Tips On Counting Calories(counting calories)

counting calories

You are probably counting calories because you want to lose weight. However trying to determine your calorie intake for each meal or snack can be time consuming and frustrating. Here are some practical tips to make this a little easier.

The Fat Formula
Before we start counting the calories, lets look at the reason for limiting our food intake.

Calories Consumed = Calories Burnt + Fat

In other words if you eat more than you use, the result is that you will tend to gain weight. If you haven't done so already, you need to establish your calorie goal per day according to your diet. Don't be too ambitious to start with; you can always lower it gradually later.

Getting started
You will need a calorie guide that shows the amount of calories in a given portion size. A measuring scale to weigh your food will also be useful. There are plenty of books on food charts available, or just type 'Calorie chart' into Google. You'll find lots of websites with calorie counts for each food type.

Keeping Count
Tracking your calorie intake is hardest at the beginning because you will have to look up the values for every food item. However once you have done this, simply jot down the result in a notebook. This doesn't have to be complicated, for example:

Dinner - chicken breast, broccoli, 1/2 baked potato: 325 calories

Don't forget you should be tracking your snacks as well. If this is a packaged item you can simply take the calorie count from the label.

Portion sizes
You calorie count will give you an idea of how much you can eat. This means you will have to do some calculations to determine the calories in a given size like 1/2 cup of carrots, or 1/2 potato. However once you have done this and put the result in your notebook you won't have to do it again.

Eat Frequently
Eating only one or two meals a day is counter-productive to your goal of losing weight. It is much better to have small meals plus snacks throughout the day. Try to avoid going long periods like five hours without eating anything.

Organize your results
After you have been doing this for about two weeks you should have covered a good variety of snacks and meals. Organize you notes for easy reference. For example you could have a separate page for each meal type (breakfast, lunch dinner) and snacks. Group the related main dishes together, like chicken, beef or fish. This will make it much easier to look up your calorie counts for similar meals.

Eating Out
This is more difficult because you don't know exactly what is in each dish. Restaurants often use sauces, which adds to the total calories. If you are eating out, jot down the meal details and look up the values at home. You should add in a few more calories to be on the safe side.

It's Worth It
Knowing how much you are eating each day is a huge step in controlling your weight. If you can discipline yourself to follow the above tips for only two to three weeks you should find the process of counting calories much easier. And you should begin to see an improvement in your dieting results!

counting calories

How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Weight?(counting calories)

counting calories

A lot of people starting out ask the question, How Many Calories Should You Eat To Lose Weight?

While this may be a start in the right direction, perhaps it is the wrong question.

The first question you should be asking yourself is this:

Do I want to become good at counting calories and do this for the rest of my life?

Or:

Do I want to know how to lose weight, look good, and not worry about having to count every damn calorie?

In this article I will show you why you don't have to count calories (yessss!), why people say you should count calories, and why they are not quite as important as some people might have you believe.

If you have been told to count calories to lose weight, well, you should probably be thinking, why are there so many other people who don't count calories yet they are fit and sexy?

There are a lot of people out there who will tell you to count calories, many for different reasons. Some will want you to purchase their calorie counting program, "low-calorie" food, "low calorie" shakes or meal replacements and so on.

Now these goods may not necessarily be straight from Satan, however there are far easier, simpler and more fun ways to lose weight.

Weight loss is difficult enough without having to throw some penny pinching scheme of counting calories in there. You might as well start counting all the leaves that fall on your drive before you pick them up.

I have found that the best way that people lose weight is by listening to their biological-feedback. Bio-feedback is simply listening to what your body is telling you is right. The symptoms of being overweight, tired and grumpy for example, indicate something is wrong with you.

You may be overeating the wrong type of foods, under exercising or you may be one of the extremely rare people who has a disease that makes them over eat.

By listening to your bio-feedback I mean listening to the results that your body gives you. If you get a fitness program and start following the workouts and the nutrition, your weight will naturally come off, without calorie counting.

Calorie counting has its place. If you are in the final stages of cutting your body fat% down for a body building competition then yes, you have to count calories, but not just to start losing weight and look toned, sexy and slim.

Realize this: What you eat is of far more importance than how many calories you eat.

By this I mean that you could eat fatty hamburgers and fries within your calorie range and still get fatter, or you could over eat like crazy of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean meats and some dairy and you would probably lose weight.

Knowing this now, you need to take action. Whether you pay a fitness trainer, get a gym membership or start working out from what you know, you will get the same results.

However if you purchase one of the best fitness programs available on the internet, you get results guaranteed, the real truth, heaps of workouts, meal plans, nutrition guides, ab workouts, whole body muscle building workouts and unlimited email support

Most programs come at a fraction of the cost of getting a personal trainer for one session, let alone a year or two!

I have certainly found that my purchase of fitness programs has paid off well (only buy one and start working on it like mad)

Also realize this: He who takes no action or makes no changes... Stays the same.

Who wants to stay the same? Honestly?

counting calories

Easy Calorie Counting(counting calories)

counting calories

Finding an easy way to count your calories when you are dieting can prove to be the one thing that helps you to finally lose weight. There are tools and devices that are available to help you out with this task. Find out the benefits to successful calorie counting and the methods that you can employ.

When you are trying to lose weight you will want to find the most effective and efficient approach to weight loss. There is no magic solution to losing weight. It is simply taking in fewer calories than it takes to maintain your current weight. You can add to that reduction through exercise for even quicker weight loss, but if you simply cut your calories you will begin to see a weight loss. The use of a calorie counter is an effective way to keep track of your daily calorie intake.

Sometimes we eat foods throughout the day without any regard to their calorie or nutritional value. These are the foods that we eat quickly without thinking about them. The quick couple of pieces of candy that we find on our coworkers desk or the handful of chips that we grab when we walk in the door at the end of the day. These small items can add up to a great many additional calories that will thwart your weight loss goals. When you use a calorie counter to determine the calories in every food that you eat, you are more likely to pay attention to those quick little snacks.

There are some great handheld calorie counter devices that will greatly assist you in your efforts to lose weight. You will be able to quickly check out the caloric content of any food you choose to eat and know instantly if it is something you wish to eat. Most of these handheld calorie counters have a large database of foods already stored in them. You will be able to check your calorie content of the foods in the device as well as add some of your favorite items so that they are stored in the handheld calorie counter memory. You are also able to track your water intake and other items that you might like to keep track of.

Technology has made it easier than ever to keep track of the calories you eat throughout the day allowing you to stick to your diet plan. If you are trying to lose weight you can try one of these calorie counter devices to help you on your plan. Keeping track of calories is a proven way to lose weight and to maintain your current weight. Make sure you watch the kinds of food you are eating, get plenty of exercise, drink lots of water and keep track of your calories with a handheld calorie counter and you are sure to find success.

counting calories

Calorie Counting Tips For Your Fat Loss Diet(counting calories)

counting calories

If you're going to start a fat loss diet, getting accustomed with calorie counting is a very smart idea. Calorie counting is one of the primary things that will help ensure that you stay within a good fat loss calorie intake and give you something to work off if you aren't seeing the results you had hoped.

Individuals who don't calorie count are much more likely to falter with their goal since when they don't get results, they have no idea why.

Here are some things you should know about calorie counting and fat loss diets.

Your Ideal Weight Loss Calorie Intake

The first step you need to do is calculate your ideal fat loss calorie intake. For most individuals who are participating in a regular workout program, 13 to 15 calories per pound of body weight seems to be a reasonable guideline.

Others may need to bring this slightly lower, however this is those who have been dieting for a period of time already or who have suppressed metabolisms.

Calorie Counts Of Each Macronutrient

Next, it's important you know the calorie count of each major macronutrient in order to figure out how many grams of carbs, proteins, and fats you should be taking in daily.

Each gram of protein is going to provide 4 total calories, each gram of carbohydrate will also provide 4 calories, and each gram of fat will provide 9 calories. For this reason you can see why cutting back on dietary fats tends to be a good way to lose weight.

Why Going Too Low In Calories Is A Very Bad Idea

All of this said, just be sure you don't take your calorie count too low. Even though you do need a lower intake to lose body fat, if you take it too low you're going to end up with a slow metabolism, muscle mass loss, and you may even start to hold onto your body fat.

So be sure you're making note of your calorie intake. It really does bump up the amount of success you have on your diet and is well worth your effort.

counting calories

A Calorie Counting Guide(counting calories)

counting calories

Calorie counting sounds like a very time consuming pain in the behind. Though it is easier not to count calories, the benefits for weight management far out weight the hassle. Imagine you need to save some money for a big purchase. It becomes much easier to save if you know how much you are spending and what you are spending your money on. Then you can more effectively find places to cut, and your savings can grow much faster. Calorie counting is like budgeting for weight loss. You can lose weight without it, but not nearly as well.

Here are the steps i use to make calorie counting less time consuming.

1. Use a food logging program. There are plenty of free or low cost applications available for helping you count calories. There are website, desktop applications, and smartphone apps. All capable of logging every calorie you consume in a day.

2. Change your eating habits. So it seems difficult to count calories, but if you change your eating habits a little you can make it easier. Get a list of a few simple meals that you can eat regularly for breakfast and lunch. Figure out the calorie counts of these staple meals and 2/3rds of your calorie counts are easy for the day.

3. Save your frequently eaten foods. With these staple meals picked out, use an application that will allow you to save frequently eaten foods. Then you can just select a few things from a list, and you are done.

4. Eat Less. That's what its all about anyway right? This tip comes in 2 parts. Don't snack throughout the day. Basically eating less means logging less. Also don't drink any calories. I would suggest drinking water, or other zero calorie liquids to avoid having to log your drinks.

5. Forget the small stuff. Things like mustard, pickles, and celery have a few calories per serving, but I would suggest ignoring things that are 20 calories or less. These items aren't worth the time. You can choose for yourself how much you log. Just try to keep a balance between what makes it easy for you and what makes calorie counting useful.

That's it, those four steps should make calorie counting much simpler. The calorie counting guide is everything you will need to start being effective at counting calories.

counting calories