To lose weight effectively, you first need to know how much you're eating. Understanding how many calories you consume will allow you to make changes or reduce your overall calorie intake to produce a calorie deficit (burning more than you consume). Counting calories doesn't have to be difficult. With a good plan, it should be a simple task.
Step 1
Figure out how many calories you should be eating to lose weight. You can do this by first getting your baseline caloric needs. This means the amount of calories your body needs to maintain the current weight. You can do this through an online calorie calculator, such as the one in Resources, in which you can enter your age, height, sex and current weight to obtain a number. You also can estimate an approximate number by multiplying your current weight by 12 if you're a man and by 10 if you're a woman.
Step 2
Keep a food diary for at least a week. During this week, eat normally without following any particular diet. This will allow you to understand how much you're currently eating and how much you need to cut to lose weight. A pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories, so this is how much you need to eliminate from your diet to lose a pound in a week.
Step 3
Write down the amount of calories specified on the label of everything you eat and add them up at the end of the day. If you eat mostly packaged foods, this could be enough to give you an approximate idea of what you're eating every day.
Step 4
Count everything you eat, even a pack of gum if you eat the sugary kind. Don't forget to count liquids, which can add to a considerable amount of calories if you drink sodas, juices or sport drinks. If you're on the go all day, keep a notebook with you so you can write things down as you eat them. Don't count on remembering everything at the end of the day.
Step 5
Use an online calorie counter. Use one that allows you to keep a journal of your food intake so you can keep track of your diet over a period of days or weeks and compare or analyze changes. Of the many free online food journals, choose one that offers extras such as weight loss charts and tables, long-term diet analysis and forums, where you can get support and ask questions.
Step 6
Keep track of calories burned. Whether you exercise at the gym or play a sport, calories burned through physical activity should be counted, too, to lose weight. Most online calorie calculators have a feature that allows you to track activities from running and biking to raking leaves and mopping the floors.
Things You'll Need
- Notebook
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