Because of the nutritious richness of whole plant foods (such as fresh fruit), counting calories isn't actually necessary for losing weight or feeling better on a whole food plant-based diet. However, it's helpful to know your daily calorie intake so you can plan meals and avoid overeating. If you are eating only plants, you will be consuming everything your body needs to function properly. There are many different types of plant-based diets, but they all share one common goal: eating more plants and less meat. You might be able to get by with counting calories if you were also including some dairy and eggs in your diet, but because whole plants are so full of nutrients, there is no reason to cut out important parts of your daily diet. In conclusion, yes, you should count calories if you want to lose weight. But on a whole food plant-based diet, where you're eating lots of vegetables, fruits, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, grains, potatoes, pasta, rice, honey, and milk, there's no need to count calories from those sources.