- Check the label. Almost all food products today are required to carry nutritional tables where the calories per serving are indicated. When out for groceries, be sure to check the labels since some food manufacturing companies really do take nutrition more seriously than others. Between brands of mayonnaise or chips, for instance, there are those that lower fat content and user healthier oils while there are also those that continue to use saturated fats that can clog up your arteries. Even unlabelled food products such as meats can easily be counterchecked for calorie levels by checking out the web or diet books. Some meat producers will even help you select leaner meats with less fat, if you ask them to.
- Get the calorie recipe books. Preparing your meals is one of the best ways to ensure that you can moderate the calories that are going into each bite. Doing this, however, can be daunting at first. For many, calculating just how many calories each spoonful of this or dash of that can be a mathematical crisis waiting to happen. To help you out in counting calories as you cook, check out the various calorie based recipe books which do not only provide you with the calorie count of each recipe, but will even contain some of the tastiest low calorie dishes that you can easily make at home. These calorie books are usually available in most health shops and the specialty shelves in book stores.
- Cut back on the serving portions. Counting calories includes other mathematical operations such as division and subtraction. Instead of just counting calories, you can also easily reduce your calorie intake by cutting back on the serving portions of your meals. Today, most food establishments actually serve out larger portions than necessary. When confronted with a heaping plate, most people tend to simply eat each bite. You can cut back on the serving portions by eating at home where you can control the servings – and the calories. Or, you can eat out at health conscious restaurants that will give you various serving size options as well as low-calorie dishes to help you enjoy a meal and a night out with friends without the fear of fat accumulating on your body.
Counting calories as a way to lose weight can be improved by eating only moderate amounts of protein in meat, as well as by replacing regular cooking oil with healthier alternatives such as olive oil. With these steps in mind, you can count your calories to a slimmer body.
