How to Count Calories Accurately (and Why You Might Want To)

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you want to start tracking how many calories you eat—whether for weight loss , weight gain, or just out of curiosity—here’s a primer. Tracking your calories or macros (or both) is pretty easy once you’ve gotten the hang of it, but getting started can be confusing. With the right tools and the right habits, however, you’ll be on top of your own personal calorie numbers in no time. Why do people count calories?  Calories are a measure of energy. The more exercise you do, for example, the more calories you need to fuel that activity. Everything you eat has a calorie number attached to it (whether it’s on a label or not). In general, we eat about the same number of calories we burn.  Amazingly, our bodies can keep us at a roughly steady weight by making us hungrier if we haven’t eaten enough calories today, or making us feel full if we’ve had a lot. That said, consistently eating less than you burn results in weight loss; eating more than you burn results in weight gain.  What are macros and why do people track them? Macros are your macronutrients: fat, protein, and calories. These are the major components of our food, and they're where calories come from. (Water and alcohol are also technically macronutrients, but they aren't conventionally part of macro tracking.) You would track macros if you want to be sure you're getting enough protein , if you're trying to get…