If you’ve made up your mind to lose weight, the chances are pretty good that you’re counting every calorie. It’s pretty easy to track all the calories you eat throughout the day and total it up at the end of the day, but reducing your intake of calories is entirely different. Don’t worry though, I can help you out. Here, you will find some practical tips for reducing your daily calorie intake.
In order to cut your calorie intake, first you have to determine how many you actually need. There’s a calculator that’s very simple to use available at mypyramid.gov that will help you figure this out. You will plug your height, age, sex, level of activity, and current weight into the calculator and it tells you how many calories you should be consuming each day.
Know the numbers. Did you know that the different types of macronutrients have different numbers of calories? It’s true! Protein and carbs contain 4 calories for each gram, alcohol contains 7 calories for each gram, and fat has a whopping 9 calories for each gram… now that you know how many calories are in each gram of fat, it makes sense that cutting fat is the best way to cut calories.
Keep track. Buy a small notepad or memo book to record the foods you eat, and the corresponding calorie count. Once you keep track or a week, you can look back and see which choices were the best, and which food choices left you unhappy and embarrassed. It’s shocking how many calories you will be able to cut, once you see where your weaknesses are.
Get help when you need it. If you find that its difficult to reduce or cut back on your caloric intake, get some professional help or talk to a friend that is dieting as well.
Choose your calories wisely. There are times when you will find food items that have the same amount of calories, but one of the items has “smarter” calories. For instance, selecting foods that are high in fiber of protein can make your body work harder to process them. These foods can burn as much as 15-20 extra calories a day. Additionally, eating high protein or high fiber foods will make you feel fuller, much faster.
Pitch the cans and boxes. This is the absolute simplest way to cut calories. Walk over to your pantry, open it, take out all of the cans and boxes of prepared foods, put them in a big paper bag, and set them aside. Anything that’s designed to sit on a store shelf in a box or a can for any amount of time is going to be loaded with sodium, fat, and therefore calories, so it will taste good. It’s also full of nasty chemicals and preservatives with names I can’t even pronounce… so let’s stop eating them!
Drinks need to be counted as well. Anytime you’re counting calories, don’t forget to count the calories in the beverages you enjoy. Colas, juices, and even coffee drinks contain a lot of calories.
Ditch the drive-thru. Aside from avoiding canned and boxed prepared foods, the best thing you can do to reduce your calorie intake is to stop eating fast food. It’s terribly fattening.
Know your potions. When you’re trying to reduce your calorie intake, stick to what the producer of the food item suggest as a serving. You’ll be shocked (pleasantly) by how many fewer calories you’re consuming!
Once your body adjusts to the new number of calories you’re consuming, you’ll feel healthier and more satisfied with every passing day. And now that you know some sneaky ways to reduce your calorie intake, you’ll be shedding pounds in no time!
Sick and tired of fad diets that doesn’t work? Here you will find articles and reviews of the most successful diet plans to lose weight permanently. You can also watch my videos about great diet plans