A good diet is not just about what you add but also what you remove.
Unfortunately, a lot of people forget to think about the smaller aspects of their routine and their diet when trying to manage and track their calories and their nutrients and this can skew their math!
This list provides you with some more tips that can help you to cut pesky empty calories that might be sneaking into your diet…
Have Americanos – If you’re currently starting each day with a frothy cappuccino then you’ll be piling on calories and sugar unnecessarily! In fact, an indulgent hot drink such as this can sometimes contain well in excess of 200 calories. Instead, have a plain black Americano and you’ll be adding 0 calories while boosting your metabolism.
Avoid Soda Drinks – Soda drinks like Coca-Cola are one of the biggest dangers to a good diet. These are packed with sugar and calories and provide zero benefits. Did you know that a glass of Coke has the same amount of sugar as two Cream Eggs? Swap this for some juice, water or milk!
Stop Adding Sugar – If you add sugar to your tea, then this is another way you’re unnecessarily adding to your overall sugar and calorie intake! Likewise though, you should also stop adding sugar to your cereal and your fruit. As an added bonus, this change will lessen your sweet tooth so you’ll actually crave sweet snacks less often!
Use Smaller Bowls – Struggling with portion control? Just replace your bowls and plates with smaller alternatives. You’ll find you’re forced to pile less on and that in turn will make you eat less in total.
Get Smaller Cutlery – Get yourself some small cutlery to go with that small bowl and plate! This will make you eat slower which makes you get fuller faster!
Drink Water – Drink a big glass of water before your next meal. You’ll absorb it better and you’ll be less hungry and so not stuff yourself as much.
Cut the Butter – Saturated fat like that which comes from butter is not bad for you. But it does add lots of calories. If you want to lose a bit more weight, simply stop adding butter to your sandwiches etc.
Your Plan for Sticking to Healthy, Low Calorie Meals
So throughout this book we have discussed the nature of diet in detail. We’ve cut through a lot of the jargon and nonsense that comes with modern diet advice and found the common themes that make a diet WORK.
A good diet should not only help you lose weight (and keep it off!) but should also build muscle, improve your energy levels and enhance your brain. And the best way to accomplish all that is to…
• Work out your personal AMR to know how many calories you’re burning every day
• Consume fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight
• Estimate calories rather than strictly counting
• Reduce your intake of simple carbs
• Reduce your intake of ‘processed foods’
• But otherwise make sure to get a good mixture of everything you can and not to ignore any food groups
• Hunt out the most nutrient dense foods you can
• To make this work though, you need to use some tricks and strategies to get it to fit into your diet and your routine.
To do this, it pays to follow a number of tricks…
• Manage your time and energy levels in ways that priories your diet and health
• Use the morning and afternoon to fit in your boring, clean meals
• Consider using lunch deals, salad bars and other ways to get healthy food cheaply and conveniently
• Cook your evening meals fresh where possible and enjoy them! Eat slowly and eat combinations to aid absorption.
• Organize your kitchen and invest in the right appliances (such as smoothie makers)
• Cut calories and snacks in simple ways (avoiding soda drinks etc.)
• Learn some basic meals that you can fall back on when you’re pushed for time
• Keep some useful ingredients to hand in your cupboard
And to make all this a lot easier, we’ve supplied a ton of great and easy recipes in each chapter!
Finally though, remember that you’re only human! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t manage this right away – it’s a LOT of change.
Instead, start with simple small steps and build these up over time. They’ll add up to some massive differences and soon you’ll feel better than you ever have done!
