Calorie Tally

Junk food is my vice.  Chips, licorice, chocolate, cookies, you name it.  If it's high in fat or calories, I want it, and I want it in mass quantities.  Living on my own, I get to control what I keep in my pantry, which is good.  So a year or so ago, I decided that it was just too dangerous to buy things like chips or cookies, for the sake of my lack of self discipline when it comes to portion control.   I try to snack on things that really aren't my first choice, but are more nutritious, and less calorie dense.  Trust me, the guilt is spared when you eat a pound of celery as opposed to 8 cookies (so much shame).

Calorie counting helps people who want to keep track of their daily calorie intakes.  You can download calorie counter apps on your smartphone, and some phones even let you scan the barcode of the food that you're eating.

Now I'm no doctor or nutritionist, and I am not one to go on crazy diets, but I found that keeping track of my calorie intake for a period of time to be really helpful.  I think a lot of people eat without really knowing the value of what they're putting into their bodies.  When I kept a log of my daily intake, and even planned my meals based on it, I became much more familiar with the amounts of calories in foods.   So now, even though I don't keep a record, I still use the knowledge I gained to make better decisions when it comes to snacks and meal time.  I know what I can eat endless amounts of, and what I should try to eliminate or limit.

So I definitely recommend trying to keep a tally of your calories for a week or so.
Now, if you don't feel like downloading an app, or just plain don't want to do it, I'm happy to give you a brief summary of my findings; Bread is the devil, and vegetables are your friend.  Enjoy!