No. Counting calories or fat grams can be helpful, but it’s hard. Most people get tired of counting after a few days or weeks. You can learn a lot about your eating habits by just writing down everything you eat each day on a food log.

No. Counting calories or fat grams can be helpful, but it’s hard. Most people get tired of counting after a few days or weeks. You can learn a lot about your eating habits by just writing down everything you eat each day on a food log.

Yes, but you have to read food labels to find them. Look for items with less than 150 calories per serving and be sure to check the serving size so you don't eat too much. Low-calorie sweets include angel food cake, hard candies, sugar-free gelatin, pudding made with fat-free milk, frozen fruit juice bars and sherbet. One serving of each of these items contains about 150 calories and 0 to 1 gram of fat.

Skipping meals usually doesn't help you eat fewer calories. When you skip a meal, you’re more likely to get hungry and overeat. It's better to spread your eating evenly through the day and eat smaller meals. In the long run, you’ll probably eat fewer calories with three small meals per day than with one or two large ones.

If you have diabetes, it’s especially important to eat regular meals and snacks. Skipping meals and then overeating will make your blood sugar problems worse.

Some experts recommend that you weigh yourself once a week. Others say to weigh every day. We recommend choosing the schedule that works best for you. If you have heart failure, you must check your weight every day to look for sudden changes.

Call (800) 242-8721 or e-mail inquiries@heart.org.