Calorie counting

[Unirainb9w]

I've decided to try calorie counting. Do I really need to count the calories of my salad as I'm only allowed 1200 Cals a day?

I count everything. Calories are calories to me, whether they are from salad or chocolate! 1200 a day sounds quite low though.

Yes. I weighed and counted every single thing. It seems excessive but it stops you from accidentally underestimating your intake.

I count everything, I use the nutracheck app, I think it’s great. 1200 is very low though, might be more sustainable to go for 1400ish perhaps?

Thanks!
I just thought all the other slimming diets I've been on never count salad stuff.
Yes 1200 does seem low but I'm very short and not very active (trying to work on it).
I downloaded the nutracheck app this morning, I have to say I am quite impressed!

I would - I count everything, including milk in tea and sauces etc which can be v calorific. Like pp said a calorie is a calorie no matter where t comes from.

To be honest I estimate with salad vegetables, I do put down every ingredient, and try to estimate a bit higher than I actually think it is. But chicken/ dressing whatever else you put on your salad needs to be measured

I have just started nutricheck. I think it’s v good and yes I count everything. 1200 sounds painfully low to me - have you set a v fast weight loss goal??? Failing that, get your steps up - it makes a real difference to calories allowed.

1200 is too low, you’ll damage your metabolism doing that

I started calorie counting yesterday using my fitness Pal, would everyone say nutracheck is as good/better? I've seen it's only 3.99 a month so might switch to that. I used James smith's TDEE calculator to figure out a calorie allowance (1794 it gave me) which seems high, but I have a lot to lose so i am trusting it for now

I do count salad calories but like PP tend to just estimate and if adding dressing and things like avocado or chicken/tuna etc it can add up quite a bit.
1200 isn’t really low if you are short. At 5ft I need 1370 cal just to maintain my current weight.

I log everything. If you're literally talking leaves then it's probably 10-15 calories and not worth doing but it's a good habit to get in to if "salad" means dressings, cheese, olives, croutons etc. Creep in

I don’t count salad if it’s just lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber etc, but any salad dressings, more fatty salad items like avocado then yes. I tend to eat a lot of similar stuff so use the recipe section on MFP so much easier after a while to log everything

And agree 1200 is not low for many.

How are you getting on @Unirainb9w? I've downloaded the nutracheck app last week and I'm giving it a good go. So sick of the SW cycle and never getting anywhere. Nutracheck gives me 1668 calories but James Smith gave me 1900, so I try to stay in between the two as not sure which is better!

I was given 1250 kcal with MyFitnessPal - I'm very short too 😂

I don’t lose unless I’m eating less that 1200 plus exercise. I feel like I have to work harder than others on mn but I know my own body. I’m 5’5” so not very short.

How are you getting on?
I'm trying to shift about a stone (hopefully a little bit more than a stone)
I do count my salad but if it's just a sliced tomato and a little bit of lettuce (in a sandwich or something) i round it up and count it as 50 or 60 calories. I know it's generally less than this but I try to overestimate calories, so it hopefully makes up for it if i ever underestimate!
Best tool for me has been keeping track of what I eat. I use notepad and pen as I find the apps a bit annoying and time consuming!
I give myself about 1200 calories during the week (happy enough to go to 1400) I'm much more relaxed (and greedy) at the weekend so try to go a bit lower during the week.
I'm hoping for a stone off by Sept. Do-able if I get my act together and stick with it!
How are you all getting on?

Also- seems worth checking out if anyone interested; weight loss resource website.
I took the one day free trial and ultimately decided it wasn't for me (didn't want to pay plus prefer to track with pen and paper) but lots of good info/forums/recipes and a good calorie tracker on there. The free trial is really a free trial too.. no credit card details taken or automatic subscription.

I don't count salad or any veg. I just count the dressings or cheese or whatever but I stopped doing it recently and it didn't make a difference to my weight loss and is also less hassle so more realistic to stick to. I always count fruit though.