How to Lower Caloric Intake

If you want to shed some pounds, you have to lower your caloric intake. Crash diets that promise fast weight loss, often require you to restrict entire food groups or cut out an unrealistic amount of calories. You will most likely gain the weight back because it is water weight and weight from lean muscle, not weight from fat. You also put yourself at risk of becoming a yo-yo dieter. Learning which foods to eat and how to replace unhealthy foods to lower your caloric intake, will get you a step closer to lasting weight loss.

Instructions

• 1

  Avoid excess caloric reduction by losing one to two pounds per week. You can accomplish this by cutting out 500 to 1,000 calories daily because one pound of fat has 3,500 calories.

• 2

  Get at least 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, three days per week. Cardiovascular exercise will burn calories, so you can take this into account when calculating your daily caloric reduction. The amount of calories you burn depends on the type of cardio you do and the intensity level of your exercise.

• 3

  Eat smaller meals throughout the day so you don't feel deprived and keep your blood sugar levels stable. Eating often will keep you from craving result-sabotaging foods and you end up eating less in the long run.

• 4

  Replace full-fat products, such as milk, with non-fat and low-fat products which have less calories. Read product labels to find out about nutritional values.

• 5

  Drink unsweetened green tea and water instead of calorie-laden alcohol and beverages which have no nutrients. Colonhealth.net states that drinking three to five cups of green tea daily speeds up your metabolism so you burn 70 extra calories per day. Water promotes fat metabolism, transports nutrients to cells and fills you up so you consume fewer calories.

• 6

  Choose grilled and steamed foods over fried and breaded foods which tend to be high in calories and fat. Cook often instead of eating out, so you can control ingredients and the way your food is prepared.

• 7

  Avoid fatty meats such as pork and beef and choose lean protein such as fish, chicken and turkey instead.

• 8

  Get carbohydrates and fiber from vegetables and fruits which are low in calories and contain a lot of water. Limit simple carbohydrates such as white bread and white rice, eat whole-wheat bread and brown rice instead since they digest slowly and keep you feeling full longer.