cup 75 Pistachios 1 oz. 165 Pork Chop, Broiled 2.5 oz. 165 Pork Chop, Fried 3.1 oz. 335
Pork – Ham – 3 oz. 250 RoastedPork Rib – Roasted 3 oz. 270 Pork Bacon 3 slices 110 Pork Sausage Link 1 link 50 Potato – Baked 1 220 Raisins 1 cup 435 Salmon – Smoked 3 oz. 150 Spinach 1 cup 10 Strawberries 1 cup 45
Sweet Potato – 1 115 BakedTangerine 1 35 Tomato 1 25 Turkey – Roasted 1 cup 240 Walnuts 1 cup 770 Watermelon 1 cup 50
Obviously, this is just a partial list, but it’s a start for you to reference when choosing foods. As you can see, fruits and vegetables are almost all relatively low-calorie and can help you feel full without consuming a lot of calories.
You will want to consume fewer calories than what you burn off in order to effectively lose weight. Keep that in mind when planning your meals.
And we can’t stress this enough – read labels and take note of portion sizes! That way you can get a better idea of what you’re eating.
We promised you some great low-cal recipes, so let’s get to it!