Initially, I kept a notebook which I carried everywhere and wrote down whatever I ate. Back in the day, I used a book to look up calories in things. The last 2 years as I dieted, I used the internet to look up calorie counts, usually just entering the item and "nutrition" and you can get counts for almost anything made/grown. Last fall I found the site, "FitWatch" which is just one of many sites where you can track your eating/exercise or whatever.

This is "roughly" what FItWatch displays for a meal. The page displays the entire day with spaces for breakfast, lunch, supper and 3 snacks.

LUNCH
Description Quantity Cals Carbs Protein Fat

Dannon Light & Fit Greek Strawberry Yogurt 70 gram 37 3.73 5.6 0

Cheese, cottage, lowfat, 1% milkfat 0.25 cup(not packed) 41 1.54 7 0.58

NABISCO, NABISCO RITZ Crackers 1 cracker 16 2.1 0.24 0.77

OSCAR MAYER, Ham(water added 96% fat free) 0.25 serving 16 0.29 2.57 0.55

Carrots, baby, raw 3 large 16 3.71 0.29 0.06

Subtotals                                                                                        126           11.37    5.7         1.96    

I found this site to be easy to use, I just enter the food item, it will pop up multiple options from which I can pick what is closest to what I had. An example would be "cottage cheese", it will show a list of 1%, 2%, fat free, with vitamin.__ added, with/without salt .... and so on. I pick the kind I had, I can look at the label through a link next to the listing after I select it. It will give options for portion, such as oz. cup, Tbsp or sometimes just "serving". Those are hard if they were entered by other users as they may not specify what constitutes a serving. For those, if there are no grams listed, I often have an idea what it should be because I have the container or I can check on the internet for that product's serving size. I then enter the amount I ate, like 0.25 because their measure was cup and I had 1/4 cup. The program them posts the figures for that food.

This has been great for simplifying my calorie counting. It would be even easier if I had a smart phone for days like today, I was gone much of the day so no access to the computer. I don't miss the convenience enough to get a smart phone though. I wrote down what I ate most of the day, just to keep my memory fresh then listed it all this evening. For me, the calorie counting isn't so much about keeping track of the numbers as keeping it clearly in my mind how much I have consumed. I can be (am) a habitual "snacker" and if I am not actively keeping tabs on what is going in, it does not take long at all before what I'm eating is way to much to maintain weight at.

I currently eat peanuts most days but I have a little "ritual" with them. I like them with candy corn so while waiting for the dogs to make their last potty run, I will eat 3.5 peanuts with 1 pc of candy corn. I will allow myself 3-4 "servings" of this, depending on how quickly the dogs return. If I am not paying attention/tracking, I could easily eat 1/2 cup of peanuts while watching TV or reading. A 1/2 cup of peanuts, bulk wise is not that huge but it is over 400 calories so that snack takes a big chunk out of what should be my daily "allowance". Actually, when I am counting calories, I think there are less things that I avoid having around because I know I need to limit my serving to a certain size to limit the calories rather than not having any of it because I know I will sit down and eat 3 servings when I start.

I mean, face it, "serving size" as defined by packagers, is many times ludicrous. I have some garlic croutons in the cupboard, which I rarely eat now. When I first got some, I looked at the package label, it said 30 calories in a serving. The catch was the "serving" was 2 Tbsp. I didn't fret about it too much then, in fact considered these rather tasty snacks on their own. Then, with dieting, it occurred to me I should find out what that serving REALLY looks like because I couldn't see how you measured croutons.in tablespoons. So, got out the new favorite "tool" the food scale. I weighed out what they called a serving, in grams. Turns out that 30 calorie serving consisted of 3 croutons. That's it, THREE!! What purpose is even served by putting 3 little toasted bread cubes on a salad? Might as well skip it, which is pretty much what I do now.

Anyway, that is how I have been counting calories for the past 8 months. Everyone is different. For me that rather rigid structure of counting works. That extends to other aspects of my life as well, I do better with clear structure. The problem is, now that I'm retired, I pretty much have to impose that structure on myself. Not everyone likes or functions well under that kind of structure, it's just something you have to figure out for yourself, try it for a few days, see if it helps or if you just feel trapped by it.

@DotLewis Wow...you are good at details! 3.5 peanuts to 1 candy corn...now that's precise! We need to see progress pics...you have to have been doing a serious weight loss/body transformation! (I'm down to 145.6 for the first time in a few years! Unfortunately, I'm going to an "Easter dinner" (can I call it an "Eater's dinner) so I'll probably gain back a couple...but at least I'm down a bit...and will "take it easy" for the "feast"... thanks again for the details...and kudos!

@Robecology Well, I'm nothing if not a little OCD. Not certifiable level but I can think a thing into extinction. I am not inclined to take pictures often, tend to avoid the lens side of cameras, going back to when I was young. I did find a couple of me 3-8 years ago. During that time frame I maintained pretty much the same weight, within maybe 10 pounds. I took some pictures tonight while trying on some clothes in the closet that I'm sorting for Goodwill. I am NOT good at selfies so focus, quality is not great on these but it is the closest I can come to "progress" shots.
The first is 8 years ago, me with my dad, son and grandson. The second is 3 years ago at the things birthday party. The next 3 are current, the colorful shirt one just got in because I really like that shirt and it fits well enough to keep it. Despite losing 60 pounds, I still find it hard to get rid of many clothes. Better on jeans because the really don't fit but shirts, not so easy.

@DotLewis Wow; the weight loss sure does show! Kudos!