Handy websites for calorie counting

Ever wonder exactly how many calories you need to maintian or lose weight? How do you record the nutritional information of something like a pear, that didn't come out of a box? Here are a couple of really handy websites about calorie counting and nutritional information.

http://www.calorie-count.com

Here you can see exactly how many calories, fat, and various vitamins and minerals what you eat contains. Its format is just like the FDA required nutritional label on the side of all packages in the supermarket. It's handy, because for each item, there is a drop down to choose what kind of serving you ate. (Ie, a 1/2 cup sliced pears, or 1 whole medium pear. If you register on the site, you can create a food diary, and easily add each item to your log with a click of a button. This is the food journalist's best friend!

http://yourselffitness.com/commitment/eat-right.aspx

Here you can take a quick assesment of body statistics to figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, or if you want to lose weight, subtract 500 calories from that number. After you get your caloric needs number, you download your personal cookbook. In each cookbook, there are many different mix and match menus to choose from to ensure that the meals you prepare fall into the correct calorie range. The recipe cards are easy to print out from the PDF file, for quick reference at the grocery store!