One of the most effective ways to lose weight is to track what you eat. Tracking what you eat is a way to assess your eating patterns. By writing down everything you eat, you learn exactly what you eat and how it affects you. You can detect patterns and eating behaviors and how they impact your weight loss goals. Many people underestimate how much food they actually consume. Many wonder why they start a diet and can't seem to shed the pounds. One reason is that people underestimate the quantity they eat. What people think of as a single serving can actually be equivalent to three or even four servings. A triple-sized portion can greatly impact your weight loss success. Another reason is hidden calories ? what some people think of as a healthy snack is actually loaded with calories that head straight to your thighs. Learning how to track your food and calorie intake is a great way to take charge of your weight loss plan and have it work for you.

Start out by writing down everything you eat. Don't change your eating habits until you know what your eating habits are. Record every morsel ? from the cream cheese on your breakfast bagel to the duck sauce on your stir-fry. Write down portions and amounts of what you eat as well. Check for servings sizes and measure portions you consume. Just as importantly, track your calorie intake. That duck sauce might seem harmless ? but in reality be loaded with calories. Understanding how many calories you consume is an important element of weight loss. The amount of calories you consume and the amount of calories you burn determines whether or not you lose weight. So knowing how many calories you consume is crucial to your success. Although it may seem daunting, there are resources that can make your calorie tracking easy and stress-free. Electronic calorie counters can provide you with the calories count of thousands of your favorite foods. Calorie counters can even tell you the calorie count of your favorite fast food items. So whether you are at home or on the go, an electronic calorie counter will help you stick to your weight loss plan.

Once you've determined how much you actually eat and the number of calories you consume, you can then look at changes you may need to make. By tracking how much you eat, you can see over a period of time how your food consumption affects your weight loss. You can also congratulate yourself for healthy habits you may not have known you have. Tracking what you eat provides you with the tools to be successful at losing weight and managing your goal weight once you've shed the pounds.