Cut calories as part of any healthy weight loss plan to encourage long-term weight loss. Eating less than you burn each day encourages your body to reduce fat through slower metabolism and will ultimately result in weight loss over time.
Switch from high-calorie restaurant and fast food meals to home-prepared, healthier foods as a simple way to reduce calories. Doing this could save hundreds of calories.
1. Eat More Vegetables and Fruits
Vegetables and fruits can help you decrease calories by providing vital nutrition such as fiber, potassium and folate.
Fill your diet with four to five cups of fruits and veggies per day can significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers, so aim to include all kinds of produce for maximum nutritional benefit. Every type of produce counts; diversify your choices so your body receives all its needed vitamins and minerals.
When choosing snacks, aim for whole fruits and vegetables over high-calorie options like chips and ice cream. Simple changes such as topping cereal with fruit instead of syrup or whipped cream topping can save 160 calories; also switching out your sandwich bun for lettuce may save even more.
2. Eat Smaller Meals
Feeding yourself three to six healthy, small meals every day can help reduce overall calorie consumption. Just be sure that these meals don’t include foods with excessive caloric intake like fast food.
Opting for lower-calorie meal preparation methods is another effective way to cut calories. Grilling, steaming, stewing and boiling can provide healthier alternatives than frying with added oils and butter, while choosing vegetable sauces over creamy ones may save considerable calories ().
Additionally, when dining out, try cutting back on extra sides and drinks that may add calories – an alcoholic drink or large order of fries can add hundreds. When purchasing packaged food products like sweets like chocolate bars, opt for smaller versions to cut calorie consumption; switching from regular size bars to mini ones could save up to 120 cals!
3. Drink Water
Water is the ideal beverage to replenish your fluid needs as it does not contain calories (kilojoules). Milk, 100% fruit juice and decaffeinated tea may also help fulfill these requirements; however, for optimal nutrition try getting most of your liquid from whole fruits and vegetables; these provide additional fiber, vitamins, minerals as well as being an excellent source of fluid intake.
Body water loss occurs through breathing, sweating, urine production and bowel movements; thus it is essential to replenish it regularly. Research also shows that even mild dehydration reduces lipolysis activity for energy purposes – the process whereby fat cells break down for energy use.
Water should always be accessible. Make it a priority by keeping a reusable bottle or glass of water at your desk throughout the day, adding slices of lemon or lime, strawberries, or mint leaves for an enlivening flavour without adding added calories and sugars.
4. Avoid High-Calorie Drinks
Consuming high-calorie beverages such as sodas and juices can add extra calories to your diet, making weight loss more challenging. To be most effective when trying to shed the extra pounds, low-cal beverages such as water or unsweetened tea should be chosen instead of these high-cal beverages.
Drinking beverages that contain less caloric intake will also lead to less overall consumption, since liquid calories tend to be consumed rapidly.
When selecting alcoholic drinks, it is essential to choose those with minimal calories; for instance, wine has significantly fewer than cocktails with added sugars. Also try swapping out each alcoholic drink with water to stay hydrated and save some calories! Additionally, avoid high-calorie coffee drinks, such as venti mochas with whipped cream which contain as many as 450 per cup!
5. Eat a Balanced Diet
Dieting for health means eating a diet rich in essential vitamins and nutrients to support weight management, with processed food avoided as much as possible and meals prepared at home being the ideal method.
As an example, even an apparently healthy salad from a restaurant can contain up to 1,000 calories when drizzled in oily dressings. Instead, opt for herbs and spices as flavor enhancers instead of rich condiments when it comes to seasoning your food.
Emptying your plate of nutrient-dense foods leaves little room for empty calories – foods that provide energy but no other nutritional benefit (21,22). For instance, opt for whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean protein and low-fat dairy that have low glycemic loads (meaning that energy releases slowly into your bloodstream) in order to keep you feeling satisfied for longer. When selecting baked or poached alternatives instead of fried options.
6. Exercise Regularly
Calories are your body’s main energy source, and can either be burned off through physical activity or stored as fat. In order to either lose weight or gain muscle, it’s crucial that the number of calories consumed each day exceeds those burned through daily physical activity.
To reach this goal, it’s best to eat whole foods and limit intake of empty calories (those found in processed, fried and frozen foods that offer little more than energy). A calorie tracking app is a simple and efficient way of keeping track of how many calories you’re consuming each day.
If you are thinking of moving to California and maintaining optimal health, aim to exercise several times every week with moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic and muscle strengthening activities on at least two or more days each week. Exercise should merely supplement good nutrition; altering eating habits is the single most effective strategy for controlling calories.
7. Don’t Drink Your Calories
One of the biggest misconceptions of dieting is that all calories are created equal. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t true! Each source of caloric intake has different properties.
Sugary beverages like soda can contain an alarming number of calories; one 20-ounce soda may contain as many as 250 – this amount exceeds half your recommended daily allowance!
Even “healthy” juices like apple, cranberry, and orange can contain high levels of sugar and calories. Furthermore, alcohol can often have more calories than one may realize.
Make an effort to replace high-calorie drinks with water, unsweetened teas and coffee as your drinks of choice, along with selecting lower calorie alcoholic options such as wine and vodka. By following these strategies to cut calories while staying healthy, these simple changes may become part of your new normal.
8. Eat a Healthy Snack
Food should be used as medicine and snacks are an integral part of that regimen; eating a healthy snack can help maintain stable blood sugar and prevent overeating at meals. But it’s also essential that we select wisely from among available snack options – choose those low in fat and calories but rich in nutrients such as tuna stuffed into a whole grain pita, cottage cheese with fruit, or apple slices spread with nut butter are great examples of tasty yet nutritous treats.
Maintain an arsenal of healthy snacks at home and work so you can easily grab one when hunger strikes, helping to prevent unwanted weight gain by limiting high-calorie, processed food options and weight gain. Adopt these practices into your life as part of supporting health and wellness – and watch how quickly you see improvement!
