A Digital Food Journal Will Help You Reach Your Weight Loss Goals

A calorie intake counter, or digital food journal as it is also known, is a great tool for any dieter to have in their weight loss arsenal. The advantages of a calorie intake counter over a pen and paper journal is that the amount of calories in each food are already programmed into the counter. This means that you get a running total of the amount of calories you have consumed throughout the day.

Digital Food Journal - Calorie Intake Counter

One of the biggest problems that dieters have is that they have no idea of the actual calories they are consuming. For one thing, they underestimate the actual portions they are eating. They also underestimate the calories in each portion. Many foods that are supposedly “good” for us are very high in calories. For instance, a one cup serving of orange juice has 122 calories. Many dieters try to stick to a 1200 calorie diet. So, that glass of orange juice, which is supposedly part of a “balanced” breakfast, takes up 1/10th of the calories for the day! A calorie intake counter will help you avoid pitfalls like this one.

It will also provide a running total of the amount of calories you have consumed. So, if you have an extra cookie at lunch, you will know that you have to make up for it by exercising more or eating less at dinner.

Since the calorie intake counter works like a journal, you will be able to identify your “trouble spots” after using it for just a week. For instance, you may find that the lunch options you have at work force you into eating more calories than you would “budget” for that meal. Therefore, you might make the choice to pack your own lunch so that you can have your calories spread out through the day in a way that you would prefer.

You will also be able to track how many calories you are burning with a calorie intake counter. Again, you may be surprised by some of the results. For instance, running a mile can burn off 78 calories if you are a 120 pound woman and 117 calories if you are a 180 pound man. Knowing exactly how many calories you are burning rather than just estimating is a good way to stay on track with your weight loss program.

Another thing that might surprise you is that you can burn calories by doing things you wouldn’t consider exercise. For instance, playing with your children, playing the piano, and gardening all burn calories.

A calorie intake counter is a sophisticated journal to help you keep track of your weight loss journey. You can buy them as standalone devises or buy add ons or apps for your iPhone, PDA, or other electronic equipment. In this day and age when we keep track of everything electronically, a calorie intake counter is just one more tool in the battle of the bulge.

Have you used a calorie counter as your food journal? We’d love to know which ones are your favourite. Let us know which apps or devices worked well for you in the comments below.

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