How to Cut Calories Gradually

In order to lose weight, having a well-balanced diet is a must. Of course you also need to exercise. The balance between intake of calories with diet and exercise need to be struck. For losing a pound every week, you need to cut 500 calories daily from your usual intake. If this seems too drastic for you to follow, know that there can be easy ways to reduce calories, i.e. ways in which you may not have to give up your favourite delicious foods. Simple ways of doing this are to have small servings of foods such as chips or cookies, and chewing them for a longer time so that it gets digested better.

Steps to Cut Down Your Calories

1. Replace unhealthy snacks such as fried chips, candy and cookies with healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables.
2. Stick to water when craving for soda drinks or lattes arise. You consume hundreds of calories in 2 or 3 gulps of these drinks. To give taste to water, squeeze a lemon in it. Honey and lemon can also be taken with water in the morning.
3. Prefer low calorie foods over high-calorie ones. Typical example is low calorie skimmed milk compared to high calorie full cream milk. The calorie count of skimmed milk is almost half that of full cream.
4. Do not take unhealthy snacks to work. Your lunch should consist of healthy, nutritious foods. Apple slices, peanut butter sandwich, few almonds and one serving of apple juice make for a nutritious lunch.
5. If you use smaller plates, it works in two ways to make you eat less. First, it makes you feel that your plate is full and secondly, you are able to cut back on portion sizes and thereby, calories.
6. Say not to alcohol and smoking. Alcohol adds hundreds of calories and smoking has an adverse impact on the body’s normal functions.

Note: Not having enough calories may not be the best strategy for you. This is because you can be at risk of eating disorder. Not having enough calories can put your body in starvation mode, in which it conserves fat for producing energy. Advice from your doctor would be needed to know whether your body is suited for cutting calories as a way of losing weight. If it is, the course charted out above would be one of the best you can follow for implementing your plan of cutting down calories.

1. Prev:Is Weight Loss & Sleeping Habit Related?
2. Next:How to Lose Gut Weight