Nutrition Health Center

Best Way to Lose Weight? Count Calories.

By Terry Dunkle*

Smart dieters have always known that the surest way to lose weight is to count calories. That's because (as science confirms) how much you eat affects your weight more

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than what you eat. And the most accurate way to measure your food intake is to count calories, because a food's calorie content tells exactly how much fat it can add to your body.

Use This Simple Formula to Count Calories

The math needed to count calories is easy: eat 3500 calories less than your current body needs, and you'll lose a pound. (You don't have to do the math yourself, however. Read on.)

You can forgo those 3500 calories at 500 calories a day for a week, or 125 a day for a month—whatever rate you like. The only question is how fast you want to lose the weight.

Most experts advise no more than a pound or two per week. If you lose faster, the weight may come back—and then you'll have to count calories again.

Before You Count Calories...

...obviously, you need to know how many calories are right for you. To find out, you can use the calculator below.

Or, if you already know your current eating level and you like doing math, just multiply the number of pounds you want to lose by 3500, divide the result by the number of days until your target date, and subtract that result from your current eating level.

If you normally eat 2600 calories a day, for example, and want to lose 20 pounds in 100 days, your budget will be 2600 - (20 x 3500) / 100 = 1900 calories per day.

To Count Calories, Start by Using This Tool

If you don't know your current eating level or don't trust your math, below is a nifty tool from DietPower, Inc. that will calculate the right calorie budget for you.

Based on 20 years of research by DietPower, Inc., this calculator is accurate to 5 percent for most users. (It's not for people who are pregnant or have metabolic disorders. Always see a doctor before starting a diet.)

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Weight

Goal Weight

Target Date

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Close Goal Weight
Your Goal Weight is the weight you want to achieve. (If it's a lot different from your current weight, you might want to set a goal that represents only the first step. Even a 10-percent weight loss will significantly improve your health.)
Close Target Date
Plan on losing no more than a pound or two per week.  Otherwise, you may eat too little for good nutrition and your weight loss may be temporary.
Close Lactating?
If you are breastfeeding, check this box and the calculator will add calories for producing milk.
Close Tobacco User?
Nicotine speeds your metabolism, making you burn calories faster. (That's why people who quit smoking gain weight.) Check this box if you average more than one cigarette, one-half pipeful, one-quarter of a cigar, or one dip of snuff or chewing tobacco per day.
Close Email Address
Once a month, DietPower will send you the most important nutrition news of the past 30 days, selected by national award-winning editors covering hundreds of medical journals. You can cancel this free, no-obligation service anytime with a single click. We produce it only to promote our weight-loss software. It won't put you on other mailing lists—We're Not That Kind of Company™.

The Easy Way to Count Calories

Once you've determined your weight-loss budget, it's time to count calories.

You can do that by reading food labels and keeping a diary on paper, of course. But it's a lot easier (and more fun) to use your computer.

You'll find many websites that let you count calories online, as well as more powerful programs that you can download and install on your own computer for greater privacy.

To Do More Than Count Calories...

...choose a program that also tracks your intake of other nutrients (fat, carbohydrates, etc.). Many programs award calories for exercise, too. One, called DietPower®, even monitors changes in your metabolism and shows which of your favorite foods is best to eat now.

National award-winning medical editor and founder of DietPower, Inc.