Calorie Counter Charts Let You Track Your Food Intake

By Author: Marcilio David
Total Articles: 70
Comment this article

Calorie counter charts allow the millions of people that are on a dieting plan a way to track their food intake. Half of the people on a diet at any given time don't know how to properly diet. Calorie counter charts help to rectify this problem.

Many companies claim to have perfected calorie counter charts including Weight Watchers and Nutra-Slim. There are also all kinds of free calorie counter charts available on the internet if you do a basic search.

The reason that calorie counter charts are all the rage is because people are beginning to see that fad diets, miracle diets, and fat burning pills don't work. The basics of dieting are that you have to consume less than you burn. In fact, to lose 1 pound, you have to burn an extra 3500 calories.

Calorie counter charts simply systematize the process of dieting.

Here are some basic tips when starting your calorie counter charts.

1. Don't supersize your meals. Okay, McDonald's has technically removed the "Super Size" designation, but now they want you to "go large." One of the biggest advantages to calorie counter charts is that you must ...
... record just how many calories that large fry has. Perhaps that will make you decide to choose the small size - or go without.

2. Rather than having 3 "big" meals, eat several small portions each day. Having an egg and an orange when you wake up, an apple and a slice of cheese at 10 or 11 a.m., three ounces of tuna with a green salad at 1, a snack of yogurt at 4 and a small dinner of a steamed chicken breast and broccoli will keep you full all day with fewer calories than a more traditional food plan. You can keep track of all of this on your chart to make sure that you don't go over.

3. Make sure you stay on top of your calories consumed and also keep track of your calories burned. When you record everything on your chart, you will begin to lose weight.

4. Figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight, and drop a small amount below that. If you normally need 1800 calories, don't drop to 1200 just to lose weight quickly as you will slow down your metabolism. A 1500 calorie diet would be about right.

5. You can't eat what you don't have on hand. Therefore, you should never shop when you are hungry.

6. Eat slowly. You will consume fewer calories when you take the time to enjoy your meal. In our fast food culture, this might be hard to get used to, but your waist line will appreciate it.

7. Be gentle with yourself. Sometimes a donut will find its way onto your calorie counter charts. If you "cheat" with a small item once or twice a week, you may actually last longer on the diet.

When you want to lose weight, you should start by developing your own calorie counter charts. Keep a journal of the foods you eat each day along with their calorie count. Make sure you are accurately recording the portions you ate. You will soon begin to fit into your skinny jeans when you keep calorie counter charts.
Marcilio David is a cardiologist and webmaster, he is the creator of The Smart Weight Loss Guide, where you can get a lot of diet tips. Come and get a FREE Diet ebook at http://diet.seuamigodopeito.com