How to count calories
Counting calories doesn't need a food scale and a spreadsheet. Here's a routine that's accurate enough to work and simple enough to keep.
1. Know your daily target
Your target starts from your maintenance calories, the amount that keeps your weight stable. It depends on your age, sex, height, weight and activity. To lose weight, eat around 300–500 kcal less than that; to gain, around 250–300 kcal more.
The calorie calculator works this out in a few seconds. Treat the result as a first guess: after two or three weeks your weight trend will tell you whether to adjust.
2. Log everything, roughly
Consistency beats precision. A rough log of every meal is far more useful than a perfect log of half of them. Use the fastest method for each food:
| Food | Fastest way to log |
|---|---|
| Plated meal at home | Take a photo, then check the portions |
| Packaged food | Scan the barcode |
| Single foods (an apple, a coffee) | Search, or log it again from recents |
| Restaurant meal with known calories | Quick Add the number from the menu |
| Your usual breakfast | Save it as a favorite; log it in one tap |
3. Watch the hidden calories
The biggest errors rarely come from the main food. They come from what you don't see: cooking oil (about 120 kcal per tablespoon), butter, dressings, sauces, sugar in drinks, and snacks eaten while cooking. Add these to your meals and most of the “I eat so little and don't lose weight” mystery disappears.
4. Weigh a few things, once
You don't need to weigh food forever. Weighing your usual portions for a week (your bowl of cereal, your rice, your pour of olive oil) calibrates your eye. After that, estimates and photos are usually close enough.
5. Review weekly, not daily
Daily weight jumps around by a kilogram or more with water and salt. Look at your average intake and weight trend over a week or two. If you're not moving in the direction you want after three weeks, adjust your target by 100–200 kcal.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to weigh my food to count calories?
No. Weighing a few staples for a week helps calibrate your eye, but photos, barcodes and reasonable estimates work for everyday tracking.
How long should I count calories?
Many people count for a few months to learn portions, then switch to tracking only occasionally. Do whatever keeps your progress going.
Is counting calories accurate?
Labels and databases can be off by 10–20%, and estimates add error. That's fine: consistency matters more, because you adjust your target based on real results.