Calorie counting can be an important tool for people who are trying to lose, maintain or gain weight. Weight gain happens when people eat more calories than their body needs, and weight loss happens when people eat less calories than their body needs. Counting calories helps people eat the correct amount of calories for weight loss, maintenance or gain.
Determining Calorie Needs
The USDA Food Guide Pyramid website can be used to determine how many calories needs to maintain weight based on an individual's age, gender, weight, height and activity level. For people who are trying to lose weight, reducing calorie intake by 500 to 1,000 calories can help with a 1 to 2 lb. weight loss a week. For those who are trying to gain weight, eating an extra 500 calories a day can result in a 1 lb. gain a week. It is important to eat at least 1,200 calories a day to get the necessary calories, vitamins and minerals for the body to function.
Reading Food Labels
Read food labels to count calories. Check the label to see what is considered a serving size. Then check how many calories are listed for that serving size. Calculate the calories based on how much is eaten. For example, the serving size of 1 cup of cereal has 120 calories. If two cups are eaten, the 120 calories would be multiplied by two for a total of 240 calories.
Food Journal
Food journaling is a way to track how many calories are eaten throughout the day. To start, use a small note book and mark each page with that day's date. Then write down everything eaten for the day. Include the serving size and total amount of calories. Then add up the number of calories eaten throughout the day.
Online Resources
There are several free calorie-counter programs available on the Internet that can be used to look up the calorie information for foods. There are also many free online food journal programs. Online food journals have searchable databases where foods and the calorie content can easily be looked up. Online food journals often save calorie results from day to day, and calorie intake over time can be tracked.
Calorie-controlled Meal Plans
When food labels or food journaling do not fit into a person's lifestyle, calorie-controlled meals plans can be used. Calorie-controlled meal plans may specify how much of each food group to eat a day, or they may provide daily or weekly menus. Meal replacement or meal delivery programs are a type of calorie-controlled meal plans that can be purchased.
References
- USDA Food Guide Pyramid: My Pyramid Plan
- Journal of the American Dietetic Association; Position of the American Dietetic Association: Weight Management; American Dietetic Association; February 2009
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