It's very difficult to take time out of your busy schedule to actually count the amount of calories that's going into your body, although, if you want to lose weight, you're going to need to be aware of this in some way or another. Letting yourself eat with no precautions is probably not going to get you to your goal weight. By teaching yourself how much food is healthy to consume daily, you will know when you need to stop, and will feel more aware and in control of snacking.
A good way to begin is to count calories for a month before letting this habit go. If you're tired of counting every single snack and meal, then maybe after you've given yourself some portion-control training, you can hold off on the counting and make your own calorie-intake assumptions and educated guesses on how many you need each day.
My advice would be to count for as long as you need to train your body and show it how much food it needs to become full for the day. In my case, this number is around 1,400-1,700 for a 200-lb girl age 19 trying to lose weight who is moderately active and 5 feet 4 inches tall.
The number of calories you should be eating in a day really depends on your age, height, activity level, and other similar factors. If your goal is to lose 1-2 lbs per week, you should be eating less than if you were trying to maintain your current weight.
A very smart way to track how many calories you should be eating is a smartphone app called myfitnesspal. This app tracks your goals and profile to determine your calorie-limit of the day, and the app also alerts you when you're eating something low or high in saturated fat, and also when you've hit your fiber, calcium, or protein goals for the day. Myfitnesspal tracks your macros and nutrients as well. It sets you goals for each nutrient that you should reach but not necessarily go over on. If you tend to eat too much fat or sodium in a day, the app will alert you when you're eating fatty or salt-filled foods. You can customize and watch these goals by clicking the nutrition button and switching the graph to nutrient levels.
Another tip for portion control, invest in a food scale. I bought mine today at Walmart for 14.95. The scale even features different units of measurement, so that it's easier to measure different types of foods and liquids. To measure in a container, measure the container first and then subtract the container's weight from the total weight. Also, if your food scale features a zero button, then all you need to do is place the container on the scale, and push the button! It'll zero the scale for you, so you're only measuring the food/drink! It's simple, easy, and will make your educated guesses about ounces or grams turn into exact measurements so that your calorie-count is much more accurate!
Personally, I really struggle with night snacking. I take anti-depressants for my fluctuating moods and depression issues, so it's very difficult to control myself when the meds make me feel like I need to be eating. A very common side effect of many anti-depressants is weight gain, and in my case, I gained 80 pounds, mostly because of my medicine (and partly because I wasn't watching my eating habits or exercising enough). This is a true struggle to try to choose between physical health and emotional wellbeing, although, there are steps you can take to lose weight while on your anti-depressants (or other meds that make you feel hungry or gain weight!)
Even though I haven't stopped my medication entirely, I have cut both the pills in half. I would absolutely not advise doing this without a physician's approval, as it can cause your mental state to go berserk. If you believe your dose is too high, consult your doctor before taking any actions. I feel that cutting down the dosage of my anti-depressants has given me the boost that I need to start losing weight, though I know now that I could've done it without cutting them down.
It will be a challenge to lose weight if you're dependent on anti-depressants, but I know you and I can both reach our goal weights together. I am currently on these medications and have started my journey anyways (and lost 15 pounds so far!) I believe I CAN reach my goal weight of 145, and maybe someday, stop taking my anti-depressants for good and use natural remedies to kick depression's ass, such as yoga, meditation, vitamins, clean eating, dialectical behavior therapy, and relaxation activities.
Remember that there are many natural ways to boost yourself out of depression, and although I know medications help and some people absolutely need them, there may also be a way for you to succeed emotionally without having to be dependent on them. Keep natural healing techniques in mind when you're feeling down in any way. One or a combination of many will help you, I'm positive of that.
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