Bit of help please, first time calorie counting!

[Whiiiissstle]

Hi everyone, I've just started trying to lose weight... I booked a holiday where I knew I would be in swimwear, bought some scales and I think you can all guess where this is going....
So I was going back on forth on joining slimming world and weight watchers but in the end I thought if I figured out what my calorie intake should be to shift weight then why did I need to pay for a group. That being said I would be interested in people's thoughts on those kind of groups.
I enjoy eating veg so getting healthier foods into my diet isn't the problem as such, it's more I don't went to get bored of eating the same veg cooked in the same way all the time. So does any one have any suggestions of how to stick to your calorie intake but not eat just bog standard veg or potatoes?
Also does anyone use an app to track their calories?

My Fitness Pal.

And to make sure you really are on the right calorie allowance, work out your tdee and reduce the figure by 20%, adjust as you lose weight

https://tdeecalculator.net/

I ate what I usually ate tbh, I never deprived myself of anything, I just ate it as part of my calorie allowance. If I wanted that extra roast potato, I knew I couldn’t have the glass of wine as well. Packet of crisps, then I’d have less potato (pasta, rice or whatever) but more veg with dinner. As long as you are accurately weighing and logging you will lose if you stick to your targets.

Weigh everything and don't feel you have to completely cut out anything.
Be realistic about how much and how quickly you can lose weight.
Don't expect a linear weight loss.

I use nutracheck which I find really easy and intuitive to use.
You enter your current weight, height, target weight etc and it will work out your daily calorie intake. You can set it for easier days, choose different food goals eg low carb, higher protein, low sugar, 5:2 etc. It tracks all the macros and you can see the nutrients of all the foods. You can link it to fitness trackers so it will take account of exercise and steps that you do. You can scan barcodes to enter foods into your diary, enter and save recipes for home made meals. There is a good community forum that is very supportive and helpful.

You do have to pay for, it is £23.99 per year, but I think that if I am paying then I am more likely to use it and stick to the diet. And it's a lot cheaper than SW and WW.

I use MyNetDiary to track calories.

I am not sure of the usefulness of the dumbing down things like WW and SW do. They demonise foods as "syns" etc, allow you to eat unlimited things like fruit, when you should be learning about the calories, nutrients, positives of food, rather than giving them false labels.
It's ok to eat a doughnut sometimes, sure it's less nutrients, but it's also less calories than that fancy, expensive green smoothie that's being advertised as healthy!

Tray baked vegetables are a great, easy way to get a load of veg, and change up the flavours by using different seasonings. Chipotle mix and add beans and it's Tex-Mex, add curry spices and serve with a protein of choice, or add herbs, and feta and it's completely different again.

That's been really useful advise there, thanks very much!
I'm definitely not going to cut things I enjoy out as I think it sets you up for failure a bit if you give in and have a treat, you just need to balance it out as posters have mentioned.
The roasted veg idea is great though and would definitely help to have different flavours in a meal.

Try this thread!

This is a thread you might enjoy joining in with, been running a while, you don't need to read it all, can just step in for some support and comradery!

Something I forgot with the roast vegetables as well, is doing an extra tray at the same time with peppers, tomatoes and onions, and having it cold the next day, tastes like those expensive delicatessen mixes.

Thanks @WeirdPookah ! I'll check it out now 😊

I use my fitness pal and weigh and track everything. I stay in a deficit but it gives me more ease on eating more of what I want. I have a range of intolerances to food so following a set diet would never work with me as I probably couldn’t eat half the stuff anyway.

when I track I can see what I have left as the day goes on and make choices over what I want more, whether that be super healthy veggies or to treat myself to some ice cream. I’ve lost 4.5st so far and need to lose another half a stone but it works.

even if I’ve had a bad day I still track it. It helps me to make healthier choices as the week goes on to balance out the extra treats I couldn’t resist.

@Rooly how long did it take for you to notice any difference? I know everyone's body is different but I'm dreading weighing myself again and seeing nothing has changed!

I've been doing the Michael mosley fast 800. The meals are very tasty and it means you don't need to weigh every single thing (eg. It says 2 eggs and a rasher of bacon). I do weigh a few bits but it's basically low carbing and high protein.

I’ve done calorie counting a couple times with a fairly modest weight loss goal. I usually try to only weigh myself once a week but typically notice 1-2lbs come off the first week and most weeks. I do try to overestimate what I’m eating so I definitely stay under.