If you just hope you can remember how many calories you have eaten each day when trying to lose weight, you may have difficulty. Ask your doctor or nutritionist the appropriate number of calories for you to lose weight, and input your calorie and food information into an online calorie counter which keeps track of your calorie intake for you. You can then focus on making good food choices, exercising regularly and not worry about remembering how many calories your lunch-time bagel contained.
Benefits
Using a calorie counter when losing weight enables you to have a log of all the food you eat each day and affords you the opportunity to look back at your past choices. If your weight loss stalls, or your doctor asks for information on your food intake, you can view reports and make necessary changes. Additionally, the Journal of Medical Internet Research published a study led by registered dietitian Katherine Funk in July, 2010, which indicated that the more regularly the study participants inputted their food choices into an Internet website, the more successful their weight loss experience was.
Monitor Nutritional Balance
When attempting to lose weight, you may be tempted to try a diet that focuses not on tracking calories, but rather on avoiding or eating mainly from certain food groups. The American Dietetic Association cautions against exclusionary diets, and states that successful weight loss requires that you take in fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight. Most reputable calorie counters offer you the opportunity to display both the nutritional and calorie information for each food item you eat.
Making the Choice
The Internet has a large number of calorie counters to choose from. Many are free, although some websites charge a one-time or monthly access fee. If you find a calorie counter with a fee requirement, request a free trial to determine if the cost is worth the benefits. Look for a calorie counter that has an extensive food database which makes it less likely you will be required to search and input the nutritional information on your own, thus saving you time. A good calorie counter automatically tallies your calories, analyzes your nutritional percentages and offers you the ability to print reports and access your log-in information from a smart phone.
Strategies
Commit to using the calorie counter consistently to develop the habit of inputting your food. Enter what and how much food you eat after each snack, trip to a restaurant or home-cooked meal. Check your calorie balance after noon and take note of how many calories you have remaining to stay within your range. Eat more or less food in the afternoon to meet your goals. Be accurate when reporting the number of servings you eat into the calorie counter, as eating two servings of any food doubles the calories.
References
- Journal of Medical Inernet Research: Associations of Internet Website Use With Weight Change in a Long-term Weight Loss Maintenance Program
- American Dietetic Association: Staying Away from Fat Diets
- MayoClinic.com: Counting Calories: Get Back to Weight-Loss Basics
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Food Label
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