Do calories matter or do you simply need to eat certain foods and that will guarantee you’ll lose weight? Should you count calories or can you just count “portions?” Is it necessary to keep a food diary? Is it unrealistic to count calories for rest of your life or is that just part of price you pay for a better body?

You’re about to learn answers to these questions and discover a simple solution for keeping track of your food intake without having to crunch numbers every day or become a fanatic about your food.

In many popular diet books, “Calories don’t count” is a frequently repeated theme. Other popular programs, such as Bill Phillip's "Body For Life," allude to importance of energy intake versus energy output, but recommend that you count “portions” rather than calories…

Phillips wrote,

"There aren't many people who can keep track of their calorie intake for an extended period of time. As an alternative, I recommend counting 'portions.' A portion of food is roughly equal to size of your clenched fist or palm of your hand. Each portion of protein or carbohydrate typically contains between 100 and 150 calories. For example, one chicken breast is approximately one portion of protein, and one medium-sized baked potato is approximately one portion of carbohydrate."

Phillips makes a good point that trying to count every single calorie - in literal sense - can drive you crazy and is probably not realistic as a lifestyle for long term. It's one thing to count portions instead of calories – that is at least acknowledging importance of portion control. However, it's another altogether to deny that calories matter.

Yes, calories do count! Any diet program that tells you, "calories don't count" or you can "eat all you want and still lose weight" is a diet you should avoid. The truth is, that line is a bunch of baloney designed to make a diet sound easier to follow. Anything that sounds like work – such as counting calories, eating less or exercising, tends to scare away potential customers! But law of calorie balance is an unbreakable law of physics: Energy in versus energy out dictates whether you will gain, lose or maintain your weight. Period.

Are you skinny yet?

Did you find your six-pack?

Does your butt look like you wanted it to in those jeans?

For a lot of you, answers to these questions are going to be "No, No, and, I took jeans back to store".

Why? You are a victim of Fitness Wars, that's why. Your Girth is winning out over your Resolution, and you are probably more frustrated now than you were when you started!

Is there some master conspiracy that is keeping you from getting in shape? Do rules of energy in vs. energy out not apply to you? Are you in a fat-loss vacuum where normal laws of weight loss don't work?

Of course not. Yet, you still can't lose bodyfat, and it is likely because you are simply confused.

If you are like most people, you have gotten fitness advice from radio, TV, friends, family members, magazines, maybe even a Personal Trainer. Who had most to gain from giving you fitness advice?

The radio, TV, magazines, and even your trainer are all interested in getting paid for handing out advice to you. Does that make them most qualified to help you? With possible exception of your personal trainer, no, it really doesn't.

What about your friends and family? Let's answer this question first: Was person who gave you advice in good shape? If not, then point of that question should be clear!

Fitness Wars - all of these different people and agencies trying to get you to do something or buy something.

How about a little thing that some people like to call "Back to Basics"? Prepare Thyself! You are about to be shown true secrets to fitness success!!