How to Reduce Calories For Fat Loss By Callie Durbrow At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Today many people are conscious of losing weight and developing a healthy lifestyle.Reducing your calorie intake for each day is important to fat loss but it must be done in a healthy manner. Crash dieting and other fads are not effective. One must develop a balanced nutrition plan and combine it with interval and strength training for proper fat loss. Here are some quick tips on how to reduce your calorie intake in a healthy manner.

1. Look before you buy
• Check the food labels- avoid trans fat, high sugar content, and high calorie foods that lack nutritional value (processed foods)
• Read serving sizes- be sure to double check as there is often more than one serving. The information that you read is based on one serving of that particular food.
• Avoid processed and packaged food- These may be lower in calories but they lack nutritional value and essential vitamins. Stick to fresh foods such as fruits, veggies, nuts, and lean proteins (meats or dairy)
• Avoid sugar, starch, processed coloring and oils- these lack any real value and will just feed you extra calories. Search for more nutrient dense foods.

2. Where You Eat Matters
• Select restaurants that offer healthy foods
• Choose small portion options or appetizers for your main meal- portion size is extremely important
• Choose grilled or baked options- fried, boiled, and poached are often high in fat and come with sauces and extras that you want to avoid
• Order dressings and sauces on the side so you can control the portion
• Skip the bread basket
• If you must have dessert, share with a friend- limit your extra sugar intake so stick to a small piece after dinner

3. Cook at Home as Much as Possible
• Grill or bake meat- these are the healthiest options and you won't be tempted to drench them in sauces
• Steam or grill vegetables
• Make enough food for leftovers- taking leftover lunches to work or school can eliminate trips to the vending machine or local sandwich shop
• Measure portion sizes- 1/3 protein, 1/3 vegetables, 1/3 starch (sweet potato, brown rice)

4. Avoid liquid calories
• Skip soda, iced teas, flavored water- stick to plain water or add a lemon for some flavor. Avoid the extra calories and sugars in these drinks.
• If you drink coffee, try to avoid cream, sugar, and syrup flavorings- added calories that you don't need every day
• Drink water with every meal and try to drink a gallon per day
• Limit the amount of alcohol you consume- alcohol calories add up and can lead to bad food choices as well.

To cut down calories be sure to eat every 3-4 hours, snack on nutrient dense foods such as vegetables, proteins, nuts, and whole grains, drink a gallon of water per day, avoid processed foods, cook at home, and get into great eating habits that you can continue on for the long run.

Try to avoid crash dieting and other nutrition fads. The goal is to develop a healthy, long term lifestyle. Much of the time people are eating either too much of the wrong things, not enough food in general, or just simply need to revamp the timing of their intake.

Nutrition cannot be perfect all the time either, so use the 80% to 20% rule. If your nutrition plan is clean 80% of the time and you are training hard in a progressive and high intensity manner, you can allow yourself 20% of slack for restaurant dining and parties. This does not mean complete indulgence, just living life in a balanced state.

Give these tips a try and see how much better you feel physically and mentally.

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