But calorie counting is so much work… I realize how anal retentive my blog must seem. For crying out loud, I hand write everything I eat and read the nutritional information on every package and if it’s not there, I search online for what I’m missing.
Well, why do you count calories then? Calorie counting is extremely effective. It gives you an almost exact measure of how much you are consuming a day. Losing weight is a lot of work, and if writing down a few numbers here and there every day helps me drop a pound, then it’s worth it. Besides, writing burns calories too!
Why does caloric intake matter? For weight loss, one pound equates to roughly 3500 calories. That is to say, if your body has a deficit of 3500 calories, you should lose one pound. Is this the case every day, every week? No. Your body adapts extremely quickly, but 3500 calories provides a rough guide for you to follow.
Hypothetically, if you consume less than you exert (through exercise, daily metabolic functions, etc.), you will lose weight.
Well, how do you count calories then?
1. Look for nutritional information on packaging. You know those annoying labels that you can peel off of the back of Ranch dressing bottles? Yeah, those things. Read them before you peel it off! 
1a. Look at the serving size. It is the first line you see. You’ll see one tablespoon, one ounce, one liter, one cup, whatever.
1b. Look at the calories. The caloric information is by serving! If you are doubling the serving size, then remember to double the calories.
1c. Can’t find information? Go online! I use Calorie King but there are tons of websites out there.
1d. Measure your food. If it’s a cup of milk, then use a measuring cup. If it’s one slice of ham, use one slice of ham (or multiply the calories by the servings you intend to use.)
2. Get a pen and pad of paper. I have a little notebook that I tote around every where. It’s on my dinner table, it’s on the kitchen counter when I’m making recipes, it’s next to my laptop. Keep it handy.
3. Write down what you eat, the amount, and the total calories. Say you have one cup of skim milk. You would write: Milk. 1 Cup. 90 calories. When you get familiar with your own system and shorthand, by all means adapt and be creative!
3a. Write before you eat. As you’re creating your sandwich, write everything you’re putting in it first along with the portion size. The caloric information can come later, but the important thing is to not leave out things because you forgot.
4. Total at the end of each meal. Use your phone, a handy dandy pocket calculator, Google math, your laptop calculator, it doesn’t matter.
5. Subtract individual meal total from daily caloric allowance. If you have a daily caloric allowance of 1600 and breakfast was 300, subtract! That means you have 1300 for the rest of the day. I am really familiar with this process so I no longer do the subtraction, but this is essential to start off with. That way, you can plan your meals, or at least realize what you might not get to eat for dinner tonight (and in turn, save for tomorrow!)
And that’s it! There are also phone apps out there (which I haven’t tried and don’t intend to, I like my old-fashioned way better) that can help you.
What you might ALSO need…
1. Measuring Cup. Get one. It’ll help you cook, it’ll help you bake, it’ll help you count your calories. Trust me. Even fat free chicken broth has calories.
2. Measuring Spoons. Those little plastic sets that seem like beach toys are extremely useful when it comes to soy sauce, peanut butter, etc. Do I measure EVERYTHING? No. I guesstimate a good amount but that’s also because I have experience on what one tablespoon of vinegar looks like. They’re cheap at Wal-mart but priceless in terms of weight loss.
3. Food scale. Oh, you thought weight loss was all about you. Well, it is, but your chicken, beef, pasta, etc. need to be weighed too! What does 2 oz. of dry pasta look like? Beats me (very little actually but cooks out to be more than you’d expect). Weigh in. Then cook it. Sound meticulous? Yes. Worth it? Definitely.
BUT…
How do you decide your daily caloric intake then? The recommended consumption for a normal adult is 2000 calories a day. I leave that to American nutritionists in coming up with the math. I’ll just use it as a guideline. That means, if you eat 2000 calories a day, you will maintain your weight. This is a very, very rough estimate since it disregards physical activity and extremely obese and overweight individuals. For a more exact amount, I use the BMR equation.
Find out what the BMR equation is and how to calculate your daily caloric allowance here.
Wrapping it up… Calorie counting is meticulous. It’s almost obsessive compulsive. But it works. And, you’ll be surprised at what’s worth spending the calories on (yeah, calories are almost like money! I wish I got $2K every day) and what’s not. You’ll find that you’ll make more health conscious decisions if you know exactly what you’re eating. Believe me, a bowl of pasta is not bad. And no, that brownie isn’t bad either, but is it worth it? Well, that’s up to you to decide. If you’ve got 500 calories left to eat, then by all means eat that big scoop of ice cream. Only 50 left? Hm, might go with some yogurt then. Besides, having a pen and paper handy leads to creative doodlings throughout the day. AND, you get to practice that basic elementary math that you haven’t had to use in awhile. In short: calorie counting stimulates the brain and burns the fat. What more can you ask for!
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Female. 23 years old. Chinese. Cook. Foodie. UCLA grad. Traveler. Musician. Scuba diver. Law student. Runner.