Healthy Food Chart

To maintain your weight, you need to match your calorie intake to your calorie usage. And if you're trying to lose weight, you need to make sure that you consistently take in fewer calories than you are using.

Most people simply estimate how many calories they can afford using tools such as our Daily Needs Calculator. But there are a bunch of new gadgets on the market that claim to give you an exact read on how many calories you're burning. 

Just how accurate are they? Perhaps less precise than you might think The type of devices that are worn next to the skin--costing anywhere from $50 to $200--can be off by anywhere from 10% to 30%.   If you're willing to fork out significantly more ($7000 to $10,000), you can buy a device that measures your resting metabolism when you breathe into a mask for several minutes. These calorimeters can reveal individual differences in basic metabolic rate but can't tell you how many calories you are burning through exercise and other activities.

Here are links to reviews of some of the latest gadgets:

Find out how many calories your body burns (Chicago Tribune)
How accurate are devices that track calories? (Wall Street Journal)

Or, you can keep doing it the low-tech, low-cost way.  Use a standard formula such as the Daily Needs Calculator to put you in the right ball-park.  Pay attention to how many calories you are actually eating. (Our tracking tools can help.) Adjust as necessary.  If you're maintaining your weight, you've found your calorie balance. To lose weight, cut back on your intake or step up your output.