Weight management is simply about balancing the calories you consume and the calories you burn off. Calories are the energy in food, and different types of nutrients contain varying amounts of calories per gram. Tracking your calories can make you aware of whether you are consuming more calories than you are burning or not consuming enough calories to maintain your weight. Whatever your goals are, whether you seek to lose or gain extra pounds, tracking calories may give you insight on if you need to change your eating and exercise habits.
Determine Calorie Needs
The first step of calorie counting is to calculate how many calories you need to consume to simply maintain your weight. A rough calculation Harvard Health Publications provides is to multiply your current weight by 15. This gives you the number of calories you need to consume to maintain your weight if you are moderately active, meaning you get at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day. If you eat more or fewer calories than this value, then you will gain or lose weight accordingly.
Count Everything
It requires discipline and diligence to keep a record of what and how much you consume. This includes everything from your morning coffee and the sugar or cream you add to it, the chips you mindlessly munch on while watching your favorite television show, and the handful of peanuts you grab on your way out the door.
Record It
Your success in counting your calories may depend on how easily it is to record what you eat. Since you are mobile, your recording device must be as well. This may mean keeping a small notebook in your purse or coat pocket, using your mobile phone tools, or simply emailing yourself a quick note about your food consumption.
Add It Up
After you have recorded all the items you consume in a day, you need to determine exactly how many calories are in all those foods. Luckily, there are a variety of sources available to help you with this task. From nutrition labels, books, recipes, Internet databases, online tracking tools and smartphone applications, there are a number of resources that can tell you how many calories, grams of fat, carbohydrates and proteins are in the food and drink you consume.
Substitutes
After adding up your daily calories for about a week, you may notice certain trends in your eating and what foods are taking the biggest chunks out of your daily calorie allowance. Fortunately, there are plenty of low-calorie substitutes you can choose. Eat low-fat dairy products instead of whole-fat milk and cheese, or air-popped -- rather than oil-cooked -- popcorn as a quick snack. Sorbet or frozen yogurt is a sweet substitute for ice cream, and choosing chicken or turkey without the skin is a smart way to cut out unhealthy fats.
Member Comments