Calorie Counter (Collins GEM)

"Items listed within the book assumes everybody buys brands names therefore on that basis the information contained was very limited."
~ Written on 2008-03-26

"As mentioned by another reviewer, its coverage is less than comprehensive. It seems to blithely assume that people only ever buy brand-named foods - what about shop's own brands? I couldn't find a single one. Pretty good value for money if you ignore this, but disappointing for me as I don't buy brand names. It does at least have a decent selection of fruit and veg in it."
~ Written on 2007-12-03

"I have used a book like this for years, but wanted an update because many of the manufactured items were out-of-date, and many things which are now commonplace were rare in 1991.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!"
~ Written on 2007-09-15

"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...!
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~ Written on 2007-06-05

"The reason I have been so harsh when rating this calorie counter is because it gives most calories per 100g/ml.I find counters that do this so annoying - who is going to pour out 100g of honey for example to see what it looks like and then try and gage what a teaspoon would be.It even does bars of choccy per 100g instead of per bar! The reason I rated it 2 stars instead of 1 is because it does occasionally give the calories 'per pack' eg fast food,some of ready meals etc.
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~ Written on 2006-04-26