Tired of mentally calculating the amount of calories you eat in a day? Livestrong has come up with a new and simple way to count the calories of each and every meal, adding in the amount of exercise one gets per day to create a complete calculation of one’s physical health. The ingenious calorie counter is called MyPlate and can be found on www.livestrong.com. All you have to do is sign up and begin logging in your food and exercise for the day.

Step one includes putting in your weight, age, goals to achieve, and the amount of acitivity you achieve. It follows by displaying the amount of calories you should consume within a day. After calculating your set goals it allows you to insert the different types of food you ate or manually insert the calories. It even allows you type in a food product and estimates the amount of calories it probably had so that you do not have to remember numbers throughout the day.

In addition to the different types of food that they have calorie counts for, you can also type in any previously prepared food from many different restaurants including Panera Bread, Chipotle, Trader Joes, and more.

“The Livestrong MyPlate has definitely made me aware of what I am eating and the amount of exercise I have been getting. When I can physically see the amount of calories I am eating it helps me to choose healthier options so I won’t feel as guilty,” senior Megan Loman said.

Not only does the Livestrong MyPlate allow people to track what they are eating and the amount of exercise they are receiving, it allows people to set goals for themselves. People can set nutrient goals, weight goals, and fitness goals in order to further improve their health.

“I think that writing down my health goals would help me to come closer to achieving them. Also, seeing what I eat on paper would definitely help me change the way that I eat because I would strive to pick healthier options,” sophomore Connie Tran said.

The Livestrong MyPlate is a step forward in a society where obesity has become such a large problem because it helps people to be aware of what they are eating and how often they are exercising.