Every day, I keep track of my food intake and calorie count using a spreadsheet.  I plan to do it for the rest of my life.  That’s because people who stay thin and in control of their weight do two things.  (1) They monitor their weight and (2) control their food intake.  I’m not somebody who can do that by eyeball.  The tools of the trade are nutrition information on the package, calorie counting and the kitchen scale.  Sometimes I use a cup measure.  

As determined as I am to do this, and though I have used the technique to lose more than 40 pounds, I simplify a bit.  I had a sandwich wrap today, and I don’t carefully count the condiments, like pickles, sauerkraut, lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, or horseradish sauce (not usually together on the same sandwich).  I do a quick estimate.  Usually I round up to the nearest 50 or 100 calories, so if my sandwich is 460, with pickles and horseradish sauce, I say 500 calories total instead of counting pickle slices.  There are limits.

For dinner, I made beef stroganoff – based on an America’s Test Kitchen recipe.  The total calories I calculated at 3000, including the noodles.  I measured  1/5 of the total for my dinner.