Lose Weight Smartly With The Top 10 Ways To Reduce The Amount of Calories Per Day

There are two only ways to lose weight – burn more calories than you eat or eat less of them. That sounds very simple right? So why is it so difficult to lose the weight?

Well, with these top 10, easy-to-follow tips we help you to reduce the amount of calories per day painlessly, so there are no more excuses...

1. Change to lower calorie varieties of the foods you would normally eat.
Switching from full cream or whole milk to low fat or skimmed milk will save you around 56 calories and 6.5g fat a day if you use about 1/2 a pint a day. Over the course of 12 months, this minor change can save you 5lbs of body fat! Just think of the other changes you could make – yoghurt, margarine, crisps, mayonnaise, salad dressing and even garlic bread all have lower calorie versions. However always remember that fat free doesn't mean calorie free! Lots of reduced fat products have extra sugar added to maintain the taste and texture we enjoy, so it is advisable to read the nutrition labels carefully to make sure the lower fat version isn't actually higher in calories or worse more unhealthy than the original product!

2. Snacking smartly.
Plan in advance what you eat in between meals. Do not leave it to chance and end up attacking what is in the nearest vending machine! Take your own snacks with you! Choose low fat, low calorie snacks, like cereal and milk, crackers and breads, popcorn, rice cakes, wholegrain cereal bars, veggie sticks, dried, tinned or fresh fruit and low fat yoghurts.

3. Eat breakfast.
Perhaps it sounds strange to say ‘eat to lose weight', research has indicated that eating breakfast prevents excessive eating throughout the day. Choose low glycemic foods with lots of fiber. It's also a great way to kick-start your metabolism to start burning calories from early in the day!


4. Watch how you cook.
Reduce or cut out entirely fried foods and use the minimum of oil when you griddle, when you sauté or stir-fry. Don't say goodbye to your favorite meals - simply cook them in the oven instead of in fat! Boiling, steaming and grilling are low fat ways to cook.

5. Choose leaner cuts of meat.
Limit your purchases of processed meats like bacon, sausages and sausage-type luncheon meats like pepperoni or salami if you want to cut calories. These processed foods contain additives that push up the cloric values. Rather choose the leanest cuts of meat that you can afford and always remove the skin and fat from poultry. Choosing white meat whenever possible is healthier than red meat.

6. Add a smarter starter.
Start your meal with a large salad or a bowl of vegetable-packed soup to fill you up and prevent over-eating at the dinner table.This will help you eat less which is good for you.


7. Reduce your portion sizesby one third.
Try cutting down by a third. You more than likely don’t need those extra calories and you definitely don’t need to feel quite so full. It helps to try to eat a little more slowly so that you will begin to feel full as you eat. In the beginning this will take a bit of getting used to but you will get used to it! Obviously, whatever calories you save depends on what you are actually eating, but over time this could save you pounds.


8. If You are eating out you don’t have to finish what’s on your plate.
Cancel your membership to the clean plate club, especially when you are eating out or having take aways. Restaurants and fast food joints always serve way too much food. It needn't be necessary to waste half your meal - doggie bags are a great way to enjoy two fair-sized meals instead of pigging out on one portion.

9. Be more food aware.
Start by reading food labels. Sometimes it is difficult to know which foods loaded with calories and it’s easy to get caught out with clever marketing by food manufacturers. Read articles about food and nutrition in the newspapers, magazines and on the internet. You can’t cut calorie intake without nutrition know-how.


10. Watch your drinks.
Youwill be amazed how drinks can add to your daily intake of calories. Take a typical day, a glass of orange juice atbreakfast (72 calories in 200ml), a cup of coffee with sugar at break time (20 calories), a can of coke in the afternoon (129 calories) and a couple of glasses of wine with dinner (approximately 200 calories). This is not exactly excessive but the total is around 420 calories! If you consider that most people need to be under 2000 calories per day then this can be significant. Watch the serving sizes when drinking juice or milk and try to stick to water as much as possible. Try gradually reducing or giving up sugar in your tea and coffee and switching to low sugar drinks for a week. It will make a big difference to your calorie intake.