Can anyone quickly check my calorie counting?

[bookeesh]

I know this is somewhat impossible given that none of you have been following me round (I hope...) but I'm very new to this calorie counting thing and slightly concerned I'm doing it all wrong and jeopardising any potential progress. If anyone more experienced could just give me a thumbs up, that'd be amazing for my peace of mind. Alternatively, tell me I'm doing it all wrong and at least I know that now and not in 6 months time when I still haven't lost any weight.

Example day of calorie counting:

Breakfast - smoothie with 100g of frozen raspberry/strawberry/blueberry mix, 1 scoop protein powder, about 100ml soya milk = 271 calories

Mid morning snack - 2 small slices of light rye sourdough bread and Clover light = 228 calories

Lunch - this Bosh recipe, using courgette instead of mushrooms, half quantity of oil and no maple syrup. I ate 1/8th of the recipe it lists in the link. Also had some peas and sweetcorn = 349 calories

Afternoon snack - around 1/3rd of a cucumber with about 30g hummus (bit of a guess but going to weigh it properly next time instead of just eating out the packet!) = 80 calories

Dinner - two Linda McCartney sausages with broccoli and cauliflower (around 80g each) = 184 calories

Total is 1030 calories. Planning on having a bit of dark chocolate this evening to end up at around 1200. Again, appreciate that this is not the easiest thing to judge but if anyone thinks I'm going very badly wrong somewhere, please let me know!

Thanks so much :)

I don't think you are going wrong as such and well done for getting started. I found I needed to cut out things like smoothies (and all drinks except water and plain tea or coffee) and all chocolate as they are empty calories in the sense of not being filling enough and to have more fibre instead. Do have some whole fruit though, but perhaps just spend fewer calories on it.

Aside from the rye bread you don't seem to have any carbs and for the long term it is easier to try to be balanced.

You need to find what works for you though. It is far better to be varied and try a few things that work for you, but be able to stick at it.

My other tip is to couple the calorie counting with a no bad habit rules. I found I got very bored counting so when I stopped I had learnt what 1200 calories looked like, but needed a no bad habits rule to stay on the straight and narrow. I do still go back to counting to check but just can't keep it up long term whereas rules helped.

Thank you @GOODCAT, I really do appreciate it!

Definitely agree with the carbs thing, I realised the same when I typed out the food the OP. No bad habits rule sounds perfect, I am hoping to stop calorie counting at some point as already I feel like I'm obsessing over every tiny bit of food. My issue is that at the moment I have next to no idea what 1200 calories looks like, I'm assuming/hoping it will come with experience.

Also not sure on the breakfast smoothie yet, I've been having them for about a week now and normally I really love them - they taste pretty good and they're super quick. Today though I just didn't feel like it was filling at all, hence the morning snack at 9am I might try an overnight oats or something like that, maybe just the sensation of actually eating something rather than drinking a smoothie will help? Ideally something I can put a scoop of protein powder in as I struggle to get veggie protein which doesn't take up a load of calories otherwise. Any recommendations from people on here would be gratefully received!

Are you hungry or do you feel satisfied? 1200 is quite low to stick to long term but I know some people can feel ok eating this amount. Breakfast you could have greek yoghurt with protein powder mixed in, it will give you a good dose of protein first thing and help keep you feeling full

Generally, I don't feel hungry. Sometimes I feel like I could eat more but I don't need to, if that makes sense? Planning on upping the calories to 1600 or so in a few months once I have dropped a bit of the initial weight and figured out the gym enough to need some more fuel for harder workouts!

Greek yoghurt could work actually. I had been trying to cut out dairy in the last few months but I don't think it's made any difference to any aspect of my life so not sure why I'm still not eating it. Thanks for the recommendation :)

Id swap the smoothie for eggs, 2 eggs scrambled with a handful of spinach keeps me full

Eggs for me too. Two scrambled eggs, sometimes with a 20g of cheddar, sometimes with a tsp of reduced salt Marmite, sometimes with chopped peppers, sometimes just on its own. That keeps me going from around 8am til 1pm with no need to snack in the morning.