How To Reduce Calories For Weight Loss

Calorie counting is one of the top methods used by people to lose weight. In this post, we will be discussing small ways that you can reduce your caloric intake. Small changes lead to big results and that's what we are focusing on in this post.

Switch To Low Calorie Drinks

One place where you can start is by looking at the things you drink all day. Do you drink sodas that are filled with sugar and carbs? Do you drink coffee with cream and sugar? It's time to switch these items out for lower calorie alternatives. You can easily cut your calories by 500 per day just by changing what you drink.

I personally like to only drink water. I understand that some people are very much addicted to fizzy drinks and caffeine, so only drinking water may not be an option for you. If you love soda and just can't go without it, try Zevia. Zevia is soda that is sweetened naturally with stevia. You can get your soda fix without feeling guilty and save some calories while you're at it.

If you absolutely have to have coffee, try using powdered stevia instead of granulated sugar as a sweetener. As for cream, you could try a splash of unsweetened almond milk. It has very few calories and will give you the same creamy goodness that you love.

Snack Better

Too much snacking on certain foods can really help you rack up the calories. Excess snacking could be the reason you are unable to lose weight. It's so easy to grab a bag of chips and eat 4 servings before you even realize it. That's enough to throw your diet off.

Choosing fruit and vegetables for snacks can help you take in fewer calories. These foods provide nutrients and fiber which will fill you up, and they have less calories than chips and cookies. Of course, they don't taste as good and are definitely not as appealing.

If you really can't let go of the chips and other high calorie snacks, make a rule that you can only eat one serving at a time. Actually measure out the serving and only eat that amount.

To help prevent a diet derail, you can plan out cheat days where you get to snack and eat all you want. Don't have them too often though, or it will defeat the purpose. If you tell yourself, "Just wait until the cheat day," all the strict rules become a little bit more bearable.

Meal Replacement

A popular way for dieters to reduce calories is to replace 1 meal per day with a meal replacement shake or bar. These are shakes that have lots of vitamins and nutrients. You will be replacing the whole meal with a shake or bar, so make sure you don't eat anything extra for that meal. You can replace any meal you want to. Most people replace breakfast, but it's whatever works best for you.

Stores online and in your area provide many different options for shakes and bars that taste great.

Condiments

One area that people don't often think about is condiments. These are your dipping sauces that you use throughout the day to make your food taste better such as mustard, mayo, ketchup, salad dressing, etc.

A good rule is to get rid of the creamy and cheesy condiments. Only use condiments that are lower calorie. Salsa is a great low calorie option. Vinegarettes are good for your salads. Ketchup and BBQ are lower calorie than ranch as a dipping sauce. Check the calories of your sauces and be mindful of how much you are eating.

7 Day Abs Workout Challenge

Abs are very much coveted in the fitness world and everyone wants them. They say abs are made in the kitchen, and that is true, but you can also do some exercises to help tone and flatten your stomach. If you want a flatter stomach, I have created a 7 day abs challenge that can help you reach that goal.

The following is my 7 day abs workout challenge that will flatten your stomach and tighten your ab muscles. This works the upper, lower, and middle abs so that you can get a smaller waist line.

It starts out easy with just 10 of each exercise and increases gradually over the week. At the end of the week, you will be able to do 30 of each exercise. This builds up your strength and endurance, and gives you a flatter stomach as well.

You should notice small changes at the end of the week. Your stomach may be flatter and pants may be more loose around the midsection. If you want even bigger changes, you should continue for at least 6 weeks.

I assume everyone knows what crunches and sit ups are, but if you need a refresher on proper form, use Youtube as a guide. There are many videos available that can show you those two exercises and how to do them both properly and safely.

Swimmers may not be as common as the other two exercises, so I'm going to explain a bit about that. Swimmers target your lower belly "pooch" area. You should lay flat on your back and place your hands underneath your butt. Lift one leg at a time and alternate legs. You will look like you are kicking your feet, or swimming. Some people call them flutter kicks.

If you need to see a visual representation of this exercise, check out this video.

I hope you find good results with this abs challenge. If nothing else, I hope your stomach is just a little bit flatter than before.

Fat Burning Banana Smoothie

I have a banana weight loss smoothie recipe that I've been dying to share with you. I have actually used this recipe myself to drop 8 lbs in one month.

The ingredients for this smoothie are:

• 1 cup of frozen bananas
• A handful of frozen mixed berries
• A handful of frozen pineapple
• 1 serving of matcha green tea
• Add some unsweetened almond or coconut milk (to help with blending)

With this recipe, it is preferred that you buy fresh bananas, cut them up and place them in freezer bags to freeze them, and then use them in the recipe. All other fruit can be bought already frozen in the bag.

For the matcha green tea, you can use any brand you like. Follow the instructions on the package which state how much to use for a serving. Some matcha comes with a scoop that shows you how much to use. It will be different for different brands.

Make this banana smoothie your breakfast, then stick to your regular diet for the rest of your meals. Do not eat outside of meal times.

This smoothie provides many vitamins and minerals as well as some fiber. It will give you energy for your day, and boost your metabolism.

28 Weight Loss Tips

I've combined a mega list of weight loss tips for you to enjoy. You may already be using some of these, but I'll bet there are some that you have no idea about. So without further adieu, I bring you my best list of weight loss tips.

Weight loss tips:

1. Drink only water. Nothing else.
2. Drink more water.
3. Snack on fruit instead of candy or chips.
4. Have 2 servings of vegetables with your dinner.
5. Replace breakfast with a low carb protein shake.
6. Eat less foods that come in a package or can.
7. Eat more fruits and vegetables with your meals.
8. Take some time out each day to move around, whether it's a short walk or dancing, etc.
9. Instead of drinking whole milk, switch to skim milk.
10. If you are plant based, try unsweetened almond milk instead of sweetened.
11. If you must have soft drinks, switch to stevia sweetened sodas.
12. Walk your dog or play with your dog every day.
13. Trade chips for a small handful of almonds.
14. Grow your own vegetables and tend to the garden yourself.
15. Have a big salad for lunch every single day.
16. Switch high calorie salad dressings for vinegarette.
17. Try to get 10,000 steps every day and use a pedometer to track your progress.
18. Walk to work or to the store (as long as it's safe and in a decent distance).
19. Never buy unhealthy items at the store that you may go crazy on later.
20. Eat dinner earlier and do not do any late night snacking.
21. Have black coffee only, or add only stevia to your coffee.
22. Drink green tea and oolong tea.
23. Do 10 squats every time you go to the bathroom.
24. Eat until you are full and then stop.
25. Only eat when you are truly hungry.
26. Cut back on snacking so much.
27. Set fitness goals such as being able to run a 5k or hike a certain trail.
28. Learn a new exercise each day, like yoga or zumba.

5 Habits of Naturally Skinny People

Have you ever known someone who was just naturally skinny? Yeah, we all have that friend that seems to eat whatever they want and just stays super skinny no matter what. In this article, we will be discussing what goes on behind closed doors. How do these people stay so skinny?

1. They move around a lot. They seem to have limitless energy. They are always ready to go and do something active. They very rarely get fatigued. You may notice they fidget a lot if they are sitting still. These people just can't seem to sit still for long, in fact. All this moving around actually helps them burn more calories all day long.

2. They eat when they are truly hungry. These people don't tend to eat because they are sad or bored or lonely. They eat because their body is giving them signals that they are hungry and need to eat. Eating only when you are hungry ensures that you don't gain any extra weight.

3. They stop eating when they are full. These people tend to not gorge themselves with food. You may see them eat a large amount on occasion, but they often wait hours and hours to eat again (when they are hungry again). This gives their body time to burn off the extra food they eat sometimes. It's not like they are waiting to eat on purpose though. They tend to not even think about what they are doing. They just listen to their body's cues of when to eat and when to stop eating.

4. They don't restrict food types. People who are naturally skinny tend to not think about food in terms of "bad" and "good". They just eat whatever they feel like eating. Sometimes that is a big healthy salad and other times that might be a donut for breakfast. If you truly listen to what your body tells you, it will crave all kinds of food, even healthy food. These skinny girls don't see bad foods. They just see fuel for their body.

5. They poop regularly. Their body is running efficiently and they are pretty "regular". They tend to get enough nutrients and fiber in their diet to help them go to the bathroom. They also burn off their food with all the extra activity they do throughout the day. Again, this is not something they force or make happen. It's just a natural thing that happens when you treat your body right.

If you want to get the same weight loss benefits as them, you can start by listening to your body. Before you eat anything, ask yourself if you are truly hungry. Is your stomach rumbling? Or are you just bored and craving salty or sweet foods?

Instead of gorging yourself, listen to your body and stop when you are full. You can always eat again later. The food isn't going anywhere. Try not to restrict food types, but make sure you get a variety of different foods on your plate. This will help you with #5 because you will be getting tons of fiber in your diet.

If you find yourself sitting at a desk or laying in bed for too long, get up and go for a small walk. If you do all of these things, you will see the weight come off and people will start asking you how you did it.