# How to start counting calories

By Ryan Bulcher, CalTrak developer. Updated November 3, 2026.

Source: https://caltrak.app/guides/how-to-start-counting-calories

Counting calories sounds like a lot of work, but most of the effort is in the first couple of weeks. Once your usual foods are saved, logging a whole day takes a few minutes.

## 1. Get a starting number

Your target is roughly what you burn in a day (your maintenance, or TDEE), minus a bit to lose weight or plus a bit to gain. The [calorie calculator](https://caltrak.app/calorie-calculator) will give you a starting number. Think of it as a first guess. You'll adjust it once you see real results.

## 2. Log normally for a week

Don't change how you eat yet. Just log everything for a few days so you can see where your calories actually come from. Most people are surprised. Drinks, cooking oil, snacks and sauces add up fast.

- Log as you eat instead of trying to remember everything at night.
- Use whatever's fastest: scan packaged food, search simple foods, and type or photograph mixed meals.
- Count your drinks. Coffee drinks, juice, soda and alcohol all have calories.

## 3. Get portions roughly right

Portions are where most of the error comes from. A cheap kitchen scale for the first couple of weeks teaches you what 100 g of rice or a tablespoon of peanut butter actually looks like. After that, most people can eyeball it well enough. Keep weighing the calorie-dense stuff longest (oil, nuts, nut butter, cheese), because being a little off there is a lot of calories.

## 4. Save the meals you eat all the time

Most of us eat the same few breakfasts and lunches. Save those once and log them in two taps from then on. With saved meals and custom foods, a normal day in CalTrak takes a minute or two.

## 5. Don't stress about eating out

Lots of chains publish their nutrition, and the food databases have plenty of restaurant items. For everything else, a decent guess is better than nothing. Describe the dish or snap the plate or menu for an AI estimate, and fix it if it looks off. One rough entry won't wreck anything. Skipping entries as a habit will.

## 6. Watch the trend, then adjust

Your weight bounces around a few pounds day to day from water, salt and digestion. Weigh in a few mornings a week and look at the trend over two or three weeks. If it's not going where you want, move your target 100 to 200 calories and check again.

## 7. Keep it sustainable

- Logging 90% of what you eat for months beats logging perfectly for a week and quitting.
- Get enough protein. It keeps you full and helps keep muscle while you lose weight.
- Missing a day is fine. CalTrak's streak freeze covers a single missed day automatically.

If tracking makes you anxious, or you've dealt with disordered eating, skip it and talk to a doctor or registered dietitian. Counting calories is a tool, not a requirement.

## Questions people ask

**Do I need to weigh my food to count calories?**

Not forever. Weighing for the first week or two teaches you portion sizes. After that, careful estimates are fine for most people.

**How long does logging food take each day?**

Maybe 5 to 10 minutes a day at first. Once your regular foods and meals are saved, it's a couple of minutes.

**Should I count calories or macros?**

Start with calories and protein. Once that's a habit, you can fine-tune carbs and fat if you have a specific goal.

## Get CalTrak

CalTrak is free on iPhone and Android. No account, no ads, no subscription, and AI logging is free. Your food log stays on your phone.

4.9-star App Store rating from 99 ratings; 4,000+ downloads across the App Store and Google Play.

- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6764352979
- Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryanbulcher.caltrak
- Support: support@caltrak.app