How to use a calorie counter to lose weight

In today’s guide we are going to talk about the benefits of using a calorie counter to lose weight. Losing weight is considered by many very difficult, mainly because they do not know how to approach it correctly. There are many weight loss tools available today that can facilitate the whole process and help you lose weight without spending endless hours in a gym and without getting into the path of crash dieting. One such tool is the calorie counter and in this post we are going to explain in detail how you can use a calorie counter to lose weight.
A calorie counter is simply a piece of software that gives you the ability to count how many calories there are in the foods and drinks you consume. It can give you detail nutritional information about each item and can sum up the total number of calories of the foods and drinks you eat in one day/week/month. Having this information is important in your weight loss journey as we are going to see below. Besides that, a calorie counter application may include details about the calories you burn through the various types of activities (resting, sleeping, driving etc) and exercise (walking, running, playing tennis etc).
You need to understand that weight loss is based on one very simple equation:
Weight loss = Calories Burn – Calories Consumed
If you manage to consistently consume less calories than what you burn you will eventually lose weight. As you can see there are some calculations involved with the above formula and this is where the calorie counter comes into place.

For the purpose of this guide we are going to use an actual example using our own calorie counter application, Calories4WeightLoss, and demonstrate how easy and efficient is the use of a calorie counter for losing weight.

Step 1 – The importance of finding how many calories you consume per day
Before getting your hands dirty it is necessary to understand the importance of counting the calories you consume in a day. Eating (and drinking) is the only source of energy to the body and giving more energy than the body needs to carry out its physical functions (breathing, digesting food etc.) and other activities (walking, working etc) will result in the accumulation of extra energy (either as fat reserves) and weight gain will occur. By recording the different items in a calorie counter you can take control of the calories IN VS calories OUT. Your goal is to achieve a daily calorie deficit (i.e. burn more than what you consume) and once this number reaches 3500 calories you lose one pound.
Step 2 – Every calorie counts
Ask yourself the following question: “What did I eat yesterday?” Can you accurately remember everything you consumed (either foods or drinks)?  Try to make up a list of items and then revisit the list and add those intermediate snacks, the afternoon coffee, the chocolate bar you eat after dinner, the salad dressing, the cheese on the plain spaghetti and those cookies that a colleague brought from home. The point to make here is that we often tend to eat items that contribute to our weight gain without understanding (or remembering it). These items are usually full of calories and fat and even though we are careful on what we eat during our main meals we still gain weight and wondering why. So, every calorie counts and a calorie counter will help you track down those items and be more selective on what to eat.
Step 3 – Plan your meals in advance VS Record what you eat
There are two methods to use to keep a record of what you eat, either you will use the calorie counter to plan your meals in advance and see how many calories you will consume or you can create your journal entries after you have consumed the different items. With the first approach you are being proactive and you have more control on what you are going to consume while with the second approach will give you a more accurate picture about your diet and it will be easier to pinpoint your mistakes and take corrective actions. Of course you can always combine the two methods and gain advantage of their benefits. What is important is to follow a method that works for you and is easy to adopt. At the end of the day what is required is that you know exactly your calorie sources and which items can be replaced or removed from your diet in order to create a calorie deficit that will lead to weight loss.
Step 4 – Using a calorie counter to lose weight by counting the calories you burn
Besides giving you nutritional information for foods and drinks, a calorie counter can help you lose weight by counting the calories you burn through exercise and activity. Every activity we do in our daily lives requires energy; some activities require less (e.g. sleeping) while others require more (e.g. working out). By keeping an activity and exercise journal you can find out how many calories you burn and you can ensure that this number is less than the calories you consume. In other words your goal is to create a calorie deficit that will help you lose pounds.
Step 5 – Losing weight with a calorie counter a real example

Enough theory – now let’s get into practice. A typical calorie counter application will have a dashboard showing your current status (i.e. current weight, number of calories consumed and number of calories burned), a place to search for foods and assign them to your meals (we call this a FOOD DIARY) and a place to record your activities and exercise (we call this an EXERCISE DIARY). Other functions may include a Weight History (to track down your weight changes) and a DIET CALENDAR that shows whether your daily history in terms of calorie surplus or calorie deficit. Screenshot 1 shows the home page of Calories4WeightLoss.
Calories4WeightLoss Home Page Let us assume that a male, age 40 consumes the following items in a typical day:
Breakfast: black coffee and a cup of corn flakes with milk
Lunch: 1 big mac (McDonalds) with chips and a coke
Dinner: 1 medium steak (boneless) with rice
Intermediate Snacks: 1 piece chocolate cake, 1 banana, 1 cappuccino, 2 chocolate cookies
At a glance the above diet looks balanced but if you analyze it using a calorie counter (see screenshot below) you will see that those items give a total of 2698 calories which is above the suggested 2000 calorie diet for men. Of course what is important for weight loss is that number to be less than calories burn though exercise and activity. Also by just looking at the analysis you can easily spot which items carry the most calories and fats and these are the first things to remove or replace from your diet.

 Food Analysis using a calorie counter
The same person is utilizing a 24 hour day as follows:
Resting: 8 hours
Sleeping: 8 hours
Desk Work: 7 hours
Housework : 1 hour
As you can see exercise is not part of his activities, very typical for the average person.
By performing those activities he spends about 2665 calories (see screenshot below for the analysis).
Exercise and activity analysis

The DIET CALENDAR shows that for that day he is actually consuming more calories than burn. The difference is not a lot of calories but this is just an example to demonstrate the accuracy of a calorie counter.

  Diet Calendar
You can also view the short video below (1 minute and 8 seconds) that shows how easy is to search for foods items and activities and record this information in your diet calendar.
In summary you can use a calorie counter to lose weight by:
Counting the calories in the foods and drinksRecording how many calories you spend in activities and exerciseAnalyzing your results and take corrective actions (i.e. eat less and exercise more)By tracking down your weight and identifying your progress or notSearch for foods and activities and reading their nutritional information or the amount of calories you need for the particular activityBy taking full control of what you eat and how you make use of your body energy. It is certainly one of the healthiest ways to lose weight and it is a recommended weight loss method by professionals and all those who believe in natural slimming methods.
Related posts: 5 Ways to lose one pound of fat
Tags: calorie counter to lose weight,counting calories,exercise journal,fitness journal,food journal,How to lose weight,ways to lose weight healthy,weight loss calculator,
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Fast Weight Loss - Lose Weight Now!

If you want to lose weight fast then you have to start taking serious action right away. Whether you have an event coming up or you simply want quick results, fast weight loss can be achieved. However you must not be fooled into thinking that you will lose weight by starving yourself - although you may drop the pounds, it is not safe nor is it a long term solution; you will simply pile them back on again in no time.
The safe way to fast weight loss is to focus on exercise and eating just enough calories to see you through the day plus a little extra for exercise energy. But if you are worried about calorie counting, don't be. By eating the right foods you will be getting all the calories you need without the extra bad things like fats and simple carbohydrates which only weigh you down and cause you to put on weight.
Changing your activity level is the first step to quick weight loss. you will need to start moving more often and moving faster. So if you currently do very little (or no) exercise at all then its time to step it up! You can join a gym or just work out at home. Walking, running, cycling, swimming, tennis and other sports are wonderful ways to have fun and lose weight at the same time.
Also consider undertaking some mild weight training - the more muscle you build, the faster your fat will burn.
Keeping hydrated all day long is a key to losing weight. water helps to remove toxins from your body, giving you more energy that you can use during exercise. Remember, soda drinks should be virtually eliminated if you are serious about weight loss as they hold no nutritional value at all. Make water your prime drink of choice, with some fruit juices and healthy shakes once or twice per day.
You can choose a pre-made diet plan or simply make your own consisting of healthy foods. Focus mainly on vegetables and healthy proteins like legumes and beans. Lean protein sources are invaluable for people wanting to lose weight.
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Fast Weight Loss - Lose Weight Quickly and Safely by Avoiding These Quick Weight Loss Scams

In a perfect world, we would be able to lose all the weight we wanted to overnight. There would be no need for diets... How great would that be! The bottom line is that we all want to lose weight fast. the sooner we can get it off the better. However, there are healthy ways to lose weight as well as unhealthy ways. Just because you see the latest new weight loss product on a commercial or in a store, or somebody wrote something on the internet, does not mean it is safe and healthy. In this article, I will explore 5 of the most popular unhealthy ways to lose weight. These should be considered dangerous, and should be avoided.

1.) Diet Pills. Diet pills are only a short term fix. When you stop taking them, you will get your hunger back and eventually go back to your regular eating habits, which basically means any weight you might have lost will come back. Mostly all diet pills are not regulated by the FDA and they have side effects. The side effects of common diet pills include headaches, dizziness, nausea, and heart palpitations.

2.) Health food supplements, like Ephedra. Just because the label contains words such as "herbal" and "all-natural" does not mean it it safe. Deadly Nightshade is all natural. So is rattlesnake venom. Ephedra has been linked to many deaths and as a result is now banned in the United States. Just because a diet supplement is being sold online or in a pharmacy does not make it safe. Don't assume that it is healthy.

3.) Fasting. When you fast, you are basically putting your body into starvation mode. When this happens, your metabolism slows down to a crawl. Then, when you start eating again the weight will pile back on. Not only that, but it might take awhile for your metabolism to return to normal. When in starvation mode, the body will start to burn muscle for fuel. When dieting, you don't want less muscle, you want more! If you fast for a long time, you will cause serious damage to your health. Your major organs, like your heart, are muscles and the bodycan not tell the difference between your heart and other muscles.
4.) Fad Diets. The latest and greatest fad diets often come and go. The south beach diet and the atkins diet are some examples. Diets that heavily rely on protein are not good for you, but they are not as bad as diets like the cabbage soup diet or the grapefruit diet. The problem with those kinds of diets is that they are based on eating only one type of food, which won't give your body the nutrients that it needs. As a result, it will be impossible to follow it. Imagine for a moment eating ONLY grapefruit. Or cabbage soup. No thanks.

5.) Eating prepackaged diet foods. These are extremely convenient. But, they are amazingly high in fat and sodium. If you consume a lot of sodium, it will lead to high blood pressure, and if you are already overweight you are already at risk for high blood pressure. The AHA (American Heart Association) says "Don't exceed more than 2000 mgs of sodium a day. Most prepackaged foods contain that much in a single meal. If you MUST eat prepackaged meals, make sure to check the label!
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Losing Weight Is Losing Weight - Right

Not all weight loss is created equal. I know you are thinking "losing five pounds is losing five pounds," right? It all depends on what kind of weight you lost. Discover the difference in the types of weight loss and what they mean to you by reading more.
When a person loses weight, it can consist of one or a combination of types of weight that is being lost which can have a big effect on whether the weight stays off or not. There are basically four kinds of weight loss: water, bone, muscle or fat weight loss.
Normally, when someone loses weight very fast, it is water weight loss. Water weight comes off fast, but it comes back on even faster. It is a temporary loss of weight that will come back when hydration starts again. Becoming dehydrated is not only unhealthy but can be downright dangerous.
Now for the fad "starve you to death" diets. These also can be very dangerous causing bone or muscle loss. This type of diet can cause severe problems down the road, and the weight loss never lasts more than a couple of years. When the weight does come back, it comes back with a vengeance. In other words, you gain back more than you lost.
Okay, it is time for the good kind of weight loss, losing fat. This is the best kind of weight loss, which in turn is healthy and can be made to stay off forever. When you lose fat, you look thinner than when you lose muscle. Five pounds of fat weighs the same as five pounds of muscle, but since fat is bulkier or lumpier than muscle, it looks like you lose much more. By losing five pounds of fat, you will lose more inches than by losing five pounds of muscle.
If you replace the fat with muscle you may weigh the same, but you will actually look smaller since the fat had more bulk and took up more room. When designing a weight loss plan, make sure that you are targeting the loss of fat and not muscle.
The best way to lose the fat and gain muscle is through a well balanced diet and moderate exercise. Not only will you become healthier but smaller and more toned looking. This does not mean starving yourself or depriving yourself of fluids. You have to eat and drink plenty of water to lose weight, otherwise you will become dehydrated and slow your metabolism.
By not eating, your metabolism will become slower which causes your body to go into "starvation mode". At this point, your body will begin to store as much as it can of the food you eat thinking it is starving. This will actually cause you to gain weight. Well, that defeats the purpose of the diet! Make sure to eat enough food but of the right kinds and varieties.
This is just a few tips to help you lose weight and keep it off naturally. You can learn more and get a free chapter from "Losing Weight Nature's Way" Get your free information at http://losingweightnaturesway.kteweb.com

Weight Loss - Losing Weight Quickly With Healthy Food

Spinach is a very healthy and inexpensive source of nutrition for your body which can be taken in salads, or as a side dish. It keeps you healthy even as you involve yourself in the process of losing weight. Half a grapefruit has just 40 calories, but it gives you 45 mg of vitamin C, lycopene, pectin, beta-carotene and potassium. Eat this healthy and tasty item for breakfast, or toss it into a salad with spinach.
Most diet plans prescribed for quickly losing weight forbids the use of carbohydrates or carbs. This advice is not only wrong, but dangerous as well. What you should do is reduce the amount of carbs to about 50-60% of your caloric intake. So, if you're on a 1500 calorie daily diet, you should try to look for about 900 calories a day from grains, fruits and vegetables. Whole grain breads are highly nutritious - if you substitute your two slices of white toast with half a cup of oatmeal or whole grain cereal, you will gain a lot in health. So healthy whole grain breads will keep you healthy while you try to lose weight.
Fish is another healthy food that can be taken while in the process of losing weight. Fish is low in fat, high in protein and contains omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 is a vital ingredient in our cells. Sufficient amount of Omega 3 will help you to heal the damage you have done yourself through a prolonged period of poor diet. As fish generally has fewer calories than most meats, you'll be saving calories, too. Olive oil will also be healthy for your body as it needs a little fat to process vitamins and use them properly. Olive oil is a mono-unsaturated fat that contains among others antioxidants, flavonoids, beta-carotene and vitamin E.
Try not to chalk out your diet plan based on any single ingredient. The best method of losing weight is to eat healthy foods so that you receive all the essential nutrients you require on a daily basis.
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Weight Loss - Lose Weight Fast

Many people want to lose weight fast and don't know where to start. With so many "gurus" and salesmen out there telling the world to eat cabbage all day and only drink lemon water, it's no wonder everyone is confused.
What I am going to tell you may come as a shock. You do not need to use any hyped up detox plans. No carbohydrate starving diets, you don't have to eat salads all day, you don't even need to stop eating the foods you love! You can actually enjoy losing weight.
Many diets only address calories. All the "gurus" say you only need to cut calories and then they make you drink lemon water all day. When you look a bit deeper, a fat loss program needs to be strategically addressing your hormonal environment. After all, your hormones control close to everything when you are trying burn fat. Fortunately there are easy ways to take control of your hormones and keep your body in a fat burning state all day. But first we need to look at your metabolism.
Specifics foods and exercises can dramatically increase your metabolism although many people do not know about them. Many people who go to the gym and are working out probably don't even know about them. Did you know that 45 minutes spent on a treadmill only burns around 500 calories which equates to a 1/7th pound of fat or 2 apricots. Not a lot is it? Thankfully there are exercises that will produce the results we need instead of burning the equivalent of an afternoon snack of fruit.
There are 4 strategies that you will need to learn to begin losing weight fast, and by fast I mean every minute of the day. We will need to look at your diet and ensure there are high quality carbohydrates and proteins along with healthy fats.
Learn when to eat carbohydrates. We do not need to cut out carbohydrates completely, we just need to understand when the body is primed to digest them. In the morning and after intense exercise are the best times to eat carbohydrates. After all, your body is crying out for nutritious food in the morning making this a great time to stock up. After exercise, your body has just been worked and is now ready to absorb nutrients for recovery and energy replenishment as opposed to storing them as fat.
If you know when you can have that cake or pie this can actually stop it from having a reverse affect on your weight loss program. We do have to pay attention to this as only one day of overfeeding can throw your metabolism off course and can hinder your weight loss.
Back to exercise now. If you really want to shed those pounds and lose weight fast then you need to engage in Metabolic Resistance Training. This can increase your metabolism for up to 48 hours after your workout. So you work out for 40 minutes and burn fat for 2 days. These exercises aren't special secrets that only extremely smart people know either. They are just everyday exercises that most people overlook. Dumbbell rows and lunges are just 2 of these fat burning exercises often overlooked by most people who are at the gym.
So if you are ready to lose weight fast and want to learn these simple techniques to accelerate your results then you owe to yourself to have a look here http://www.thebodyyoudeserve.info
Good luck and hope this helps you become the person you have always dreamed about.

How to lose weight in 2012

According to research more than 50% of New Year’s resolutions are related to weight loss and fitness. If you are reading this you are probably in this category and either you have already setup a personal goal to lose weight in 2012 or you are thinking how to formulate your plan. The purpose of this guide is to give you all the information you need to make a solid and effective weight loss plan or help you decide which is the best path to follow in order to make 2012 YOUR year.

Just saying “I want to lose weight in 2012” is not enough. You need to make up your mind and be specific on how much weight you want to lose, how you plan to make this happen and when. A great way to accomplish this is setting up a SMART goal i.e. a goal that is Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Specific. Here are some examples of SMART weight loss goals:
“I want to lose 5 pounds by the end of February 2012”.
“I will follow an 1800 calorie diet and will lose 4 pounds per month. My goal is to lose 12 pounds in the next 3 months”

The weight loss industry is very competitive and this makes things more complicated than they are in reality. Marketers in their effort to promote their weight loss products make exaggerations by promising super-fast results with their ‘miraculous’ programs or pills. This is not the case though. Weight loss is a process that takes time, effort and patience. The individual characteristics of each person are different and so is the approach to losing weight. Some people find it easier to lose weight due to their metabolism while others lose weight slower. What you should do to avoid this trap and fail before you even begin is to ensure that you understand the terminology, basic weight loss concepts and learn how to identify fad diets and products. It may sound complicated but once you have this clear in your mind everything else will be easier and you chances of losing weight are increased.  To shed some light into the arena and make it simpler for you go ahead and read the following articles:
How to lose weight if you have a slow metabolism – Metabolism is a famous term and this article will help you understand what is metabolism and the factors that affect your metabolic rate.
How many calories to lose weight – This article explains the math and logic behind weight loss. A must read for everyone who wants to take this seriously.
How to lose water weight – People often confuse “fat loss” with loss of water weight. This article will put things in the correct perspective.
Now that you are familiar with the weight loss principles, the next step is to decide how you want to lose weight and make your own plan. Are you going to use a commercial diet program or will you create your own diet and exercise schedule? This is a very important decision since you need to choose (or create) a program that will fit in your lifestyle and at the same time generate positive results. Over the years we have prepared several guides that explain this process step-by-step.
How to lose weight fast but healthy – This is a huge but one of the most complete and comprehensive guides you can find on the Internet about fast weight loss. It covers everything you need to do including preparation guidelines, a diet to follow and exercise routine.
Calories 4 Weight loss – “Calories 4 Weight loss” is our own weight loss program. It includes a diet plan (Combination diet for abdominal fat), an online calorie counter and personal support.
Best Weight Loss Diets – If you decide to go for a commercial diet program this article will give you the pros and cons of the most popular and effective programs.
How to lose weight in 2 weeks – If you think you can achieve your goals in 2 weeks then this guide is for you
Do not just stay on the theoretic part of weight loss. It’s good to know the theory but to see the pounds go away you need to take action! While dieting you may find useful the following:
What are crash diets? – Do crash diets work and should you follow one?
5 Foods to avoid while dieting – Some foods can do more harm than others, better avoid them.
5 Weight loss mistakes  - Do you make these weight loss mistakes?
You may have a great plan and willingness to lose weight but for many reasons you just can’t get the results you want. This is the time that many people quit and believe that they will never lose weight. If you end up in this situation then what you should do is get professional support. Professionals can analyze your situation, the things you have done and the things you haven’t done and recommend ways to correct the problem. You can find a dietician or nutritionist to discuss your problem or you can even get online weight loss support for a lower fee and faster response. You can also find more information in this guide:
Why I am not losing weight
That pretty much covers everything you need to know on how to lose weight in 2012. Do not delay it any longer; the sooner you take action the faster you will be the results.
Related posts: Do you really want to lose weight?5 weight loss mistakes you should avoid
Tags: How to lose weight,i want to lose weight,lose weight in 2012,weight loss tips for 2012,