Eliminate the Guessing

So, part of my struggle with this diet thing is guessing how many calories I consume and how many I really burn when I exercise. Yesterday, I downloaded nutrition guides for some of the restaurants I visit from time to time, which is helpful when I go out. But what about the other stuff? Like meals I prepare or something that doesn't have a label? So, during a frustrating moment today, I decided to Google "How many calories are in a miniature York Peppermint Patty" (someone graced my empty candy dish with this delightful treat). When I clicked on one of the first links it took me to The Daily Plate. After a little exploration I discovered that this thing is pretty cool! Basically, all you do is enter your age, weight, height and weight-loss (or weight-gain - those lucky people) goals and it will calculate how many calories you should consume in a day to reach your goal. It also has a food tracker where you can search out different foods, like Miniature York Peppermint Patties, click on the "I ate this" button and it will add it to your list. Then, you can enter what kind of exercise you did and for how long and it will subtract your burnt calories from your total intake and calculate your net calories.

Now, I'm new to dieting, so this may be very elementary for someone else, but I figure it will help keep me on track and also help me learn how to eat a well-balanced diet. On top of watching my calorie intake, I'm also trying to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables I eat, while eliminating pop and excess sugar.

Also, on a side-note, we FINALLY bought a new sofa this weekend! It's a pretty funny story that I will have to write about sometime, along with posting a few pictures! But, I am very excited about it!