For most people who are trying to lose weight, you can lose 1 pound per week initially by cutting 500 calories per day. The math behind this is that 3,500 calories equals about one pound, so cutting 500 during each of the seven days a week will drop you 1 pound. This moderate calorie restriction is a healthy way to lose weight – more extreme measures can backfire, as cutting more calories per day will not provide your body with enough sustained energy.
There are a lot of simple ways to cut calories from your diet. In fact, you don't necessarily have to eat less volume-wise – you just have to recognize what you're eating and how many calories it contains, and be open to substituting it for something similar. Here are some tips to help you in your journey to get healthy:
- Eliminate high-calorie drinks. Sugary juices, soda and alcohol are the first things to toss out, because just a 12-ounce serving of soda or orange juice has about 170 calories. Replace these drinks with water, which is calorie-free, sugar-free and essential to your body's functioning.
- Ditch the creamer. Your coffee will taste just as delicious with skim milk, or even low-fat milk, and it's much healthier than rich cream or – even worse – flavored coffee creamers that have all kinds of artificial chemicals and oils that are bad for your health.
- Eat a filling breakfast. Start your morning off with high-fiber cereal or oatmeal mixed with fruit. Complex carbs take longer to break down, helping us stave off the hunger pangs until later in the day.
- Forget about the cheese. At lunchtime, order your sandwich without cheese. Most delis, burger joints and other eateries provide you with more than one serving per sandwich. Instead, opt for a flavorful hummus or BBQ sauce, both of which contain less calories than most cheeses.
- Choose dessert wisely. If you're a dessert-junkie, it can be difficult to eliminate sweets from your daily routine. So try a slice of low-calorie angel food cake with fresh strawberries, rather than cookies or other hearty, butter-filled desserts.
- Eat more slowly. Make sure to take your time when eating. Not only will you – hopefully – enjoy your food more, but you'll also likely eat less. Research shows that it takes our bodies about 20 minutes to register that we are full.
