# Calorie Counting for Beginners: Three Numbers and a Log You Will Finish

> A search box with 47 chicken entries is why week one dies. Option 1 is Khatwa: photograph dinner, see calories and protein, ask what is left. We do not invent a 37-study review.

The problem is a database that feels like a job. Forty-seven chicken entries. Ads. A blank day because you could not find the yogurt brand. People quit in week one because the tool is slower than the meal, not because calories stopped working. We do not publish a 60 percent dropout rate or a 2024 review of 37 studies that found 40 percent more weight loss. Those are not our numbers. Option 1 is Khatwa. Photograph dinner. See calories and protein. Ask the coach what is left. Free on iOS and Android. The rest of this page is the three numbers once that habit exists.

## Why a finished log still matters

Eat more energy than you use, weight tends to go up. Eat less, it tends to go down. Weekly averages beat perfect days. Tracking does not ask you to drop food groups. It asks you to see the plate. A finished approximate day beats a blank one.

## The only three things to start with

1. **Total calories.** For fat loss, a 300 to 500 gap under maintenance is a common working range. For a surplus, 200 to 400 above. Hit the week, not the hour.
1. **Protein in grams.** About 1.6 g per kilogram if you can. It protects muscle on a cut. Details: [how much protein per day](https://www.khatwa.se/en/blog/how-much-protein-should-i-eat-per-day.md).
1. **Days you actually logged.** Five messy days beat two perfect ones. Month one is the habit.

## Mistakes that kill week one

Waiting for the exact yogurt brand. Cutting 1,000 calories and lasting four days. Skipping oil and tahini. Calling a 530 calorie "healthy" snack invisible. Using an app that takes longer than the meal. How to set the gap: [calorie deficit explained](https://www.khatwa.se/en/blog/calorie-deficit-explained.md).

## What Khatwa is for a beginner

Photo, search, or type. Coach from leftover calories. Arabic and English. Guided programs when you want them. No barcode scanner. The camera misses oil. You add the tablespoon. We do not claim a 90 percent time cut or more awareness than 90 percent of people.

### Start with tonight's plate

Photograph dinner. Ask what is left. Free.

[Download Khatwa Free](https://www.khatwa.se/en#download)

## First week

1. **Days 1 to 3.** Log what you already eat. Do not change the menu yet.
1. **Day 4.** Look at the average. Compare it to a maintenance guess.
1. **Days 5 to 7.** Change one thing. A drink, or a smaller rice scoop. Not ten rules.

Download: https://www.khatwa.se/en#download