question about calorie counting

I am about 13 months out from an RNY and have since lost about 135lbs....

I would LOVE to loose about 15-20 more lbs but have hit a huge wall.......

I have just recently been "making an effort" and REALLY trying to pay attention to what I put in my mouth  9have NOT done that for the WHOLE 13 months.....no protein drinks------NOTHING! )

My questions is.....

when I read the nutrition info on the back of food products in what order should I look at things??

calories
protein
fat
carbs
sugar
what are my goals for each a day???

help!  Im LOST!

: )

katie

Katie -

Congratulations on your 135lb loss!  That's great!  And congratulations for making the effort to get that last 15 off too.

I'm 8 months out right now and averaging about 1000 calories per day.  (Except for the past few days, but we're not going to talk about that cuz I've been bad.)     So since you're further out than I am, your average daily calories might be more than mine. 

I use www.fitday.com to keep track of every morsel of food that passes my lips.  It keeps me accountable and helps me stay on track throughout the day.  For instance, right now I'm sitting on a measley 26g of protein so far for the day.  Bad, bad, bad.  So it looks like I'll be eating a high protein dinner plus a protein shake for a snack before bed to get me back on track.   It's a great tool and there are several other website that let you track food - definitely check into them.

As for labels.  I wasn't given any direction on this so I've come up with my own way of checking things out.  Here's the order that I look at stuff:

Protein
Sugars / Carbs
Serving Size
Calories
Ingredient list (wanting to stay away from sugar or fat in first three ingredients and stay away from the words "enriched" or "hydrogenated")
Fat grams

As for goals... you'll need to find a balance that works for you.  I personally seem to do best with a 40/40/20 balance.  40% of my calories come from protein, 40% from good carbs (fruits, veggies, whole grains) and 20% from good fats.   I shoot for 100g of protein per day and 64oz of water per day.

Good luck with your quest.
HTH
Pam