how do you know cal/protein etc...

 Hello All!!  
I am going through the process to get insurance for the sleeve now, hopefully will get it soon!
Have a question, actually i have alot of questions but lets start with one....

How do you could calories and protein.  Sounds like you are all pros at it from day one and I have no idea how it is done.   I am horrible at the counting thing, never was good at counting points either.  So how do you know/learn?   Do you weigh all your food and then go to a website to figure out how many calories it is?   

any help would be MUCH appreciated!
Thanks!

If you use a program like MyFitnessPal or Sparkpeople, it's easy. You type in what you want and look it up, or you can take the numbers right off the nutrition label and create your own. In MyFitnessPal, you can plug in ingredients for a recipe and it will calculate it for you. Nice feature! You can create your own "meals" of frequently combined items. Once you have it set up, it's pretty quick to use. I've used both of these and liked MyFitnessPal better. There are others too, but I haven't tried them.

As part of the program, my nutritionist gave me a digital scale. I still weigh everything and I've been at goal since June. I'm not good at guessing the portion size. I've found that my interpretation of a size tends to grow over time...which is why I grew over time prior to surgery.

 I agree, MyFitnessPal is great. The first day I tried to count calories without it, I ate over 1,000. Since then, I've been able to make better choices and stay between 600 and 700 per day, get my protein in, and keep my carbs under 40. It's hard to eat what you need if you don't use a tool like that.

I also strongly recommend to measure/weigh everything. When we eyeball things, we tend to guess on the high side. Going from 3 to 4 ounces may not sound like a lot, but that represents a 33% increase in calories, carbs and protein.

Oh, and a couple of great features from MyFitnessPal.com are these:
- You can keep track of the liquids you drink
- You can download the app for your phone and have the tool with you wherever you go!

Good luck.

You wanna know what's even more WEIRD?

I started out estimating too high. I'd look and figure 2 oz and then weigh it and it would be 4 or 5.

Now? I try to eyeball something... figure 2 oz and it's like 1 oz.

*laughing* I still weigh/measure the VAST majority of the time because I obviously don't have that part of it down yet.

I agree with the rec for MyFitnessPal. Fantastic tool, especially if you have a smartphone since you can their app lets you barcode scan most foods and add them in a matter of seconds. In the beginning I did it daily, now I do it less frequently to spot check and to troubleshoot weight-loss stalls.

My routine (keep in mind I am >1year post op) is 30-45 grams protein as protein shake either in the morning or after-workout on strength days, and I shoot for 15-20g at each meal. Always eat your protein first at a meal, then complex carbs (slowly!) as you can comfortably.

If you go out to eat and aren't sure how much by eyeballing it, take home a portion roughly equal to what you ate, so you can measure it when you get home.

During the first 6 months or so, I really focused on just knowing my protein and water totals for the day. As long as I followed the "protein first" rule and wasn't snacking a lot, everything else fell into line.

As weight loss tapers off, you will want to start paying closer attention and looking at your total calorie intake and expenditure to decide if and where you want to make changes.

 thanks everyone.
seems like weighing everything will become a hassle but i know i wont be able to eyeball, at least not in the beginning.   i was hoping that at some point it becomes 2nd nature and you just stop eating when full but i guess thats not an option (and how i got here in the first place!)