Spark People

Most successful diets include calorie counting. It's just a part of the drill. When you count calories, you can avoid consuming more calories than your body can burn in a day; eating more than you burn leads to weight gain. If you're looking for an easy way to track your calories, sparkpeople.com might be a good place to start. The site is free to join and offers access to a free calorie counter and much, much more. The weight conscious online community includes several weight loss tools, and it even provides users with a nutritional plan suggestion. You can use the site's tools to personally select your own nutritional plan and set goals for yourself. I'm aiming at 10 minutes of cardio a day and drinking 8 ounces of glasses of water per day. The message boards are also fun to dabble with if you're the type to like a little competition or friendly support. Some members create challenges, such as losing 15 pounds by December, that others can accept. I think it helps some people stick to their diets when they are a part of a group aiming for a common goal. You can link to sparkpeople.com on the right side of my blog.