I will bet you would be surprised to hear that one popular restaurant serves a Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta that registers in at a whopping 2,060 calories and contains 128 grams of fat; roughly 60% is saturated fat. This one meal is a least one and one-half times the calories needed for one day. Another well known eatery serves a Double Stacked Club Quesadilla weighing in at 1,860 calories, 52 grams of saturated fat, and 3,440 milligrams sodium. If you order a beer with that, you add another 150 calories. Hopefully, you will not want dessert! The point is that often we all eat far more calories in one meal than we are aware of. Unless you are a linebacker, you probably would not make these choices if you knew how many calories they contained. Without proper information about the nutritional value of the food you eat, you consume far too many calories, fat, and salt. Too many calories, overtime, equal a significant weight gain; you get fat and unhealthy and risk some serious health problems by being obese.

Research has shown that counting calories and reducing portions while balancing foods from the food pyramid is a good way to stay healthy and maintain or loose weight. Listen to your body to determine if you are really hungry or just bored or tired. Resist cravings by going for a walk or doing some activity you enjoy. But bottom line, be aware of the number of calories you actually need and how many you are taking in. Generally once you are aware of the number of calories you consume, you make better choices. However, finding out how many calories are in a food, and keeping track is just too tedious. You may start out with good intentions, but it becomes a bother and you stop.

So how can you know how many calories you eat in any given meal? One good way to track calories is to use an online calorie counter. At Calories.net, for example, you register and use their calorie counter food chart and simply enter the foods you eat. The program will find the correct calories and keep track of your daily caloric intake for you. You will know where to cut down and where to make the necessary changes for better health. An online calorie counter is a helpful tool to facilitate a healthful lifestyle.