I’m sorry, but when I’m determined to eat a healthier diet and try to get back in shape, I can’t do it without counting calories. All of these other popular diet plans do nothing for me.

Once I become aware of how many calories I’m putting into my stomach, I begin to adjust and to understand how much I can eat and when I should stop.

A good rule to follow in life is “everything in moderation.” That’s the rule I follow when I decide to take off some pounds. After counting calories for a while, my mind and my body eventually come to a happy understanding and eating right becomes second nature.

In the beginning, though, to get myself on track, I go to my favorite site for help counting calories.

http://www.prevention.com/health/

The site has helpful diet hints, but best of all, if you put in your current weight and plug in the amount of pounds you want to lose in a specified time, it calculates the number of calories you can eat in one day in order to reach your goal. Is that somethin’, or what?

Then you list the foods you eat during the day in the Health Tracker. It’s a snap. Sometimes, I even plan my meals for the following day.

Now I’m going in the kitchen to cook some pasta. Pasta? Yep. Because according to my Health Tracker, I’ve only eaten 861 calories today and it’s time for dinner.

I’m not in a huge hurry to lose my weight and I have a lot to lose. However, I’m not a person who is going to starve myself. I’ve given myself two years to lose 80 pounds.

There’s a method to my madness, because in order to do that, I can eat a whopping 1800 calories a day and still take all that weight off. Plus I can easily continue to eat that many calories after the weight melts slowly away. I don’t intend to gain it back!

Just for the record, 1 cup of cooked pasta equals 176 calories. And according to the site’s calculation, I can eat 2 cups without walking away with a busted-up conscience.

Need more laid-back inspiration?    Success or Failure?

Got to go and get that water boiling.