Jornal de Ausevolt22, 12 ago 11

Please don't tell me you're discouraged by 4 calories. New buddy, if there is any advice I can give you, it is that little stuff like that does not make or break your diet. It takes a 3500 calorie surplus to add a pound of fat. Do you really think that 4 calories is a big deal? Single items or occurrences are not where you should place your focus. Just make sure your overall trends are good & keep your attitude positive. Tell yourself you CAN do this & you ARE doing well. Self-loathing will get in the way of you reaching your goals. If there is something you can change, change it & keep moving forward. 

4 calories over is like being 4 minutes late to work... you really aren't over its just running behind ;) no worries about them. I think for your first day that is fantastic! Just think it could have been something crazy huge like 2000 calories over your limit but its 4. Keep it up! 

Thanks guys! I love that people can comment on your journal entries here. Gives you a good elbow when you've got your head down :) I'm a pretty optimistic person so the 4 calories didnt upset me horribly. I was just soooo sure I was going to stay under and then got a little discouraged when I realized I was over. Thanks for the encouragement though! I love that!!  

A big part of tracking your calories is learning alternatives. You can see those blueberry muffins and recognize that you could improve by eating less or something else that does fit into your calorie budget. There's a lot of recipes on here (ideas for alternative meal items) as well as many books at the library or store that offer plenty of options. I especially like the series "Eat this, not that" which examines off-the-shelf food products at stores and restaurants. As you go along and get in the routine of making your own meal items (especially important at breakfast in my opinion), you'll get more experience and have a large portfolio (if you will) on items you can eat and add up to an efficient (nutritious and low-calorie) meal.