healthy weight management is all about energy balance. that means burning more calories than you're consuming. so it is helpful to become familiar with the calorie counts of the foods you eat most often. keep a food diary for a couple of days and then look up the calorie counts of the foods you've eaten. you can get that information by referring to the nutrition facts panel on packaged foods or by looking online at websites like the usda national nutrient database. this will give you a sense of where your calories are coming from and help you identify some smart and easy ways to cut calories. for instance if you normally drink whole milk you can switch to fat-free milk and save 60 calories per cup. after a while you'll become a good diet detective and be able to estimate the calorie counts of your most regularly eaten foods. also remember that the higher the fat content the higher the caloric level. and of course the larger your portion the more calories you're consuming.
is counting calories really the trick to losing weight?