I was on the local CBS station, WLTX, to talk about counting calories earlier this morning.  Take a look at a sample of daily calories, plus some information on counting calories I shared this morning with viewers:

Article/Video:  Local Man Loses Over 100 Pounds in One Year

I also have a couple of protein shakes a day (48g of protein per shake).  When combined with whole food, I get just over 200 grams of protein a day — an important part of any muscle building diet.

I still hover around 2,000 calories a day.   It’s true to build muscle one must consume more calories than they burn, but I’m still concerned about gaining fat so I’m not consuming too many calories in excess at this point.  I am doing less cardio and eating a lot more protein and for now I seem to be building muscles rather nicely, so I see no need to change what I’m doing.

As always, I’ll monitor my progress and adjust my calories as necessary.

Finding the blog for the first time today?  Glad you found us!  I lost 144 pounds between January 2009 and April of 2010 and am now on a mission to build muscles.  We’re a community of folks trying to lose weight, build muscles, and live a healthy lifestyle.  We invite you to join our efforts!

If you have questions, check out our forum!

I’m done counting calories on 344 Pounds.  I found a new way to count and track the calories I consume on a daily basis:  tweets through Twitter.

twitter.com/344food

After a week of posting tweets of what I eat during the day I’m more than confident I’ll stick to using twitter as a food log indefinitely.

I post my calories consumed nearly live — usually right after a meal.  It’s not that much of a hassle since I can tweet calories through my phone, e-mail, or directly on twitter.com and it has honestly been the easiest method of tracking calories I’ve tried.  I’ve tested all the typical calorie counters online and on my phone and I just want something simple, easily accessible, and free.

Twitter is all of that and more.

So, go check out my new twitter account 344food.  You’ll see that with the exception of Friday, I stayed well below my 2,000 self-imposed calories a day.

The new scale seems to be liking the result.

I’m thinking about starting a separate twitter account so that I can update my calories from the road via twitter — what are some thoughts on that?

Sunday (2,480 calories)

8 am: three slices of French Toast w/ syrup = 520
12 pm: heaping bowl of chili w/ onions, cheese, crackers = 620
5 pm: Zaxby’s chicken finger platter w/ large Dr. Pepper = 1,340

Monday (1,410 calories)

7 am: Honey Smacks cereal = 260
10 am: scoop of vanilla whey protein isolate = 110
12 pm: heaping bowl of chili w/ 10 saltine crackers = 490
6 pm: Chicken Florentine w/ buttered bread = 550

Tuesday (1,660 calories)

7 am: egg omelet (4) w/ cheese, onions, peppers = 400
10 am: large banana = 120
12 pm: heaping bowl of chili w/ 10 saltine crackers = 490
6 pm: hot dog w/ ketchup/mustard/onions, potato salad, beans = 650

Wednesday (2,510 calories)

7 am: Lucky Charms cereal, mini blueberry bagel = 430
10 am: large banana = 120
12 pm: turkey sandwich w/ mustard, mayo, cheese, Pop Chips = 530
6 pm: Applebee’s fiesta lime chicken, lg. Pepsi = 1430

Thursday (2,540 calories)

7 am: bacon (2), scrambled eggs (3), toast w/ jelly = 360
10 am: large banana = 120
12 pm: California Dreaming Shrimp Po Boy w/ sweet tea (1 refill) = 1,420
6 pm: cheeseburger (on toast), potato salad, baked beans = 640

Friday (2,220 calories)

7 am: Lucky Charms, Nature Valley bars (2) = 390
10 am: large banana = 120
12 pm: heaping bowl of chili, mashed potatoes = 660
6 pm:  Ye Ole’ cheeseburger, fries, ice cream, sm. Dr. Pepper = 1050

Saturday (2,480 calories)

9 am:  vanilla whey protein shake w/ oreos = 160
12 pm: Big Mac w/ lg. fries, lg. Coke = 1,350
4 pm:  Teddy Grahams (1 pack) = 120
7 pm:  IHOP’s 3 pancakes, hash browns, bacon (2) = 850

I consumed more calories this week, but I’m still burning much more than 2,000-2,500 calories a day with my intense cardio sessions at the gym.

The scale is still moving down…

Can we reach 217 pounds this Wednesday?

Here are my calories between October 25th and October 31st.

Sunday (2,190 calories)

12 pm:  Sushi, rice, egg rolls (2), egg drop soup, chicken = 1,600 est.
6 pm:  sm. serving of chicken pot pie = 590

Monday (1,650 calories)

7 am:  Fruit Loops w/ Nature Valley bars (2) = 460
10 am:  large banana = 120
12 pm:  1/2 serving (leftovers) of barbeque (pork, coleslaw, hash) = 450
6 pm:  chicken and cheese quesadilla w/ bell peppers/onions (2) = 620

Tuesday (1,810 calories)

7 am:  Fruit Loops w/ 2 small blueberry bagels = 490
10 am:  large banana = 120
12 pm:  1/2 serving (leftovers) of O’Charley’s salmon and rice = 600 est.
6 pm:  chicken and cheese quesadilla (2), handful of chips/salsa (2) = 780

Wednesday (1,850 calories)

7 am:  Fruit Loops w/ 2 slices of bread w/ cinnamon and sugar = 410
10 am:  large banana = 120
12 pm:  Bourbon Street chicken w/ rice and veggies = 450
6 pm:  3 Pizza Hut medium pepperoni pizza slices = 870

Thursday (1,790 calories)

7 am:  Lucky Charms, Nature Valley bars (2) = 450
10 am:  large banana = 120
12 pm:  2 Pizza Hut medium pepperoni pizza slices = 580
6 pm:  grilled chicken w/ jack cheese, onions/peppers w/ southwest corn = 640

Friday (2,740 calories)

7 am:  4-egg omelet w/ onions/peppers and salsa = 390
10 am:  Nature Valley bars (2) = 170
1 pm:  chicken gyro on a warm pita, salad, sm. Dr. Pepper = 780
6 pm:  Fatz chicken fingers w/ fries, lg. Coke = 1,400 est.

Saturday (2,910 calories)

8 am:  heaping bowl of Lucky Charms = 400
12 pm:  Chic-Fil-A chicken sandwich, waffle fries, lg. Dr. Pepper = 990
5 pm:  ice cream sandwich = 180
7 pm:  12 buffalo chicken wings, can of Coke = 1,340

I enjoy making food at home.  My wife and I both love the chicken and cheese quesadillas I make at home.  A little bit of cheese and a lot of chicken, grilled onions and peppers goes a long way.  The tortilla is 120 calories, so it’s important to only have a couple but for them to be STUFFED with ingredients.

Here are my calories between October 18th and October 24th.

Sunday (2,620 calories)

12 pm: Steak, potatoes, scrambled eggs (3), pancakes (3), lg. pepsi = 1,350
3 pm: Nature’s Valley bars (2) = 170
7 pm: Big Mac w/ lg. fries, lg. Coke = 1,100

Monday (1,800 calories)

7 am: mini-biscuits w/ butter and jelly (2), Nature’s Valley bars (2) = 430
10 am: large banana = 120
1 pm: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (2) = 600
6 pm: BLT sandwich (with cheese), Pop Chips = 650

Tuesday (1,730 calories)

7 am: mini-biscuits w/ butter and jelly (4), Nature’s Valley bars (2) = 430
10 am: large banana = 120
12 pm: turkey sandwich w/ cheese, mayo, mustard and Pop Chips = 490
4 pm: Promax double fudge chocolate 70-calorie bar = 70
6 pm:  chicken and cheese quesadilla w/ bell peppers/onions (2) = 620

Wednesday (2,400 calories)

7 am: Honey Nut Cheerios, two pieces of toast w/ butter and jelly = 440
10 am: large banana = 120
12 pm: leftover chicken and cheese quesadillas (2) = 620
5 pm: Nature’s Valley bars (2) = 170
7 pm: Ye Ole’ cheeseburger, fries, ice cream, sm. Dr. Pepper = 1050

Thursday (2,400 calories)

7 am: Honey Nut Cheerios, Nature’s Valley bars (2) = 430
10 am: large banana = 120
12 pm: 1/2 order BBQ, white rice w/ hash, coleslaw, 2 hush puppies = 450
6 pm: Fatz club sandwich w/ fries, chips w/ salsa, lg. Coke = 1,400

Friday (2,215 calories)

7 am: scrambled eggs (3), bacon (2), bread w/ butter and jelly (2 pieces = 550
10 am: Nature’s Valley bars (2) = 170
12 pm:  Moe’s The Funk Meister x 2 = 660
7 pm:  Fair food fries, corndog, 10 ounces of Pepsi = 800
9 pm:  ’bout 5 ounces of Pepsi = 35

Saturday (2,020 calories)

9 am:  Nature’s Valley bars (2) = 170
12 pm:  1/2 order O’Charley’s salmon w/ rice, salad, grilled onions = 800 est.
7 pm: Ye Ole’ cheeseburger, fries, ice cream, sm. Dr. Pepper = 1050

This was the last weekend of the fair, so you won’t see any corn dogs next week.