Week 1: Counting Calories

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For the first week you won't need to make any adjustments to your diet. This week will focus on making you aware of the calories you're taking in. A lot of people already try to do this mentally but it doesn't provide an accurate number. Most people underestimate the number of calories they eat and wonder why their weight is going up. Writing them down will give you a good idea of what you're actually taking in and may even surprise you.

While this may seem like a huge step, it is a necessary one and doesn't have to be permanent. In the initial stage of a diet, it is important that you know how many calories you are taking in.

For this week you will get into the habit of counting calories as well as grams of fat, carbohydrates and protein. The main ways of counting calories is in a notebook, using a spreadsheet program (such as Excel) or even using software specifically designed to count calories.