Tracking calories is probably the best way to start your weight loss. This quick article will give you some tips on how to start losing weight by counting calories.
If you're serious about losing weight then I would advise that you start a food journal to keep track of daily intake.
Click here for more information on calorie counting: How to count calories
Keeping track of what you eat
Keeping track of your food intake is necessary to know where most of your calories are coming from. There are a lot of tools that can help you track your food intake. By doing this you have a record which you can refer to when you start to plateau or suddenly start putting weight back on. You don't need to over complicate things. All you need to log is what you ate, when you ate it and how many calories worth did you eat. That's it.
Calorie Counters
The internet had many free calories counters to tell what foods contain how many calories. Some sites have premium sections where they offer you tools to plan meals based on a daily caloric limit.
Calories counters are really useful for those foods that don't have the calorie information on the packaging like some meat, fruits and vegetables. More and more restaurants have calories information on their websites, use this to log you calories when going out for a meal. All food is an energy source, some have more than others but eat too much and it will turn into fat. Remember that even healthy foods like fruit, nuts, meat etc have calories, some have high caloric densities like nuts. Try to drink only water, getting energy from drinks won't fill you up and you'll still end up eating the same amount which could result in an over eating of calories.
Going out to eat
Eating out doesn't mean giving up on your calorie plans, a lot of places will tell you how many calories their dishes have and even offer low calorie versions. Even junk foods places like McDonalds sell salads and fruit so even if you're dragged there when you're with friends you have some choices.
Click here for more information on low calorie foods: Foods for weight loss
Reduced calorie snacks
When buying snacks get the ones that are packed into small 100 to 200 calorie portions. This makes logging a lot easier and you reduct your chances of eating too much. If your favourite snack is not prepackaged then just buy some food bags and measure out a 100 calorie portion and make several of them so they are ready when you feel like snackish. Be careful that you don't get tempted into grabbing a few bags and gorging on them. Snacks from the supermarket are usually not very healthy so go easy on them, snack on thinks like nuts and seeds instead.
Gorging
Your body can only handle so much food at one time so you should not have all your calories in one go like starving yourself all day then going out and having the most fatty and calorie dense food you can find. First of all, you won't get all the nutrients you need and secondly, consuming that many calories at once will cause an insulin spike resulting in a lot of that meal being stored as fat because the body never needs that much food at once. Eat foods that have a high quantity of nutrients in them like vegetables and fish. So the ideal foods are low to medium caloric density as well as a high nutirent density like most fibrous vegetables and lean poultry.
Counting calories is probably the simplest way to get started on your weight loss journey. By logging you food intake you can watch what good and bad habits you have when it comes to food, you can also start seeing patterns E.g. I lost more weight last week when I was eating more vegetables and less snacks.
Check out my review of some great programs that teach you how to count calories: Best weight loss programs
Deals on eBay
 |
The Doctors Pocket Calorie Fat Carbohydrate Counter Plus 80 Fast Food Chai | US $4.99 |
 |
Pulse Heart Rate Monitor Calories Counter Fitness Watch | US $9.95 |
 |
The Calorie Counter 3rd Edition Annette B Natow Jo Ann Heslin Good Mass Ma | US $5.98 |
 |
CALCUWEIGHTOR KITCHEN SCALE CALORIE COUNTER KOREXBONUS | US $6.95 |
 |
POCKET POSH DINING OUT CALORIE COUNTER PAMELA M NISEVICH BEDE PAPERBACK NEW | US $8.89 |
Related posts:
Tags: count calories, counting calories, how to count calories, learn calorie counting