Food Tips I've Found Helpful

As I've become more calorie-conscious, there are things that I've been learning or of which I've been reminded.  Some of them are things I've known for a while but to which I haven't given much thought, while others have been a new discovery for me.  You may already know all of this, but then again, you may have forgotten or may be unaware of some of it.

• Types of salad dressings vary great in calories and fat grams.  The ones in our refrigerator currently range from Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger (35 calories and 1.5 fat grams in 2 T.) to Newman's Own Caesar Dressing (150 calories and 16 fat grams in 2 T. - ouch).  In between are Ken's Fat Free Raspberry Pecan, Kraft Zesty Italian, a French dressing and Ken's Creamy Balsamic.  Make sure you check the labels to see if the dressing is worth the calories.  The Newman's Own Caesar Dressing is totally worth it, but I have to use it on days where I know I won't be eating other high-calorie meals in order for it to be worth it.  Otherwise, I pick one of the lower-calorie dressings.
• Additionally, I find that 1 tablespoon of dressing (and not the "serving size" of 2 T.) is generally plenty for a side salad.  Sometimes I need a little more than 2 T. if it's a large dinner salad.  I used a measuring spoon meticulously when I first started tracking my calories on LoseIt!  I still use it most of the time but will sometimes eyeball it and make sure I'm not being overly generous.  I really used to drown my salads, and I'm enjoying them more without dripping soggy lettuce.
• Salad dressings also vary widely from brand to brand.  I've seen 35 to 40 calories difference in "light" ranch dressings.  Sometimes price isn't the only consideration, even if you're on a budget.  Don't sacrifice a healthier product to save a quarter or two, especially when salad dressing can last for a long time.  The same is often true with light mayonnaise, sour cream, lunch meats, cheese and other products.  Read those labels!
• Portion sizes are probably smaller than you think, if you haven't been paying attention lately.  For example, a 4-oz. portion of meat is about the size and depth of a deck of cards.  An ounce of cheese is approximately a 1" cube.  Chips can be anywhere from 7 or 8 to 32 chips for an ounce of something like Fritos.  When you're building that giant plate of nachos, you can bet you're having at least 2 to 3 servings of tortilla chips, and that can easily get you to 350-500 calories just as your base.
• I'm a lot less likely to grab a handful of crackers, candy, Goldfish grahams (those things are GOOD) or other foods that happen to out on the counter if I know that I need to account for those calories.  Sometimes I'll have some, anyway, and make sure I enter those calories.  Other times, I pass on it so that I don't need to track it.  Keeping count has made me much more conscious of eating things instead of absently just grabbing for something that's out in the open and looks tasty.

I truly had no idea before how many calories I was consuming.  I also didn't know how many calories I should be consuming, so even on days when I thought I did well, I'm sure I was overeating by a fair amount.  Thus my slow but steady weight gain over the years, until I was 40 pounds higher than I was 10 years ago.  I've been working hard and have lost about 22 of that so far.  I'm planning on losing another 15-20 and seeing how I look and feel at that point.  I don't think I'll feel the need to lose more because I think that will have me at a healthy, and maintainable, weight and size.  But once I've moved on to Maintenance, I still plan on keeping an awareness of portion sizes, how many helpings I'm eating of something and the other helpful lifestyle changes I've made to finally take off this extra weight.