Calorie Counting

Benefits of Counting Calories

Critics of calorie counting often claim that it can inevitably lead to eating disorders. However, in reality, the opposite is the case. Through conscious calorie counting, one develops an understanding of the calorie and nutrient content of the consumed foods. This awareness allows one to get a feel for how many calories foods contain in different amounts. This way, one can allow oneself to integrate occasionally nutrient-poor foods like chocolate or chips into the daily diet without feeling guilty about having overeaten.

With some time and experience in calorie counting, it becomes easier to estimate the amounts of food one can consume without losing or gaining weight – depending on one’s personal goal.

If you don’t feel like calorie counting or already have sufficient experience in estimating the nutritional values of foods, my Easy Eating Guide can be used as an alternative.

Read the Nutritional Information

Most foods have nutritional labels on the packaging that provide information about the amount of calories and nutrients in a portion of the respective food. Additionally, the nutritional value per 100 grams is often provided. This information is important for you as the portion sizes indicated on many packages are often very modest. It happens that a package is labeled as four servings, although one easily consumes this amount alone and rarely shares it with four other people. In this way, the actual calorie content of many foods is misrepresented.

How to Count Calories and Macros

One of the simplest methods to count calories and macronutrients is to use an app. There are numerous free apps that can help you monitor your calorie intake and macronutrients. Most of these apps already have extensive databases with many foods. You can enter your meals into the app, and the app will automatically calculate your daily calorie and nutrient intake. Alternatively, you can use an Excel spreadsheet and create your own database. I personally use a simple calorie counting app, which is less known, but free. Many apps offer the ability to set individual macros only as an expensive premium feature. I can only say, there are alternative apps that are not so cost-intensive. I prefer to create my own database with the most frequently used foods in the mentioned free app and rarely use the existing databases.

The Scale is Your Friend

Whenever possible, always use a scale or a measuring cup to determine how much you are consuming. For example, an apple can weigh 100 grams or 300 grams, and this is the case with many foods. Even specifications like 1 tablespoon offer a lot of leeway. For instance, a scantily filled tablespoon of chocolate cream compared to a heaped tablespoon can make a difference of 100 to 200 kcal. The more precise we are in measuring, the more accurately we can control weight loss or gain. The only portions I do not weigh separately are precisely packaged foods. For example, if a cooking bag of rice has 120g or a can of goulash has 400g, I take these details directly.

Raw vs. Cooked Foods

Here, mistakes can easily be made, so it's important to pay close attention to what you're tracking to avoid several hundred falsely tracked kilocalories. You track your foods most accurately in their raw state, as the amount can vary after cooking. Cooked rice weighs on average about 3 times as much as raw rice. Cooked pasta weighs about 2.25 times as much as raw pasta. Turkey meat loses about 25% water when it is fried.

If you are cooking only for yourself, it's simple, but it becomes more complicated when cooking for several people. In this case, you can proceed as follows: You simply note down the raw total amount, measure the cooked total amount afterward, and then divide the value accordingly to determine the exact grams.

If you only have the cooked weight measurements of your foods and need the nutritional values of the raw state, my Cooked vs. Raw Weight Converter can assist you in converting the weights accordingly.

Weight Change through cooking by Manuel Fally

Plan Ahead

If you know that hunger mostly strikes in the evening, plan ahead so that you save a large portion of your calories for that. If you know you will be eating at a restaurant, many companies offer online menus, ideally with calorie information. This way, you can already enter your nutritional values into the app beforehand. If there are no nutritional information provided, make a generous estimate and track your calorie intake anyway. It's not a daily occurrence for most people to eat out, and deviating a little is not bad.

I Count Calories, Am in a Deficit, but Don’t Lose Weight, Why?

If that's the case, then you are not in a caloric deficit. Several errors could be present. It could be that your estimated calorie consumption is not as high as you thought, and therefore, you are not in a deficit as expected. It could also be that you make a mistake when tracking and, for example, forget that the oils used for frying your dishes or beverages can also have many calories. Perhaps your deficit is simply too small, so it takes longer to see initial results. The fact is, if you are in a deficit, you will lose weight. And vice versa: If you have trouble gaining weight, but think you are in a surplus, then you are not in a surplus. So, rectify any errors and adjust your calorie intake again.

Closing Words

Although it may sometimes seem a bit complex, counting calories is actually quite a simple task. The best thing to do is just start and don't give up if you initially exceed your goal a few times or don't hit the macronutrients exactly. Over time, you'll gain experience, and before you know it, you'll be able to estimate calories quite well without precise tracking.