Calorie Counting for Weight Loss

What is Calorie Counting for Weight Loss

Calories are units of energy. Your body needs a certain amount of calories from food to keep you going throughout the day. When you eat more calories than your body needs, your body stores the extra calories as fat.

When you eat fewer calories than your body needs, your body burns fat to get the energy it needs.

Calorie counting means keeping track of how many calories you eat and drink each day.

Calorie counting can be helpful if you need to lose weight. If you make sure to eat fewer calories than your body needs, you should lose weight. Ask your health care provider what a healthy weight is for you.

For calorie counting to work, you will need to eat the right number of calories in a day in order to lose a healthy amount of weight per week. A dietitian can help you determine how many calories you need in a day and will give you suggestions on how to reach your calorie goal.

• A healthy amount of weight to lose per week is usually 1–2 lb (0.5–0.9 kg). This usually means that your daily calorie intake should be reduced by 500-750 calories.
• Eating 1,200 – 1,500 calories per day can help most women lose weight.
• Eating 1,500 – 1,800 calories per day can help most men lose weight.

What is my plan?

My goal is to have __________ calories per day.

If I have this many calories per day, I should lose around __________ pounds per week.

What do I need to know about calorie counting?

In order to meet your daily calorie goal, you will need to:

• Find out how many calories are in each food you would like to eat. Try to do this before you eat.
• Decide how much of the food you plan to eat.
• Write down what you ate and how many calories it had. Doing this is called keeping a food log.

To successfully lose weight, it is important to balance calorie counting with a healthy lifestyle that includes regular activity. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise (such as walking) or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (such as running) each week.

Where do I find calorie information?

The number of calories in a food can be found on a Nutrition Facts label. If a food does not have a Nutrition Facts label, try to look up the calories online or ask your dietitian for help.

Remember that calories are listed per serving. If you choose to have more than one serving of a food, you will have to multiply the calories per serving by the amount of servings you plan to eat. For example, the label on a package of bread might say that a serving size is 1 slice and that there are 90 calories in a serving. If you eat 1 slice, you will have eaten 90 calories. If you eat 2 slices, you will have eaten 180 calories.

How do I keep a food log?

Immediately after each meal, record the following information in your food log:

• What you ate. Don’t forget to include toppings, sauces, and other extras on the food.
• How much you ate. This can be measured in cups, ounces, or number of items.
• How many calories each food and drink had.
• The total number of calories in the meal.

Keep your food log near you, such as in a small notebook in your pocket, or use a mobile app or website. Some programs will calculate calories for you and show you how many calories you have left for the day to meet your goal.

What are some calorie counting tips?

• Use your calories on foods and drinks that will fill you up and not leave you hungry:
  • Some examples of foods that fill you up are nuts and nut butters, vegetables, lean proteins, and high-fiber foods like whole grains. High-fiber foods are foods with more than 5 g fiber per serving.
  • Drinks such as sodas, specialty coffee drinks, alcohol, and juices have a lot of calories, yet do not fill you up.
• Eat nutritious foods and avoid empty calories. Empty calories are calories you get from foods or beverages that do not have many vitamins or protein, such as candy, sweets, and soda. It is better to have a nutritious high-calorie food (such as an avocado) than a food with few nutrients (such as a bag of chips).
• Know how many calories are in the foods you eat most often. This will help you calculate calorie counts faster.
• Pay attention to calories in drinks. Low-calorie drinks include water and unsweetened drinks.
• Pay attention to nutrition labels for “low fat” or “fat free” foods. These foods sometimes have the same amount of calories or more calories than the full fat versions. They also often have added sugar, starch, or salt, to make up for flavor that was removed with the fat.

Find a way of tracking calories that works for you. Get creative. Try different apps or programs if writing down calories does not work for you.

What are some portion control tips?

• Know how many calories are in a serving. This will help you know how many servings of a certain food you can have.
• Use a measuring cup to measure serving sizes. You could also try weighing out portions on a kitchen scale. With time, you will be able to estimate serving sizes for some foods.
• Take some time to put servings of different foods on your favorite plates, bowls, and cups so you know what a serving looks like.
• Try not to eat straight from a bag or box. Doing this can lead to overeating. Put the amount you would like to eat in a cup or on a plate to make sure you are eating the right portion.
• Use smaller plates, glasses, and bowls to prevent overeating.
• Try not to multitask (for example, watch TV or use your computer) while eating. If it is time to eat, sit down at a table and enjoy your food. This will help you to know when you are full. It will also help you to be aware of what you are eating and how much you are eating.

What are tips for following this plan?

Reading food labels

• Check the calorie count compared to the serving size. The serving size may be smaller than what you are used to eating.
• Check the source of the calories. Make sure the food you are eating is high in vitamins and protein and low in saturated and trans fats.

Shopping

• Read nutrition labels while you shop. This will help you make healthy decisions before you decide to purchase your food.
• Make a grocery list and stick to it.

Cooking

• Try to cook your favorite foods in a healthier way. For example, try baking instead of frying.
• Use low-fat dairy products.

Meal planning

• Use more fruits and vegetables. Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables.
• Include lean proteins like poultry and fish.

How do I count calories when eating out?

• Ask for smaller portion sizes.
• Consider sharing an entree and sides instead of getting your own entree.
• If you get your own entree, eat only half. Ask for a box at the beginning of your meal and put the rest of your entree in it so you are not tempted to eat it.
• If calories are listed on the menu, choose the lower calorie options.
• Choose dishes that include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and lean protein.
• Choose items that are boiled, broiled, grilled, or steamed. Stay away from items that are buttered, battered, fried, or served with cream sauce. Items labeled “crispy” are usually fried, unless stated otherwise.
• Choose water, low-fat milk, unsweetened iced tea, or other drinks without added sugar. If you want an alcoholic beverage, choose a lower calorie option such as a glass of wine or light beer.
• Ask for dressings, sauces, and syrups on the side. These are usually high in calories, so you should limit the amount you eat.
• If you want a salad, choose a garden salad and ask for grilled meats. Avoid extra toppings like bacon, cheese, or fried items. Ask for the dressing on the side, or ask for olive oil and vinegar or lemon to use as dressing.
• Estimate how many servings of a food you are given. For example, a serving of cooked rice is ½ cup or about the size of half a baseball. Knowing serving sizes will help you be aware of how much food you are eating at restaurants. The list below tells you how big or small some common portion sizes are based on everyday objects:
  • 1 oz—4 stacked dice.
  • 3 oz—1 deck of cards.
  • 1 tsp—1 die.
  • 1 Tbsp—½ a ping-pong ball.
  • 2 Tbsp—1 ping-pong ball.
  • ½ cup—½ baseball.
  • 1 cup—1 baseball.

Summary

• Calorie counting means keeping track of how many calories you eat and drink each day. If you eat fewer calories than your body needs, you should lose weight.
• A healthy amount of weight to lose per week is usually 1–2 lb (0.5–0.9 kg). This usually means reducing your daily calorie intake by 500–750 calories.
• The number of calories in a food can be found on a Nutrition Facts label. If a food does not have a Nutrition Facts label, try to look up the calories online or ask your dietitian for help.
• Use your calories on foods and drinks that will fill you up, and not on foods and drinks that will leave you hungry.
• Use smaller plates, glasses, and bowls to prevent overeating.