How to Cut Calories without Starving

If you want to either maintain your current weight or to shed some pounds, you may need to start considering cutting calories from your diet.

But before giving up on any lifestyle changes, thinking that cutting calories from your diet is a daunting task, you should know that shaving off some calories daily is not as difficult as it might sound! Learn how to cut calories without starving and also without much effort!

Eat Smaller Portions

An easy way to start cutting calories from your diet is to go for smaller portions. Besides the fact that you might want to follow the '80% full' rule when eating, it won't hurt starting to adjust the size of your meals.

A healthy, low-calorie breakfast may consist of a pancake (instead of three), a black coffee (no sugar, no whipped cream added) and a piece of fruit. Rely upon fruits and veggies as much as you can when willing to cut calories from your diet. Most of them are low-calorie options, filled with a copious amount of nutrients, such as fibers, that help you stay healthy and lose weight at the same time.

Snack Healthily

Snacks between meals are usually problematic. If you want to cut some important calories from your daily diet, you should pay attention to what you snack on, as calories from these treats can quickly add up.

One of the best ways to make sure you snack healthily and go for low-calorie foods is to stock up on popcorn, fruits, berries, veggies and nuts. Just don't go over board: a fistful of any of those should be enough to satisfy your munching needs between your main meals.

Exercise

Who said that the only way to cut calories from your diet is by means of food reduction? Exercise is a fantastic way to shave off some calories from your daily menu! For instance, a 30-40 minute brisk walk per day may help you get rid of around 250 calories.

Introduce regular exercise to your weekly routine - be it jogging, fitness, brisk walking, biking, roller skating - and the burden of cutting calories won't be that heavy anymore.

Drink Water instead of Sweetened Beverages

But what about hydration? If you usually go for sweetened beverages, it's time to let go of them (at least, progressively). Instead, drink plenty of water which, as you probably know, has zero calories. What is more, you should know that thirst may make you feel hungry when, in fact, you only need to hydrate more.

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6 Ways to Trim Calories in Your Diet

Going down a dress size isn't always easy. However, the following easy ways to trim calories in your diet will help you get rid of extra pounds without trying.

Consider a few expert methods you can use to get rid of extra pounds without sweating. Reduce the calorie intake without having to eliminate your favorite recipes from your meal plan. Get slimmer with the following ways to trim calories in your diet. Prepare delicious salads and main meals to satisfy your hunger and save yourself from cravings.

1. Fruit Pie Over Chocolate Cake

Re-organize your meal plan and make small changes for the sake of quick and efficient weight loss. Opt for fruit pies as your top snack idea instead of loading your organism with the sugar and extra calories from chocolate cake. Do this 3-4 times per month for visible results. Control the consumption of sugary desserts if you want to shed a few stubborn pounds without sweating.

2. Fish Packed in Water

Pay special attention to the consumption of canned foods. The secret to save hundreds of calories is to purchase fish packed in water rather than oil.

Prepare delicious salads and sandwiches using these simple ingredients. Skip oily fish if you don't want to feel the guilt of packing your organism with extra fat.

3. Swap Potato Chips for Baby Carrots

In most of the cases do you opt for potato chips instead of other low-calorie veggies? If you want to increase your chances for efficient slimming, swap potato chips for baby carrots.

Top these nutritive veggies with salsa or guacamole depending on your preferences. Save hundreds of calories per serving with this simple diet trick.

4. Choose Steamed Rice over Fried Rice

Are you a rice addict and you pair this delicious side dish with other veggies or meat? This time make a low-calorie diet option and go for steamed rice instead of its fried version. With this simple maneuver you'll ease the task of your digestive system and you'll be also able to drop a few pounds without making extra effort.

5. Top Soups with a Lettuce Leaf

This trick is used by numerous experts who want to reduce the calorie-content of different meals. Top your soups with a lettuce leaf which can absorb the grease and fat excess. Enjoy your low-calorie soup without worrying about calories. Re-organize your cooking habits and use this trick to embrace a healthy and slimming nutritional regime.

6. Use Groundnut Oil when Cooking Stir-Fries

You just can't resist the temptation of stir-fries? In this case replace vegetable oil with groundnut oil in your favorite main meal recipes. Preserve the same taste but reduce the calorie-intake of your servings with this simple time-tested diet secret. Heat the oil to make sure meat is sealed pretty fast and it stops absorbing the fat from the oil. Update your cooking rituals to trim calories with ease.

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Simple Tweaks to Burn Extra Calories

Getting at a perfect weight without making tons of compromises can seem almost impossible at times, which often leads to disappointment. While shedding stubborn pounds is certainly quite a hard work, a few simple tweaks for better results can sure help you keep your motivation level high.

Getting healthy, lean and fit can be quite a long process. Slow results can certainly take a toll on our motivation since we might have a difficult time figuring out whether we are on the right path. Tracking your progress is certainly useful to be able to determine how close you are getting to your goals and what might need to change. If you are feeling like you follow all the rules, yet the results are not as you expect them to be, maybe a few subtle strategy shifts might be in order.

Sure, you might know that eating mini meals is said to help boost your metabolism. Or that spicy foods are beneficial for the same purpose and that strength training and cardio are both needed for accelerated weight loss. But how about the things that seem fairly unimportant and that you tend to take for granted? New studies and researches always tend to to come up with new findings that tend to shift our perspective of what we really know about health and fitness and give us new bits of ideas we can incorporate in our lifestyle. Some of the following recommendations can help you get better results in less time.

Go heavier
We all know that strength training is essential for sculpting our muscles and boosting our metabolism after our workout is over. What we might not know is that weight lifting for calorie burn is more about the weight lifted than about the number of reps.

A study seems to point out the fact that even if the weight lifted is similar, those who used heavier dumbbells to perform the exercises, torched a whopping 25% more calories than those who choose lighter weights and just increased the number of repetitions for each set. A 5-10% increase in weight can be enough to get the benefits. Also, if you prefer to crank up calorie burn with the help of equipments, make sure to opt for a weighted vest instead of ankle or hand weights as these can affect your balance and make you more prone to injury when moving fast.

Divide your workout
If you prefer to work harder than to abstain from your favorite food indulgences or even eliminate them, you are probably used to log in longer workouts. However, doing a long exercise session might not give you help to burn the most calories, as you might be tempted to go slower or less intensive after a while due to muscle fatigue. Dividing your workout in two smaller sessions might help you burn 100 extra calories and will keep your metabolism at top speed all day long. A small meal before a workout can also help you push yourself harder, as you'll have more energy.

Check online resources to find out which exercises burn more calories
Nowadays, the internet is filled with a lot of useful resources that can help us lose weight or get fit easier. From food calorie calculators to fitness calculators, these tools can often give you the necessary info to make better decisions. Comparing two similar workouts based on calorie burn or finding out precisely how much you might be able to burn with a specific workout doesn't have to be guesswork anymore.

Don't forget music and water when exercising outdoors.
Music can help you work out for longer without even realizing. And a water bottle is indispensable if you choose to work out outside during summer. But you might not realize that water can help you workout longer as well. Only refrigerated water seems to have this effect, though. Those who drink refrigerated water might be able to extend the duration of their workout without trying too hard. In addition, the workout session might feel easier too. If you prefer the treadmill, however, make sure to do at least 12 minutes on moderate to high speed to really reap the calorie burning effect it can provide.

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Manageable Ways to Cut 500 Calories a Day

If dropping a couple of pounds in a reasonable time frame is your goal, you might want to consider cutting 500 calories daily as this translates into approximately one pound per week. Making progress in this way can be surprisingly easy if you follow all the right strategies.

You might have heard that cutting just 100 calories a day can mean losing 10 pounds over the course of the year. However, if faster results are what you have in mind, stepping up and making more intense effort will be required. Don't just instantly assume that doing so automatically equals depriving yourself, it doesn't have to be the case. In the spirit of working smarter not harder, researchers provide fascinating useful approaches that can lead to sustainable long term habit modifications. Here are a few simple ideas:

Avoid smoothies as a snack

Smoothies sound like the best of two worlds being tasty and relatively healthy at the same time. However, they can pack staggering calories with large 32 ounce smoothies packing 800 extra calories or more. That's why it's important to consider smoothies as a meal rather than an addition to your diet plan and do your best to skip commercial smoothies that tend to have a high sugar content.

Skip movie popcorn

Movies and large popcorn servings just go together, right? Not if your goal is weight loss. Large popcorn servings sold at movie locations have more than 1000 calories. By contrast, fat free microwave popcorn made at home will help you save 700 calories.

Don't mix healthy eats with drinks and desserts

Research shows that most people are notoriously bad at estimating the number of calories contained in a meal and this tendency is even more accentuated in the case of healthy options, where the total number is underestimated by more than one third.

Add that to the fact that those who choose healthy options are more likely to reward themselves with desserts and calorie ladden beverages that can double the calorie content of a meal and you'll immediately notice an area that when improved can produce significant results that might go beyond the 500 calories cut.

Eat with fewer guests

Social situations make it difficult to eat mindfully as they tend to take consciousness out of the question. So much so that having seven guests is making you more likely to consume up to 96% more calories. That's why limiting the number of people you eat with most of the time can make you save significant calories without even thinking about it.

Try grilled fruits instead of a slice of cake

Peach and banana with a little honey, sprinkled with cinnamon, grilled for up to five minutes on each side can be a decadent desert that will help you save hundreds of calories compared to conventional cakes as this treat only has 150 calories. You can even skip the honey if you find it too sweet and save even more.

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Research Letter Evaluates Calories, Fat, And Sodium Content In Restaurant Meals

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 13 May 2013 - 13:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Research Letter Evaluates Calories, Fat, And Sodium Content In Restaurant Meals

JAMA Internal Medicine Study Highlights

A research letter by Mary R. L'Abbe, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues examined the nutritional profile of breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals from sit-down restaurants (SDR). (Online First)

A total of 3,507 different variations of 685 meals, as well as 156 desserts from 19 SDRs were included in the study. Nutrients evaluated included calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium; excess consumption of these nutrients is associated with obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Nutrient values were calculated as a percentage of the daily value (%DV).

Researchers found on average, breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals contained 1,128 calories (56 percent of the average daily 2,000 calories recommendation), 151 percent of the amount of sodium an adult should consume in a single day (2,269 milligrams), 89 percent of the daily value for fat (58 grams), 83 percent of the daily value for saturated and trans fat (16 grams of saturated fat and 0.6 grams of trans fat), and 60 percent of the daily value for cholesterol (179 grams).

"Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium levels are alarmingly high in breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals from multiple chain SDRs. Therefore, addressing the nutritional profile of restaurant meals should be a major public health priority," the study concludes.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our nutrition / diet section for the latest news on this subject. JAMA Internal Med. Published online May 13, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.6159. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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