10 Ways to Effectively Reduce Your Calorie Intake

Need some creative ideas to help you reduce your calorie intake? The following 10 tips will help you save hundreds of calories a day that will result in several extra pounds of fat loss over the course of time.

Chew Your Food

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that chewing your food 40 times instead of the typical 15 chews resulted in 12% fewer calories being ingested [1]. For an average 2000 calorie diet, that equals 240 calories. Over the course of a year, that’s 25 pounds. Not only does chewing your food reduce calorie intake, it also helps you slow down and enjoy your meal more.

Check out 35 more of these neat little diet and exercise hacks for losing weight.

Use Spices Instead of Sauces

We all look for ways to add some extra flavor to an otherwise bland meal. Instead of going the sauce route, why not use spices instead? They still add flavor, but they do it without adding major calories and unhealthy sugars to your meal.

Eat More Fiber

Fiber adds bulk and weight to your meals. It also slows down their digestion. This all helps you reduce calorie intake. Fiber expands in your stomach – filling you up so that there’s little room for more food. It also lowers the glycemic index (GI) of your food, which indirectly leads to less food being eaten due to cravings being reduced.

Here are 11 easy ways to get more fiber in your diet.

Eat at Home

It is much harder to control what goes into your mouth when it wasn’t prepared by you. Even so-called healthy meals at restaurants can have hidden calories. They tend to use sauces liberally, and salad dressings can have hundreds of calories. Preparing your food at home gives you complete control of everything that goes into your mouth.

Split Your Meal

Many meals at restaurants have extremely large portion sizes. Many of these meals can easily pack 1,000 calories. Why not try splitting an entree with someone. If it’s still not enough food, you could always split an appetizer too. This is an easy way to cut your restaurant bill in half too.

Read more tips for eating out at restaurants so that you stay on track.

Don’t Eat From the Bag

It’s much harder to keep track of your calories when you eat right from the bag. Instead, take what you plan on eating and put it into a bowl or onto a plate. It will keep you from overindulging.

Use To-Go Boxes

There’s no need to finish off every meal you buy when you go out to eat. Eat half your meal and take the rest to-go. Portion sizes tend to be much larger at restaurants.

Drink Water

This is an easy one, yet many people just can’t stand the taste (or lack of) of water. Water does more than just reduce calorie intake. It helps keep your metabolism revving at 100% – causing you to burn more fat over time. Plus, for most people, they get more satiety from eating their calories instead of drinking them.

Read more about why drinking water is the secret to fat loss.

Bake, Broil, or Grill

The way you prepare your food can have a dramatic impact on your calorie intake. Any cooking method that adds calories (like frying) will work against your weight loss goals. Try using other methods to cook your food that actually remove calories, like baking or grilling.

Use a Smaller Plate

The idea is simple – the bigger your plate, the more likely you are to put more food on it. A smaller plate helps you control portion sizes, which is a big key to weight loss. A smaller plate also tricks your mind into thinking there’s more food on the plate than there actually is.

This article is part of the 10 Ways to a Better Body blog series. Be sure to check out the rest of the series!