a Calorie Counter Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What exactly is aCalorieCounter.com?

I purposely named this site "a Calorie Counter" to avoid having to answer this very question. But, I'm a nice guy, so I'll do it just this once. a Calorie Counter lets you search the USDA food nutrition database and view the full nutritional content (calories, carbs, fat, protein and much more) of basically every single food that you eat or are ever thinking of eating. Having this information will allow you to improve your weight, your health, and just your general knowledge of what you are putting into your body. As if that wasn't enough, a Calorie Counter also provides a ton of extremely useful diet, nutrition and exercise related content, all of which can be found right here.

How many calories should I eat each day?

Since I had a feeling you'd ask that, I wrote an easy-to-understand guide to figuring out the answer to this question. It's here: Calorie Counting - A Guide to Calories & Weight Control

How do I lose weight? How do I gain weight? How do I maintain weight?

Yup, I saw these questions coming from a mile away. That same article I just mentioned above also happens to answer all of your weight related questions as well. Check it out, it will explain everything... Calorie Counting - A Guide to Calories & Weight Control. And for those interested specifically in losing weight, The Ultimate Weight Loss Guide is definitely something you should also check out. Similarly, if your goal is gaining weight and increasing muscle, be sure to check out The Ultimate Guide To Building Muscle.

Where did you get all of this nutritional information from? Did you read the back of every food package in the world or something?

Yup, I went from isle to isle in every supermarket in the country with a pen and paper writing down all of the nutrition facts from the label of each food. I really did. Seriously, I did. OK, fine. You caught me. I didn't really do that. I got all of this information straight from the United States Department of Agriculture's food nutrition database.

Who are you, and why did you create a Calorie Counter?

I'm just a regular guy who is really into diet, nutrition, exercise and just being healthy in general. Since around 2000 I have spent a ton of time learning/reading/researching everything I can about this stuff. Not to mention, putting it all to use in my own life. I've been using "calorie counter" type web sites for years to look up the nutritional facts of the foods I eat, and I always felt these sites, for the most part, suck. I just kind of felt it could be done a lot better. aCalorieCounter.com is my attempt at doing just that.

What supplements should I take? What products should I buy?

I will very rarely mention supplements or products on this site because 90% of all diet and fitness related products and supplements are complete crap. However, there is still some good, useful, beneficial stuff. I explain everything I "use and recommend" in the descriptively titled "The Supplements And Products I Use And Recommend." Other than that, I have very little else to say about supplements and products as, once again, it's mostly all just useless junk.

I noticed throughout the site that whenever you mention something about how to lose weight, you also mention something about how to gain weight. Uh, why in the world would anyone want to gain weight?

Yeah, I know. Most people automatically associate anything involving diet and nutrition with weight loss. Thing is, for every person looking to lose weight, there is likely someone out there looking to gain weight. One reason for this could be health related. After all, it IS possible for someone to be underweight. But of course, one of the most common reasons a person tries to gain weight is when they want to increase muscle. They could be athletes looking to get in better shape for their sport, or even more likely, regular people who just want to add some muscle to their body and look good naked. In order to do this, the person's diet has to be conducive to weight gain. Don't feel stupid for not knowing this, most people don't. That's why the average skinny person working out to gain some muscle never actually gets anywhere. They just don't eat enough. a Calorie Counter won't neglect this demographic.

What if I have some other question that isn't answered here? What if I have a suggestion, or a comment, or some feedback? What if something on the site isn't working right?

For all of the above and more, just contact me here.