Calories, calories, calories. No matter where you turn everyone is talking about them. We’re all frantically trying to burn calories as we know it leads to weight loss. Saying that, if you’re consuming more than you burn, weight loss is going to be tricky.
As a result, I decided to put together this helpful piece on how to reduce your daily intake. By following the simple advice, you will soon solve the calorie conundrum, and start losing more weight.
Swap Standard Food With Better Ideas
Things like bread and pasta are standard foods found in most diets. There’s nothing particularly unhealthy about them, but they can add extra calories to a meal. You can stop this by swapping out the standard food with better ideas that contain fewer calories. Instead of having a sandwich in a bread roll, you could have it in a thin pita or folded flatbread. You’re not ruining the meal, and you’re lowering the calories dramatically. Instead of spaghetti, use spiralized butternut squash or another low-calorie alternative. Again, it’s the same concept, you can enjoy your spaghetti, just a different version with fewer calories.
Replace Some Meals With Shakes
If you want to dramatically reduce your caloric intake, while still ensuring you gain lots of nutrients, then meal replacement shakes are a good idea. Instead of having a meal for lunch or breakfast, you can replace it with a shake that’s full of protein, good carbs, vitamins, and a decent amount of calories. It can take a 300 calorie lunch down to around 130 calories, depending on where you got the shake from. You still get the nutritional effects of a meal but in a reduced calorie format.
Cut Out All Empty Calories
By far the biggest mistake is consuming too many empty calories. There are plenty of foods out there that don’t serve any benefits to us or our fitness goals. Sweets, chocolates, crisps, and just snacks in general are all examples of this. When we eat them, we’re not benefiting from the calories. We’re just piling on calories and not getting anything in return. At least when you eat things like chicken or vegetables, you gain something from the calories you consume. You get protein, nutrients, and vitamins. My motto is; if you have to eat something, make sure it benefits you. Cut out your empty calories, and you will lower your daily intake quite significantly.
Remember, you will only lose weight if you burn more calories than you take in during the day. Let’s say you burn 1000 calories in a day but consume 1000 too. Your weight will stay the same, and results won’t show. But, if you reduce your calories below 1000 – by following the advice above, you’ll burn more than you take in, meaning you lose weight!
Sometimes, your workouts are perfectly fine, and there’s nothing more you can do to burn extra calories. Instead, the focus needs to be on what we’ve spoken about here; reducing your daily calorie intake. Try it out and see the results for yourself.