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With all of the diet fads out there, it's sometimes difficult to remember that the easiest and healthiest way to lose weight is also the way that makes the most sense: count calories.

Calories are units of energy. Most people burn somewhere in the vicinity of 2000 calories a day just from being alive. This number depends upon a variety of factors such as gender, height, weight, activity and muscle to fat ratio, but 2000 is a good place to start. To find out a more exact number, use an online calorie calculator, which will tell you, based on these factors, a more exact estimate.

The key is a theory of input-output. If your body burns 2000 calories a day, then that is how many you need to feed your body to keep it running. If you feed it more calories than it uses, then your body stores these as fat. If you feed it fewer, then your body will cut into its stores of fat to find energy. In other words, to gain weight, eat more calories than you burn, and to lose weight, eat fewer.

However, it is important to bear in mind that eating too few calories will shock your body into starvation mode: you will not lose weight, but will instead retain as much fat as your body can, and when you start to eat normally again, your body will store extra fat as it recovers from the shock of starving. Reducing your calories bit by bit will ease you into weight loss without shocking your body. When you are losing weight at a normal, comfortable pace (no more than 2 pounds a week), then you should stop reducing calories and instead continue to eat the amount you are currently eating.

Calories in food come from two sources: fat and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates include sugars and starches. Essentially, this means that the lower in fat, sugar and starch a food is, the fewer calories it will contain.

Counting calories becomes second nature after some time counting, especially because you usually fall into a rhythm of eating similar foods and remembering how many calories they contain. Approximations of calories are usually fairly intuitive: foods that are widely considered "healthy" are generally low in calories: fruits, vegetables lean meats are low in calories, while cheese, butter, fatty meats and sweets are much higher in calories. Once you are able to approximate calories, it becomes easy to continue to live your life normally, eating with friends, and then count later.

There are many websites that have exact calorie counts for thousands of different foods. Some sites even let you keep track of what you have eaten on the site, automatically tracking calories for you. Other sites contain caloric information for popular restaurants, especially chain restaurants. This can be useful for planning ahead when eating out.

Whatever method you choose for tracking your calories, whether it be via internet or on paper, it is one of the most successful and easiest ways of losing weight, and also the most natural. Fad diets are proven to fail, but calorie reduction is a lifestyle change that can help you lose and keep off excess weight.

Learn more about this author, Emily Monaco.
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