--> I never was a big calorie counter. I always wanted to be the girl that didn’t have to count calories and stayed thin. After lots of struggling, I finally realized I’m just not that girl. I can’t eat meat and potatoes every night and stay slim, it's not in my DNA. I have hips, thighs and a butt that will expand if I’m not careful. I have to keep a watchful eye on how many calories I consume.

At first calorie counting was annoying and frustrating. Tracking, and making a mental note of every bite that I put into my mouth became torture; but now I don’t even think I about it. I found obsessing over food doesn’t work for me.  I discovered keeping a loose tally, and try to eat as healthy as possible everyday is the only way to keep me on track.

Here are some tips I use to monitor my calorie intake

Read Food Labels

Food labels will tell you how many calories, carbohydrate, protein and fat are in the foods you’re eating.

Keep your eyes on the portion size at the top of the food label.

If you look at the food label on Top Ramen, the portion size for a package is 1.5, but servings per container is 2. Which means you must  double the calories listed on the label if you consume the entire Top Ramen package.

Start a Food Diary

Writing down the food you consume everyday helps control what you are eating. Most people will eat less just so they don’t have to record their terrible eating habits. Once you have a full week recorded go back and figure out how many calories you consumed each day. There are many online calorie counting websites that you can use for free. By tracking your calories you become aware of how much you are consuming on a daily bases. You can also identify where you can improve, and when and where you display the most restraint.