10 easy steps to calculate your daily caloric intake

Whether you’re trying to lose pregnancy or post-holiday weight or a few extra pounds that are a result of a sedentary lifestyle, your diet will play a significant role in how much and how fast you shed the fat. Calculating your daily caloric intake is an effective strategy in the battle of weight loss. Counting calories is not a diet, but it will ensure that you eat the right number of calories for your weight, height and level of physical activity.

1. Meal Planning

Meal planning is one way to keep your daily calories under control. Families are busier than ever, so there’ll always be the temptation to eat whatever is at hand or head to the nearest fast food restaurant. However, it pays to plan your meals so you won’t neglect your goals at the first indication of hunger.

2. Choose Healthy Foods

Don’t let your taste buds rule. It might take some time to get used to the taste of healthy foods, but you’ll reap the rewards because these foods contain fewer calories. This means you could eat more of the healthy food options. Some of the tastiest foods are packed with calories; think about French fries, cheeseburgers, cakes, pizzas and similar foods. When you’re looking for healthy options, choose lean meats, fresh vegetables, whole wheat grains, nuts and seeds.

3. Drink Lots of Water

Drinking lots of water daily is essential to ensure your body functions at an optimum level. The best thing about water is that it contains zero calories. If you want to decrease your daily calorie intake and lose weight, make sure to drink 8-10 glasses of water daily and avoid sweetened drinks.

4. Check the Nutritional Info

Refer to the labels before you purchase anything. From bread to snacks and frozen foods, look for the number of calories per serving and choose foods with the lowest counts. Pay careful attention to the size of each serving. Many people eat more than one serving per meal, so check the serving size on packages and limit your intake to one serving.

5. Use Free Resources

Some foods leave out the nutritional information on their labels. Don’t worry; you could easily use nutritional websites and other online resources to look up the calorie count for almost any food.

6. Use Measuring Spoons and Cups

Use your kitchen tools to keep your serving size exact. Until you’re a pro at eyeballing your food, use your tools when adding ingredients to your food.

7. Record Everything

Keeping a daily food journal is crucial when you’re just getting started with counting calories. Use a notebook, your tablet or computer to record everything you eat and add up the calories at the end of each day. This will help you to stay motivated and keep on track.

8. Relax

Counting calories requires a lot of research and diligence in the early stages. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll have a much easier time at it. You’ll learn the calorie content of various foods, so you could relax and focus on making wise choices.

9. Purchase a Tally Counter

Tally counters are fairly inexpensive, so make sure to get one. Increase the count every time you eat, so you’ll have your total count at the end of each day. Nowadays, smartphone apps will look up calorie values when you request it. So put your smartphone to use if you don’t want to purchase a tally counter.

10. Be Patient

Weight loss takes time. It’s easy to forget this and get discouraged before you begin to experience real results. Stick with the program and eventually you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.

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