Online Tools for Meal Planning and Calorie Intake?

I used Ediets.com a few years back. It sounds like exactly what you are looking for - they have recipies, shopping lists, and a variety of meal plans. Plus you can customize it with foods you like to eat. I think it was $5 a week, but I saved more than that based on what it said to buy at the grocery store. And, it worked. I lost 20 lbs and kept it off until I got pregnant with my son. I'm considering going back (have another 25 lbs to lose now that my daughter is done breastfeeding). Good luck!

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

This is the USDA's site and will give advice consistent with the food pyramid. Good luck!

Another free online site is www.mycaloriecounter.com

I would check each one out since they are likely to have different features. Good luck.

www.myfitnesspal.com - it's free.

I really like https://www.myfooddiary.com/secure/join.asp
They show you your calories per meal or per day or per week...and show you %carbs/%fats/%various vitamins/etc that you've had and should have for remaining meals.

My favorite part of their website is that you have your own "refrigerator"....so you look up parts of the meal just once...and then it's always in your fridge so you can keep full meals in there...or even just the type of bread you always buy. So after about a week, everything you eat is just an easy click to track.

it's $9/mo (about $.29/day). I saved more than $9/mo on my grocery bill when I was tracking my food with it.

I've also used sparks.com which is free. I found it to be...cluttered.

I know this has already been suggested, but I liked the daily plate. Free and easy to use.

sparkpeople.com

It's awesome, comprehensive, so supportive, and totally free.

also check out eat this not that. you can access it online thru either men's or women's health sites or there are several books that you can choose from. recently purchased one of the books and there is a section on holiday food choices. good luck!

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

This one is free. You input how fast you want to loose weight and it will tell you how many calories to intake per day. Good luck with your furthered weight loss!!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/

I loved this one - I'm sure there are others but this is FREE and it's super-easy to find the foods you've consumed, which automatically plugs in calories, fat, etc. It'll also give you exercise suggestions, a fitness tracker, etc. if you want that stuff (so you can really look at what you're consuming vs. working off, etc.). Good luck!

livestrong.com has a section called "the daily plate", you can also look it up as thedailyplate.com. It used to be it's own website, but has now become part of livestrong. It's free (there is a paid membership also that has extra benefits, but I find that the free has PLENTY of useful tools) you can find out how many calories you should be eating (whether you want to stay the same or lose weight) and then track them as well as your weight. It also keeps track of your fat/protein/etc. intake. I love it! Good luck!

Congratulations on your weight loss! That's terrific! I find it very hard to be disciplined in my eating habits. What I'm finding helpful is definitely not free, but it's been the most effective for me. It is the Bodybugg system, available through 24 Hour Fitness (you should be able to find it on their web site). It's a combination of an arm band that somehow determines how many calories you expend and a website at which you can easily journal the calories you eat. You also download your Bodybugg information at this site, so that you can see what calories you put out (and when) and compare them to the calories you took in. You can also see how what you've eaten (and entered) breaks down into proteins, carbs, and fats. Now that I can see how I really do every day, I realize that I need to make every calorie I take in a calorie that serves me the best (as opposed to... say, a lot of junk food). I also see that not only working out but also keeping my body moving during the day makes a big difference! This system doesn't do the work for me, but it helps me do it well, and that helps with the self-discipline. I saved up for this system and waited for a sale (it happens) to get it. It's been worth every penny. Hope this helps.

Congrats on your weightloss! I lost about 20 pounds last year using both www.sparkpeople.com and www.slimfast.com. Both are free and let you enter your personal stats and then provide you with customizable meals.

Sparkpeople has a ton of other resources (chat rooms, challenges, nutrition and fitness articles, etc.), but I liked that fact that slimfast provides me with dinner meals designed for four people, where sparkpeople's meals are only for one (and I found the slimfast recipes easier and quicker to prepare, but that might just be me). And the slimfast website also has a function where you can print out a grocery list for the week so you only buy the things you need to prepare all the meals you've set up.

One other website I really like is http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp - it's the recipe website associated with sparkpeople, and not only does it have tons of recipes from both sparkpeople and other users, it has this function that lets you enter your own recipe and then it calculates all the nutrition info for you so you know exactly how good (or bad) your meal really is :)

I am using Calorie King. You can trial it for 7 days for free, and then it costs $45 to download the software onto your computer. It has a great database of foods and it is easy to add your of custom food. After you set up your goals, it gives you a calorie allowance, but also tracks the amount of fat, carbs, sugars, proteins, and fiber. You can also input exercise which increases your calorie allowance for the day. It is super easy to use and I have seen results. I have been using it for about 3 weeks and have lost 5 pounds. I am very close to my goal and know that my eating habits are the key to shedding those last 8 pounds. Calorie King keeps me accountable as I enter everything I eat and truly know what I am putting in my body. I know you can pay a monthly fee for menu plans and other features, however I have not tried that aspect. The website is

www.calorieking.com

www.sparkpeople.com

It's totally free and is going to stay free. There is no pressure to buy anything. You can track nutrition on both prepackaged food and add your own recipes. You can follow their meal planner or make your own. The meal planner uses readily available food and you can custom design it to eliminate foods you don't like or don't eat (for example, I don't eat seafood,so it doesn't appear on my meal planners). You can also track your fitness by adding your own exercies or using their suggestions. All around an amazing site. AND TOTALLY FREE!

I second the vote for spark pages- I loved it (as well as their equivilent for pregnancy) Hundreds of meal options, as well as recipies, ablility to imput your own foods, messageboards, excersize trackers. And 100% free!

you can go to fitday.com and they have a great site to keep up with calories, nutri

www.my-calorie-counter.com

It's free with tons of foods with calorie values. It also tracks weight loss, body measurements, water intake and exercise. You can manage fat intake, sodium, fiber and cholesterol. It's been great for me. Hope it works for you.

I know others have said it, but sparkpeople.com. Love it and lost 25 lbs with it. You log your workouts and food intake. I didn't use the diet they gave me, but I ate within my calorie range. You can adjust to how much your work out. If you have the time to log your food. It is great because most of the food you eat is in there and they do have some great recipes. Give it a try.