Calorie Guide to Foods

Obesity and related health issues have become an epidemic in the United States, and millions of Americans resolve each year to tackle the problem by eating healthier. Healthy eating, though, requires access to key information, and nothing helps more than guides to tracking calories in the foods you eat.

Nutritional Labels

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires food labels that provide calorie information on most packaging. One of the best ways to follow calorie consumption is to use the information from the label. The labels feature the number of calories per serving. Servings are by weight in grams or ounces or by measurements such as tablespoons, teaspoons and cups.

  Be sure to note the serving size. That also means you need to track the size of your servings. Use measuring cups, measuring spoons and kitchen scales to measure your food. In addition to listing the calories per serving, labels also feature the number of calories per serving that come from fat. Most doctors recommend eating no more than 33 percent of calories from fat, and most diets call for 25 percent or fewer calories from fat. It is OK to go above the recommended percentage of fat calories on some meals as long as you go below on others to balance the total percent of calories per day to within the recommended amount.

  Most restaurants also provide calorie information. In most cases, you need to ask to see nutritional guides. They are not displayed in many restaurants. Most restaurant websites, though, provide calorie information and other nutritional facts about their menus.

Calorie Counting Books

• Books on dieting provide essential information about calories in foods. Some of the most convenient books are paperback calorie guides. Many are "pocket-size" guides you can slip into a pocket or purse. They often contain calorie information for thousands of foods, and some specialized guides provide nutritional information for fast food restaurants. Most pocket guides sell for $5 to $10.

Online Calorie Guides

• Online calorie counters are a popular tool for tracking calories consumed. They allow you to search databases for certain foods. The databases include calorie information for thousands of foods, including some restaurant meals. Many of the websites allow you to register a user name and record daily calorie consumption with logs of the foods you eat for each meal.

  An example of a popular calorie guide is www.my-calorie-counter.com. One benefit of the site is that you are able to personalize your calorie consumption plan by factoring in your caloric needs. The site's software allows you to identify your gender, target weight, actual weight, height and level of physical activity. It then calculates the average number of calories you should eat per day to maintain your weight. You can use the figure to gauge the number of calories you should eat to lose weight, too.