Things I Hate: Diets, dieting, not eating whatever I want whenever I want.

Things I Love: Free things, my iPhone, cute little icons.

So what happens when I get the thing I hate the most mixed in with the things I love the most?

You get "Lose It!" a new free app for the iPhone that has taken over my life (in a good way). Essentially, it's a totally free calorie counter. You put in your current weight, as well as some basic info (age, height), and your goal weight. It then gives you four simple plans: Lose 1/2 lb a week; a pound; pound and a half; or two pounds.

From there, it lets you know how many calories you can eat in a day (and how that works out to a week), and how long it'll take you to get to your goal weight.

The best part is, it's extraordinarily easy to use, and has tons of food with cute little icons, easily searchable, already in the program. This includes supermarket and restaurant foods as well, so you won't have to wonder how many calories you're consuming when you go out.

And here's my caveat: calorie counters work not because of a miracle diet, but because they make you aware of how much you're eating, and how you pace it through the day. The plan I put myself on (one pound a week) has worked great, because I now know if I have a big sandwich int he middle of the day, I can't have a big dinner AND go out for drinks later with friends. But if I have a reasonable lunch, I don't need to worry about dinner and drinks as much. Plus, I carry my iPhone everywhere, so it's easy enough to enter at the end of a meal.

[Lose It]