Keeping a written food log has long been known to help dieters make sure they’re not over doing it, but it turns out a photo log can have the same effect. According to a University of Wisconsin at Madison researchers, dieters who took pictures of their meals right before they ate them made leaner, healthier food choices. You can do the same. In fact, you make it social by using your Smartphone to share your meals with other dieters online by forming your own online diet support group.

Everyone finds counting calories tedious, but the truth is, weight loss is all about calories in (eating) and calories out (exercising). When the calories in is way over the calories out, you gain weight.

Calorie counting is not something you’ll have to do forever, but starting out on a diet it can be a big help and eye opener. Most people don’t realize how much they really eat. They tend to forget the little bites of this and that, completely underestimate a serving, and are in total denial about what is consumed. The best way to fix that is to keep track of the calories eaten.

Over at FitWatch you can find out the calorie count of hundreds of foods as well as sign up for its free Fitness Tracker (there is a paid deluxe version as well) that will help you monitor the amount and quality of foods you eat, as well as your exercise efforts.