Product Description

With over 700,000 copies sold, Collins Gem Calorie Counter is the UK's top-selling calorie counter. This improved edition takes in new areas: Kids' food (is your child eating a balanced diet?), Fast Food (how much do you need to burn off after that Big Mac?) and Family Favourites (will my shepherd's pie break the calorie bank?) Controlling calorie intake is one of the most effective ways of dieting. The Gem Calorie Counter, by detailing information on thousands of foods and food products, provides the most comprehensive coverage for a book of this size. In addition to calorie content for each entry, details are also given of the amount of protein, carbohydrate, fat and dietary fibre, helping you to plan a balanced diet. Rather than the single alphabetical listing used in previous editions, the contents are now organised by types of food - for example Fish, Flour and Baking, Fruit and Vegetables and Jams. This makes it easier to find what you are looking for and to compare similar food and products. Gem Calorie Counter is the ideal companion for the weight-conscious shopper.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40585 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
Amazon review for the previous edition: 'Anyone who is thinking of dieting - STOP HERE. This is the handyman guide to dieting. All weight loss classes will ask you to keep a watch on how many calories/fats/carbohydrates you eat per day - BUT they never explain to you what foods have what in them!. If you don't know, you need this book'

Customer Reviews

“Just what I needed…”
This is a truly excellent little book – packed with information and easily transported if – like me – you spend a lot of time away from home.

There are introductory sections on food and nutrition and details of ideal weights (as BMI – body mass index, or weight ranges for heights).

However at the core of this book are lists of calories per 100g or 100ml and occasionally for “units” as sold. Also listed are percentages of protein, carbohydrate, fat and fibre although I found these less useful. Entries are grouped under major headings such as Fish, Fruit and Vegetables or Meat.

Most raw foods are given calorie counts as are some cooked foods (e.g. grilled fish or stewed meat).

Much of the book is taken up with calorie counts of processed meals – frozen, tinned, in packets or jars. While it is true that you can simply look at these on the products in the shop, it is quite useful to see the range of calories for the “same” product from different manufacturers.

Of itself this book will only help you so far in dieting. I’ve found that it is best used when combined with a food diary – I use a spreadsheet. While a chore, the discipline of weighing food and counting calories is quite eye-opening. You really begin to see where the “extra” calories are coming from. In my case post-meal snacks such as cheese and crisps.

Over 6 months I’ve managed to reduce my BMI from over 25 to under 20 by eating more sensibly (lower calories foods, smaller portions, fewer snacks and more exercise). All without “fad diets, “miracle cures” or labelling some foods as “bad”. This little book was not the cause of the weight loss – willpower and determination was – but was a very handy reference work to allow me to calculate the calories I’m eating and thus slowly adjust my habits.

By calorie counting you can avoid fad diets and – if you lose weight slowly – change your lifestyle to both lose weight and to remain slimmer.

[PS I’m not a medical doctor, so see your GP before you make a drastic change to your dietary regime.]

4 stars for this excellent little book. A real gem, and cheap too.

A Bible for weight loss
Been there done that, after putting on weight from giving up smoking. If you seriously want to lose weight this book provides the foolproof method without the smoke and mirrors of Atkins Diets etc:

1. Get this book (it's a pocket sized book - you don't need to read it all, just the introduction to get started)
2. Keep a food diary (examples can be found on the web - I kept mine on a spreadsheet)
3. Use the book and the diary to keep a tight track of calories in v calories out (the book is a real education in this respect, also providing information on calories burned during exercise)
4. Then stay below your maintenance calorie level (you can calculate this from the book) and you can't fail to lose weight (I stayed 1000 calories per day below my maintenance weight = about 2lbs loss per week). Even if you consume too many calories one day, do some exercise to take it off the next
5. Some reviewers have downgraded their review of this book because the book provides a calorie count per 100 grams or millilitres of food or drink. However, this is the most foolproof way of calorie counting so keep some scales and a measuring jug handy to take the lazy guesswork out of the equation. Otherwise you will only cheat yourself...!

Far from comprehensive
I have used a book like this for years, but wanted an update because many of the manufactured items were out-of-date, and many things which are now commonplace were rare in 1991.

I still find myself using my old book in preference to this one.

This sort of book should be comprehensive and easy to use.

The book has details of many manufactured foods - which is, to a degree, pointless because (a) manufacturers frequently change their recipes (and thus the food's calories) and (b) publish the calories on the packet. When it comes to basic food items, the coverage is average and has some surprising omissions. For example, it doesn't tell you how many calories there are in raw asparagus, just in the boiled tips. If you want to know the calorific value of aubergine, tough (unless you happen to have fried your aubergine in corn oil, that is). And that's just the As.

The layout isn't terribly clear but that's probably more a result of the Gem format. It provides values per 100g in the main: invest in a decent set of digital scales and you're away (which should help the honey-dripper reviewer below).

Avoid unless you only eat ready meals!