Does calorie counting work?

Faced with almost unlimited weight loss ‘solutions’ including potions, pills or even surgery it is often easy to get carried along with fantastic weight loss stories and amazing before and after photos when looking for a genuine weight loss solution that works.

Calorie counting has been around for a long time and many weight loss programs state their diet ‘will only help as part of a calorie-controlled diet’.  These few words are often overlooked,  they blend into the background while the larger weight-loss claims grab your attention,  however without the inclusion of a calorie-controlled diet the success of the latest new super diet is often compromised.

Why does calorie counting work?

To understand why calorie counting works,  it is good to know exactly what a calorie is.

Our bodies need the constant support of energy to survive and function.  This energy comes from what we eat and drink.   The amount of energy in a product is expressed in calories,  or kiloJoules.  The higher the calories in a product,  the more energy the product contains.

Although there are many factors involved,  at a very basic level (and without writing a 300-page document) if you consume more energy or calories than your body needs this energy is then stored as fat so it can be used later and you gain weight.  If you consume less energy than you need your body has to convert some of the fat back to energy and you lose weight.

Why are some foods better for a diet than others?

You will probably hear of ‘fats’, ‘carbs’ and ‘protein’,  and that a low-fat diet will help you lose weight.

There is truth in this,  and a lot of it comes down to the calories.    Again (rather simply)  fat contains 9 calories per gram, while carbs and protein contain just 4 calories per gram,  so if you select food products with a lower fat content you are effectively reducing the number of calories you eat.

So,  why do calorie-counting diets often fail?

To follow a calorie-controlled diet in the past required a calculator,  pen and paper and a lot of dedication.  Inadequate product labelling did not help and for most people, it was simply too much and the diet would be dismissed as a failure as it was too hard to maintain.

As a result, people became shy of calorie counting and many diet programs were created with different ways of counting the energy in food.  They were simpler to stick to, points or similar values for food products were supplied and there was usually an associated weight loss club you would attend on a regular basis to help keep your motivation and to keep you from slipping.

However,  as with many things,  with the power of modern computers and changes by food manufacturers calorie counting is now a genuine option and one that can provide ultimate flexibility.

The Perfect Diet Tracker calorie counting solution

The Perfect Diet Tracker makes calories counting easy.

The software takes care of all the calculations for you,  working out your daily calorie allowance automatically and adjusting this as you lose weight.

The extensive food database helps you keep track of what you are eating, monitor your nutritional profile so you know you are maintaining a balanced diet and quickly shows you which foods you can eat more of,  and which you might want to cut back on.

I don’t need a diet tracker, I know which foods are good for me

If you already know which foods are good for your diet and which foods prevent you from reaching your ideal weight then congratulations, you are probably an ideal weight and the envy of your friends and family. However,  we find for the majority of people it often comes as a surprise to find out which products are good and bad for their diet.

People often forget that when they ‘go on a diet’ and swap all their normal products for ‘healthy’ or ‘diet food’ that even these products contain calories,  and although they may be a more healthy option they may not help you lose weight.  Many users also do not realise that ‘crash dieting’ and cutting out too many calories can actually slow your weight loss down!

The Perfect Diet Tracker takes the guesswork away,  you can see how many calories you are eating and if you are eating a balanced diet.  In the majority of cases, you can do this without making a huge change to your diet,  the software gives you easy to use tools so you can find your own perfect diet.

Download the Perfect Diet Tracker free trial now…

To download the free 7 day diet tracker trial click here.

You get full access to all the software features including the extensive food database and you will soon be able to see how many calories you should consume to achieve the weight loss you want and how you can make changes to your current diet to achieve that weight loss.

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