Most, if not all, diet plans can be reduced to just this – calories in, calories out. You simply have to burn more calories than you take in. Below are some great ways to reduce the amount of calories you consume. Choose some that are right for you, and drop those inches!
Eat Less Often
Take a page from the intermittent fasting playbook, and just eat less often. This can look many different ways – maybe eliminate all between-meal snacks. Maybe cut breakfast and begin your daily eating with lunch. You could go by the clock and only eat between certain hours. Some fasters only eat one well-balanced, deeply nourishing meal a day.
Don’t Drink Your Calories
So many people look at their daily food and don’t see where the excess body weight is coming from, but they aren’t considering their drinks! Soda has a truly superfluous amount of calories and sugar. Unless you drink your coffee black, calories add up there as well. Some coffee drinks contain half the recommended amount of calories for an entire day! Sweet tea, glasses of wine, breakfast milk – these calories add up.
Eat On Smaller Plates
Most of us were raised with a clean your plate mentality. This can make it hard for us to stop eating when our bodies are full if there is still food on the plate. Rather than fighting this, work with it. You can naturally reduce your portion sizes by using smaller, salad plates. It’s still a full plate, you’re still eating all of it, but there’s a lot less there.
Don’t Get Second Helpings
There’s a saying that goes if one serving of cold sliced beef is enough, one serving of hot pot roast is enough as well. How true! We often reach for second helpings not because we are still hungry, but because we like the flavor of the food. Make a hard boundary for yourself that you’ll not get second helpings.
Watch Your Cooking Oils
When you cook, you need to consider the calorie-rich oils and fats that you’re using. Consider baking, steaming, or boiling your food to reduce the necessity of cooking oils. Research air fryers, and consider getting one since it does offer a great way to get that fried food taste and texture without adding on the extra calories.
Box Up Restaurant Food Immediately
Restaurants are notorious for serving ridiculous portion sizes. Ideally, you’d only eat one serving size and take the rest to go, but why tempt yourself? Instead, ask for a to-go box at the beginning of the meal, and immediately put half of your order in the box. Out of sight, out of mind.
Chose Calories That Satiate
Even though weight loss is simply a matter of calories, not all calories are equal. Four hundred calories worth of bacon and eggs for breakfast is going to keep you full and satiated a lot longer than a four hundred calorie muffin. Try to spend your calories on foods that will keep you full and energetic longer. In general, this is fats, proteins, and fibers.
Load Up On Vegetables
That being said, can you imagine eating four hundred calories of vegetables in one sitting? Goodness no! Vegetables are naturally light on calories. They are full of nutrients and high in fiber. They are incredibly versatile and lend themselves to a wide variety of cooking methods and flavor combinations. And they make a great snack! Eating a bag of baby carrots is going to be a lot better for you than eating a bag of potato chips.
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