Playing it low: 5 habits that will help you reduce your calorie intake

If you can’t eat intuitively and healthfully, and the word “diet” makes you shiver, don’t despair. The path to a healthy diet and lifestyle in general does not have to start with rigid restrictions. Try adding a few simple healthy habits to your routine that will help you discreetly reduce your calorie intake.

Say no to sauces

Mayonnaise is far from the only unhealthy additive. Sour cream, cheese, tomato and cream sauces – all of them have a high energy value and can significantly increase the calorie content of any dish. And soy sauce, although it doesn’t contain as many calories, retains fluid in the body, which can cause swelling.

Give up sauces and replace them, for example, with low-fat yogurt or balsamic vinegar. Firstly, seemingly familiar dishes will open with a new side. Secondly, their energy value will be reduced. For example, if you exclude mayonnaise from a portion of olivier, you will get 100-200 kcal less.

Replace carbonated drinks with water

Sweet sodas not only contain a lot of sugar, but also negatively affect the skin. In addition, carbonated drinks do not quench thirst well – you want to drink even more afterwards. And if you are also used to drinking lemonade with food, there is a risk of eating much more than necessary.

Try to replace sweet sodas and packet juices with plain water. For flavor, you can add lemon and mint to it, or, for example, seasonal fruits and berries. And if you really like “sparkling” drinks, instead of sparkling water, take mineral sparkling water.

Do not overuse fruit

Often, having decided to lose weight, many rush from extreme to extreme and, for example, refusing sweets and pastries, try to compensate them with a large amount of fruit. Although they are indeed healthier than candy and pies, many of them are still very caloric and in addition contain a lot of carbohydrates.

Because the carbohydrates in fruit are simple, they are digested quickly and do not satiate for long. Therefore, without realizing it, we can eat too much, which is also not good for the body.
Of course, fruits contain many useful substances and elements, so you should not exclude them from your diet. Consume them in moderation and do not get too carried away.

Reduce your sugar intake

Even if you just stop adding sugar to your tea and coffee, it will already significantly reduce the number of calories you consume. For example, one cup of black tea with two spoons of sugar contains about 60-65 kcal, while the unsweetened version contains only 3-5 kcal.

In addition, sugar is also found in seemingly unexpected products – packet juices, tomato paste and yogurt. Replace juices with freshly squeezed juices, and buy yogurts and cottage cheese without sugar, and you can get rid of a few dozen extra calories.

Satisfy the need for sweet will help fresh berries and fruits, as well as spices, seasonings and spices. And some of them – for example, red pepper – also accelerate metabolism. For more metabolism-boosting foods, see the “Championship” video.

Reduce fat

As a rule, we do not count how much oil we add to the pan when we stew vegetables, fry omelet or meat. As a result, the dish turns out to be much more caloric than it could be.

To reduce the consumption of “harmful” fats is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. For example, during stewing, butter can be replaced with broth or water, and for frying – use olive oil or a non-stick pan.

Following these five rules is not so difficult. Useful habits will help not only to reduce the calorie content of dishes, but also gradually move to a more correct and healthy diet.