How to Do Calorie Counting When Dieting

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Many people use a diet of counting and limiting calories in order to lose weight. This can be an excellent and effective way to lose weight. It is dependent, however, on you being able to count calories correctly. The following are some tips on how to do calorie counting when dieting.
Look at packages
The easiest way to determine calories for a packaged food is to look at the calories on the package. You will find these on most packaged food items. You will want to be very careful when you do this to look at the serving size. Oftentimes the serving size is not as large as you may think it is. For instance, they often sell big lollipops with many servings in it. Most people are going to think of a single lollipop as one serving, but in this case you would be wrong. Many items have small serving sizes and you will only get the right amount of calories if you take that into consideration.
Get a book on calories in food
They sell many guidebooks that list the calories in popular foods. You can find this from a variety of sources. In addition, a lot of this information is available for free on the Internet. You will want to be sure to find a source that is reliable. Also, remember that it may be an average and is not necessarily indicative of the one you are eating. For instance, a grilled cheese sandwich can range greatly in calories based on the type of bread, how much butter you use, how much cheese you use, etc. There is no one number that will be right for the caloric content of all grilled cheese sandwiches but a guidebook may give you a ballpark figure.
Add the calories of all of the components
When you make a dish or purchase from a restaurant, you will want to think about the calories in all parts of the meal. There are often little things that we forget such as sauces, mayo, and especially the butter on things, which can add a substantial amount of calories.
Make sure to weigh or measure food
You may try to eyeball or guess how much food you take, but oftentimes you take way more than you realize. Try a more scientific measure of determining the size of your food such as weighing it.
Look at the nutritional guides at restaurants
Many restaurants will have nutritional guides. Some will even list the calories in select food on their menus. You can also buy some guides that will list the calories in some popular chain restaurants.
The more accurate you can be in your calorie counting, the more likely you will have a successful diet.
Updated On: 03/14/2010 Published On: 03/14/2010 Diet foods to help you lose weight