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Reading through the "Operation: Slim Down" guide, and it says I should keep a food journal. I've never counted calories in my life, do I really have to? I tried making a paleo-meal for dinner last night, and really liked it. I've deviated from paleo a bit today, since I ate my smoked herring on black bread, and I used a bit of cream and sugar in the tomato soup for dinner... But if I stick with eating paleo and reducing my intake on grains and sugar, won't that work just fine? To be clear, I'm starting on the 28 weeks basic strength program, but I'm already really excited about eating mostly vegetables, eggs and meat. What are your recommendations/experiences with food journals? And any good explanations on how to count calories without having to spend an hour accounting each day?

Ok, so heres the deal. I am a guy who has effectively transformed his diet over the past two months. I have started focusing on eating lean meats and veggies as opposed to pizza rolls and pop. (Ironically, I have inadvertantly implemented the Paleo diet!) I have been tracking my calorie consumption to a T through myfitnesspal. When I started, I was consuming 4-6k calories a day. As I have transitioned to healthier, whole foods, my calorie consumtion has naturally dropped. I am eating smaller portions, and staying away from empty calories. And the amazing thing is, I feel not hungry after each meal. I am eating 4-5 small meals throughout the day. Which brings me to my "problem"... I am now consuming TOO FEW calories, and I don't know how to fix it. I am averaging around 900-1000 calories a day. I don't know how I can add more food to my diet without just throwing in empty calories. And I don't really want to add more food to each meal because I am already feeling full when I am finished eating. I know that consuming too few calories can cause my Metabolism skill to level down. And I dont want that to happen. Help! Here is a sample daily menu for me. Breakfast: 3 Egg white omelette (with onion, pepper, mushrooms, no cheese) Banana Mid morning: 1/4 c Raw Almonds Lunch 6oz grilled chix breast cabbage salad with onion, green pepper, mushroom and pico de gallo (as a dressing substitute) Apple Mid afternoon: Protein Shake (not paleo, I know) Dinner: Grilled fish or chicken Grilled vegetables (Squash, peppers, green beans, etc) Occasionally a half cup of wild rice or quinoia

Okay, so I've fallen in love with lifting, but I'm super overweight. I really need to drastically reduce my BF% (it's 38% at the moment) and lose weight. MFP says I can have 1590 cals per day. I'm just looking for advice on what my cals should be in lifting days, or if I should keep them the same? I'm mainly focusing on bench, squat and deadlift, plus supplementary exercises to help. Since I started learning how to lift properly (only about 6 weeks ago), I've practically abandoned cardio entirely, which is stupid. So I'm planning on introducing 2 cardio sessions in with my 3 lifting sessions a week. Does that ratio sound about right? What a horrifying newbie I am. Any help is much appreciated.

Hi Everybody. I made this spreadsheet about a year ago. I put quite a bit of research into the math behind it, and I can guarantee you it's pretty accurate. I've just started dealing with google docs, so this isn't exactly the most pleasant-to-look-at spreadsheet, but I know that many of you will find it very, very useful. Please save a copy of this to your drive. Please do not override this version. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnGMZqWIG4MHdHVXOGhYNmlxRlNmenQtaFUtelFEdWc&usp=sharing What is it? Many people do not know how to calculate their calories burned throughout the day, and therefore cannot estimate what their calorie deficit is. This sheet will guide you and help you get close to that number. This is tailored for a general user. If you want something with specific activities on it, let me know and I will be happy to make a modified version. Instructions To track your calories burned, just fill in all the data in blue. Your calories will be calculated and displayed at the bottom of the page. Enter the time spent doing each activity during a day. So if you spent 30 minutes cooking dinner, 15 minutes getting ready in the morning, and 40 minutes organizing the top level of your bookshelf, then plug 1:25 into the "Standing" time. For the distance exercise items, enter the time you exercised and the distance you traveled. If you ran 3 kilometers in 25 minutes, then enter 3 kilometers and 0:30 into the time. The sheet will calculate the rest. I used the metric system for all the calculations. There is a conversion table on the right side if you need it. If this really bothers anyone, I might go and make pound-mile system. Additionally, I included two user-defined spots for other activities. You may use the MET table linked on the document to estimate what your activities are worth. These are completely optional. Questions? I am a mechanical engineer, and have spent many hours punching calorie numbers just for the hell of it. If anyone has any concerns to the accuracy of these calculations or how I came about them, I will be happy to break it down. Otherwise, I hope this helps!

What is the most effective way of working out how much your caloric intake should be- when trying to get strong. And how to know when it is time to adjust? I am really struggling at working this one out. Can any one shed some light?

So here in Beijing, when the weather is nice I bike everywhere. I commute 18km 3-5 days a week, and then bike around to and from errands, meetings, nightlife spots. In the past, I used to assume this was enough to take care of all the extra calories I took in, but obviously at some point it wasn't. Anyway, now that I've made counting calories a habit (but not an obsession), I'm counting my bike commutes which I started this week. LiveStrong says I burn nearly 900 calories on my total commute, which seems insane considering I don't go crazy fast or work up my heart rate that much. Obviously I don't want to count on those calories being burned if that's wildly inaccurate, but I also don't want to under-eat. My thought is that I just keep doing what I'm doing, food wise, and maybe have a banana smoothie if I get home if I'm feeling tired? I'm not, yet, but I've only biked to work twice this week. Just wondering if this is wildly off or if I'm on the right track.

Hi, I’m new here. I have been lurking about for a few months and finally decided to join because I need some advice on diet and exercise but first, a little about me. I’m a 28 year old male, happily married with a two year old daughter. I’m not quite sure that I would pass the nerd entrance exam as I am not a gamer(unless you count spending hours playing Command and Conquer back in elementary school) and I only really started reading heavily about 7 years ago. However, I do love fantasy novels (halfway through A Memory Of Light, right now) and I am a big Doctor Who fan. Also, my wife would definitely pass the nerd exam so I maybe I can slid through with a nerd green card. I am 5’10†and currently around 187 lbs. I have been dabbling in paleo/primal eating for around a year but finally committed in September of 2012 (biggest loser type contest at my job). Since September, I have lost about 55lbs (starting weight 242 lbs) and around 7 inches around my stomach. From September through November, the only exercise I performed was walking during my lunch break. In January, my wife decided she would like to lose a few pounds so we both joined My Fitness Pal to track our exercise and food intake. Around the same time, I started the Simplefit body weight program and recently completed L5D3. Since starting to track my calorie intake, I have averaged around 1600 calories and 130 g of protein per day. I just started Starting Strength, in lieu of Simplefit, this week. Everything I have read about BMR and TDEE says I should be eating more but I’m currently just eating when I’m hungry. Sample menu: Breakfast: 4 hard boiled eggs ½ avocado 2 cups spinach Lunch: 2 cups romaine Various veg (cucumbers, radishes, pepper, etc.) 6 oz chicken or can of tuna 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar Snack: Protein shake Apple or orange or banana Dinner: Lots of variation but generally just meat and veg My goals: Get to a respectable mid-teen body fat percentage(15%) Increase my Lifts(200 bench, 300 deadlift) Run 5k in under 20 min(would like to beat a friend in a race in September ’13) So what do you guys think? Should I eat more? Should I keep doing what I’m doing?

Good afternoon, ladies and gents! As promised, I am back for a third round of trials, tribulations, accomplishments, and woots! This challenge is all about solidifying the core of my health and fitness. Now that I've had two challenges under my belt, it's time I keep the trend going and as a friend pointed out, keep the baby steps coming, but don't over-reach. I'll post up a solid list of my challenges for this round by the end of the day tomorrow. However, here's my initial goal ideas. I will institute levels this time around. If I am dominating my original goals by the middle of the challenge, I will up the difficulty to level 2 and continue. Fitness & Health 1. Counting calories - stay within my allotted limit that the Lose It! app suggests for my weight and try and make the food I consume as high quality as I can muster. Level 1 - 5 out of 7 days, staying at or under calories alloted. Level 2 - 6 out of 7 days 2. Body Weight Workouts - Last time, I managed to get going on 2 body weight workouts every week, by the end of the challenge. I want to push this further. Level 1 - 3 body weight workouts every week Level 2 - 3 body weight workouts every week & at least two days of cardio (walking, jump rope, etc) 3. Cut out the sugar - This is a carry over from last time, but since keeping within my 1-2 sweets a day was more of a "oh where can I find my treat/fix", I'm going to up the challenge. To cut out sweets for 5 days out of the week, that's sweets in drinks, anything sugar, honey, agave, stevia, truvia, etc. That doesn't count towards milk or things that may have some sugar in them but aren't "sweet" treats. Kinda hard to avoid all sugar when some food is processed. Level 1 - zero sweets/sweetener 5 of 7 days Level 2 - Zero sweets/sweetener everyday Life Goal 1. ??? I'm at a loss for my life goal. Last time, I studied courses online for my life goal. I also had a bonus health goal focused on spiritual health... any suggestions? I will update the thread with my starting weight, measurements, pictures/vids, and suggested calories. I'll also start a new spreadsheet and track my progress on there to keep myself accountable and transparent to everyone following/checking up on me. Also, just to put it out there, this isn't all about me. If any of you need help, please don't hesitate to pm me or ask on my thread. I want to help and encourage everyone as much as I've been helped and encouraged and MORE. I know I'm not a mod or anything, but that doesn't mean I can just sit on my hands and do nothing