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Daily Calorie Counter

Are you a Calorie Counter?

If you’re not a calorie counter, you might give it a try for at least a while. Why? Because no matter how many low-carb, low-fat and low-whatever diets are out there, calories still count. If you become a daily calorie counter even for a little while, you’ll at least learn about how much food it takes to give you the calories you need each day without going overboard.

A daily calorie counter is one of the most important personal fitness tools you can have .Whether it’s an actually little device that you enter your daily calories into, a website where you can track your calories, or just a running total in your mind, it can keep you from making nutrition mistakes that add up to pounds.

If you prefer the idea of just keeping track in your head, you might consider jotting the numbers and the foods you eat down instead. People who write down what they eat each day, rather than just keeping track mentally, lose more weight than those who don’t. Even if you just do a mental tally at the end of the day and write that number down, you’re doing better for yourself than if you write nothing down at all. But your daily calorie counter journal will work even better for you if you keep track of the foods you eat, too.

If you’re unsure how to start even counting calories, try starting with the government’s food pyramid . While it’s changed over the years even since it was changed from the 4 basic food groups to a pyramid, it still stresses whole grains as an important part of your diet. Grains aren’t generally low calorie foods, so don’t be fooled by thinking healthy=low calorie.

You need a certain number of calories each day to maintain your weight and your body’s systems. If you eat that many calories but exercise a lot and burn some off, or you eat fewer calories, you’ll lose weight. Eat more calories than that without exercising and burning off the excess and you’ll gain weight. It’s a very simple formula.

So moderate to high calories foods that are nutritious should be part of your eating plan. Lean proteins are also important, as are lean dairy sources and lots of fruits and vegetables, which are typically lower calorie and can be indulged in without too much worry. If you’re not used to eating many vegetables or other healthy foods, looks for some heart healthy and lower calorie recipes to get started. Try reading some exercise tips to help you burn off excess calories when you overindulge, or burn off a regular amount each day to help you lose weight.

If you’re a daily calorie counter, soon you’ll be able to look back and see where you tend to eat too many calories, or what time of day you’re most tempted. And if you can find the areas that tend to trip you up, you can make plans to avoid those problems or fix them.