You can effectively lose, gain or maintain your weight by keeping track of the amount of calories you eat each day. Although the process of counting calories is simple, some people may not know exactly how to do it. If you have specific questions about how many calories you should eat each day based upon your specific health situation, call your doctor.
Step 1
Find the number of calories in each of the food items you ate. You can usually find this information by checking the nutrition label on packaged foods. If you do not have access the nutrition label, check Livestrong's Daily Plate, MyPyramid.gov, Calories.net or other websites that contain a database of the calories in common foods to obtain the information.
Step 2
Estimate how many servings you ate of each food item. this information on the nutrition label or online. Record the number calories you've consumed after each meal or snack.
Step 3
Multiply the number of servings by the number of calories in each food item. Add the total number of calories for each food item together to obtain the total number of calories consumed.
Step 4
Create a list that records your caloric intake for each day. Compare the total calories to the amount you should be eating and make adjustments to your diet for the following day.
Tips and Warnings
- It may be easier to figure out the calorie content of your meal before you eat. Doing so helps you avoid eating more calories than you want to eat.
- Don't forget to also consider the calories found in sauces, condiments and beverages.
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