You need to make that extra effort to ensure that you are eating right on a daily basis because ideal daily calorie intake depends on factors such as activity level, age and whether you want to lose, maintain or gain weight. Experts recommend checking your ideal body weight for your height and comparing it to your actual weight.
This will help you understand how many calories you need to take in a day to achieve that ideal weight. So, if you want to keep your calories in check to stay fit and keep you weight in control, here are top 10 ways to make it happen.
Simple Tips to Keep Your Calories in Check
Eat slow
If you are successful in following the above mentioned tips, our 10th and last suggestion would be to eat slow. It has been proved that our body takes approximately 20 minutes to start feeling full after we finish a meal. So, give your body some time to understand if it needs more food or if it’s already full. Eat in a slow manner and enjoy every bite so that you don’t end up feeling uncomfortable and bloated due to overeating. We tend to eat a lot when having food after a long duration, so, divide your calories in 2-3 meals so that you are not starving till your next meal.
Order smart when dining out
Our 9th tip to keep a check on your calories is to remove extras when dining such as mayo, cream-based salad dressings or cheese toppings as these items can add a lot of calories to a healthy salad or dish. It is best to ask for dressings on the side when eating out and forgo extras or toppings. Make smart choices for instance, between mushrooms and cheese, choose the former as an addition to your sandwich for cutting calorie intake. Always order dishes that contain low-calorie, nutritional ingredients such as vegetables, fruits, fish, legumes or whole grains.
Prefer homemade food
Are you an emotional eater? How many times in a month do you go out to eat? Is it more than twice? Ask yourself these questions because these factors can lead to obesity and overeating. If you are feeling depressed, don’t sit at home with a bowl full of ice-cream. Instead, go out to meet friends, swim, play in the park or just take a walk to divert your mind and avoid overeating. Homemade food is always better when compared to dining at restaurants or stuffing the fridge with commercially processed food. Try cooking your meals at home so that you know the ingredients, oil and quantity that have to be used as per your daily calorie requirements.
Don’t keep unhealthy snacks at home
Make sure you don’t buy unhealthy snacks when shopping for grocery. In case you have kept few packets for midnight cravings, try and keep them out of sight or else you will end up munching on them and increasing calorie intake. For instance, many people keep a bowl or small jar of candy at the dining table and pop a candy after every meal. These small calories can add up and increase your weight. It is also recommended to avoid evening snacking as it is a significant source of daily calorie intake. Daily calorie intake in night snackers can be decreased by eating ready-to-eat cereal after evening meals.
Avoid sweetened beverages
Excess of anything is bad and therefore, our 6th tip to control calorie intake is to avoid or cut down the consumption of sweetened cold beverages. These beverages are high in calories and contain sugar that is also very fattening. Similar to small plates, try using thinner and taller glasses to drink such beverages. This will help you quench your thirst and make you drink less so, you will end up racking lesser calories. If you are thirsty, drink plenty of water instead, because apart from food, what you drink will also account for your calorie intake.
Reading nutrition labels
If you want to check your daily calorie intake, get into the habit of reading nutrition labels when shopping for food items. This will help you know how many calories are present in your meal. You can also use a resource with pre-estimated data about calories in servings of a particular produce. By reading the ingredients and content of a particular item you can make an easy choice of whether or not to buy it. Always look out for food that is high in nutritional content, iron, calcium, fibre and vitamins and low in sugar and sodium. It will help you eat smarter.
Eat small portions
Our 4th tip to keep your calories in check is to limit the amount of food you eat on a daily basis. According to experts, if you reduce the portion of food even before serving it on your plate it will help you eat less. Using smaller plates is also one of the effective ways of eating small portions because even if you fill small plates with food, calorie intake will be less than usual and you won’t feel that you are eating less. If you are feeling full, there is no harm in leaving some food on the plate. Don’t overeat if your stomach gives you signs of being full.
Don’t skip breakfast
Controlling calorie intake doesn’t mean you need to skip your breakfast. If you skip breakfast you will be starved by noon due to which you will end up eating more than the required amount in lunch. Therefore, our 3rd tip to control calorie intake is to eat your breakfast (in the form of 2 small meals rather than a full and heavy breakfast). This will not only help you divide your daily intake of calories in small and balanced portions but also refill energy stocks of your body. The key is to balance calories in your daily diet instead of skipping important meals such as breakfast and dinner.
Opt for low-calorie food items
Once you know how many calories you will be requiring in a day based on your age, height, weight, gender and level of activity, our 2nd tip would be switching to low-calorie version of foods that you like. For instance, opt for low-fat dairy or whole wheat products instead of products made from white flour. Include food items like apples, eggs, cauliflower, peanuts, oatmeal, fish and soup in your diet as these items help in controlling calorie intake. Divide the calories throughout the day. For instance, if you need to have 1200 calories in a day, divide it into three meals and two snacks so that you control the quantity of calories without going hungry.
Monitor your calorie intake
Knowing how many calories you consume on a daily basis is our 1st and most essential tip to keep your calories in check. Before you start, you will have to jot down everything you eat and drink in a day, calorie content of each item, quantity consumed and how many times you eat out in a week. These points will help you understand how many calories you eat on a daily basis and where you need to start making cuts. It will also help you create a list of low-calorie foods that you need to incorporate in your daily diet. You can use a calorie calculator or online calorie tracker to keep monitoring changes.
Conclusion
Controlling your calorie intake to lose weight and stay fit is not a difficult task if you are determined to follow these tips. Don’t keep yourself hungry or overstuff your stomach with food. Plan and eat right!
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