5 Simple Ways to Cut Calories From Your Daily Diet

In order to slim down, you must cut calories.  

All diet plans work since there is a major reduction in the amount you eat.  Obesity is caused whenever your calorie intake is much more than the calories you need to support your current level of activity.  

This short article offers you 5 easy tips for changing how many calories you consume. 

Exercise alone; while not lowering your calories will not lead to weight loss.  This is because exercise raises your metabolism; which makes you eat more.  But you eat more because your activity level has gone up; thus, you need more calories.

If you use these tips in concert with your workout plan, your chances of losing weight will rise significantly.

• One of the most effective to reduce calories is stop drinking sodas and high calorie coffees. 

As an example, some of the high dollar flavored coffee drinks have as much as 700 calories in a single drink! That's almost half of your daily government recommended calorie needs.  Many of the popular Energy Drinks have half that ... but the dirty little secret is most of those cans contain "2" servings!  So, your still drinking and inexcusable amount of EMPTY calories.

In most cases, these calories parallel the amount of calories that are in a whole meal.

Those sweet caffeine beverages might be delicious, but they're unhealthy for you. Limit these drinks to a minimum. In their place, you can keep yourself hydrated with a little flavoring added to good old fashion water.  Squeezing a lemon into your water will change it up a bit while keeping it healthy.  Granted, it's not the same as a latte, but neither are the calories.  Or, if your really an addict for coffee, try lowering the sugar; until you no longer add it.  Do the same for your half-n-half; limit the amount until you no longer add it.  THAT is how you cut calories.  

• Another easy way to cut calories is always add veggies in your recipes. Vegetables are usually low-calorie foods. Plus, adding these into recipes creates more fiber; thus, over all nutrition. Fiber helps you to feel fuller, sooner and this feeling lowers the amount of food that you eat.  Also, I always say: "Veggies Are Not A Side Dish".  So, serve up larger portions of veggies.  More-so than you normally do.  Your body cannot process the meat (what people usually ea to feel full) on your plate.  So, although there is Protein in the meat your body cannot break the meat down to assimilate it ... so it just sits there in your gut.  Sure, you feel full.  But what are you full of?

• Another easy way to cut calories is to serve a slice of pineapple or mango for dessert rather than pie or cake. Sweet fruit will satisfy your sweet tooth without the abundance of High Fructose Corn Syrup & Aspartame that is used to make the bland taste sweet.

• Alcohol is normally full of calories and it has no nutritive value.  People are interesting creatures.  There are those who absolutely will not go to Mickey D's, nor KFC, but they will certainly get hammered until they staggar, and then head to intermezzo at 2 am to wolf down chocolate cake.  Oh ... I fogot, that's their "cheat day" ... that has spilled over into a "cheat weekend".  

High Calorie Cocktails vs. Fast Food

    10 oz Margarita – 550 Calories (4 oz. tequila, 4 oz. margarita/sour mix, 2 oz. triple sec, lime juice, 1 tsp. sugar)

    9 oz. Mai Tai – 620 Calories (3 oz. Light Rum, 2 oz. Dark Rum, 1 oz. Crème de Almond, 1 oz. Triple Sec, 1 oz. Sweet and Sour Mix, 1 oz. Pineapple Juice)

    12 oz. Piña Colada – 586 Calories (3 oz. Rum, 3 oz. Coconut Cream, 6 oz. Pineapple Juice)

    6 oz. Mud Slide – 556 Calories (1.5 oz. Vodka, 1.5 oz. Kahlua, 1.5 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream, 1.5 oz. Half-and-Half)

    10 oz. Long Island Ice Tea – 543 Calories (1.5 oz Vodka, 1.5 oz Rum, 1.5 oz Tequila, 1.5 oz Gin, 1.5 oz Triple Sec, 2 oz Sweet and Sour, 0.5 oz Cola)

Vs

    McDonald’s Big Mac®- 540 Calories

    McDonald’s Large French Fries- 500 Calories

    Pizza Hut 12 Inch Medium Pan Pepperoni Pizza (2 Slices)- 560 Calories

    Wendy’s Double Cheeseburger- 620 Calories

    Burger King’s Whopper® Sandwich- 670 Calories

    Burger King’s King Sized Onion Rings- 500 Calories

   Taco Bell Chicken Quesadilla- 520 Calories

 http://www.calwineries.com/learn/wine-and-health/science-of-wine-and-health/calories

So, you may not eat at these fast food places because they are "unhealthy" for you, but you do go out every weekend and "toss back a few".  I'm telling you, you need to change the way you view your actions because you are not doing yourself any favors.   

• Of course, raw vegetables (Celery & Peanut Butter, Baby Carrots, etc.) are perfect for any low-calorie snack. If you get tired of them, try to find other foods, like sliced Mango, Banana, Sliced Apple; or even some unsalted nuts.  

You can't go wrong with raw fruits and vegetables.  You can eat all of those items; as much as you like.  But even still, you will need to count the calories within your daily food allowance.  

Write everything down inside a food journal to help you keep up with what you eat.  Changing your eating habits, can be tough.  So find simple actions to lower calories from your food.  Pick two or three steps to begin with.  Once you have mastered those, start to practice a few other steps. Before you know it, your whole eating pattern will consist of healthy beverages, healthy foods and all with much less calories than what your used to eating.  

And remember, there are 3,500 calories in a pound.  If you cut 500 calories from your daily intake, by the end of your 7th day you would have lost 1 pound, simply by changing your eating habits.