When my OH is on a diet, he is checking everything to the calorie, which is part of the process, I guess. I find it a very sad way to live, though. I prefer to stick to unprocessed foods, and not too much of the ones which are obviously more calorific. I do the 5:2 diet with good success, so I count the calories on those days, and just eat good normal food on the others. I prefer to not have an adversarial relationship with food - learning about calories and nutrition is one thing, but continuously applying it to your life is just depressing.