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How to count calories

Recently the news was abuzz with the results of a major research study that has found that calories are the determinant of whether or not people lose weight. This is great news. We can now stop looking for the magic answer and begin applying the answer that is in front of us.

What this means is that what we have always known is true. If you eat fewer calories than your body needs, you will lose weight. And, if you engage in physical activity on top of that, you will lose even more weight. Even when people go on other types of diets, such as low-carbohydrate diets or low-fat diets, those diets are successful or not based on calories in and calories out. Here's how to count calories to make calories work for you:

1. To count food calories, obtain a good reference book on calories. Preferably obtain a book that is small enough to carry with you or cheap enough to keep one in each of your major locations, such as your kitchen, your desk at the office, your car, etc. Be sure your reference is detailed enough that it also lists the caloric content of fast foods. In this world, we have a difficult time without a drive-thru meal once in a while.

2. To count physical activity calories, you'll probably have to do some research. Go on the internet and search for calories for physical activity. The American Heart Association has a good one that is easy to read. You could also look in an exercise physiology text in the library to find the amount of calories you expend for specific types of exercise.

3. Use an extra checkbook ledger or develop a form of your own to keep track of your calories.

4. Essentially you are going to start each day with the number of calories that you have determined that you will eat each day. Put this number at the top of the balance column. Throughout the day, you will subtract the calories for each item you eat from this number and add the calories for the amount of exercise you perform to this number. At the end of the day, your goal is to end up with zero calories in that column.

The main trick to dealing with calories and making them work for you is honesty. You need to weigh and measure your food for a long enough period of time so that you become an expert at estimating the quantity of food that you are eating. If you have trouble estimating the quantity, continue measuring your food so you can ensure that you count calories accurately.

Learn more about this author, Lou Belcher.
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