I’m usually not a big fan of counting calories. When you focus on eating a lower-carb, whole food, healthy diet you typically don’t need to worry much about calories.
But there are always exceptions to any rule.
Perhaps you have a special event coming up and you want to drop a few extra pounds quickly and safely. We’ve all been there. Cutting out a few hundred calories a day could help you fit into that new dress or suit you bought for the occasion.
Or maybe you’re already eating healthy, but still have a problem area that just won’t budge. Slashing some calories from your daily diet could help you finally tackle that stubborn muffin top.
But the trouble with focusing on cutting calories is more often than not it leaves you feeling famished. And there’s nothing like hunger pangs to make you end up cheating on your diet or overeating.
Slash calories & lose weight without hunger pangs
Don’t worry I’ve got you covered. I’ve compiled a list of 10 ways you can effortlessly slash over 400 calories a day from your diet.
But here’s the thing. You don’t even have to count calories. And best of all? You can do it without feeling any hunger pangs.
Let’s get started…
1. Eat a piece of fruit:
Thirty minutes before every meal gobble down a piece of fruit. Yes, you really can cut calories by eating MORE of them. Here’s how.
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University found that eating a whole piece of fruit before meals causes people to eat significantly less during the meal. The fiber and water in the fruit helps fill you up, so you end up eating far fewer calories in the end. And no hunger pangs!
2. Pause between bites:
It takes your brain about 20 minutes to register that you’re full. If you eat too quickly, you can end up eating far more calories during those 20 minutes than you need to fill up.
The easiest fix is to eat slower by putting your fork down between each bite. Your brain can then send you the “all full” signal before you end up overeating. And you never have to deal with real, or fake, hunger pangs.
3. Tweak your sandwiches:
Even if you’ve given up white bread (and I hope you have!), when you really need to cut calories, go ahead and drop the whole wheat bread or wrap, too. Put your sandwich stuffing on top of a leafy green salad, or wrap them up in large leaf lettuce instead.
4. Fidget:
By now, I hope you’ve already followed my advice and are fitting in some regular exercise every week. But this calorie burning trick focuses on your downtime. The moments when you’re sitting still in front of the television, at a desk or in a waiting room.
It’s time to channel your inner child. Whenever you’re sitting still, don’t. Fidget instead. Bounce your knees, shift in your seat or shake your arms. Do whatever feels natural and keeps you in motion. According to the Mayo Clinic, people who fidget burn more calories throughout the day than people who are truly stationary.
5. Think 25 percent:
When you’re trying to shed a few extra pounds one of the toughest challenges is going out to eat. But this little trick is so easy it will make you laugh. Simply leave 25 percent of your meal behind, every single time.
The servings at restaurants are large enough that eating just 75 percent of your meal is plenty to satisfy your hunger. But by eliminating 25 percent, you’re saving a ton of calories. And if you’re like me, and wasting food doesn’t appeal to you, just ask for a to-go box right away and pack up the 25 percent to have for lunch the next day or send home with a friend.
6. Workout in the AM:
A study from Japan found that a morning workout before breakfast helps burn fat and lose weight better than workouts at other times. And when you rev up your metabolism so early in the morning, it can help you burn calories more efficiently throughout the rest of your day.
7. Switch to riced cauliflower:
I hope you’ve already ditched all the white rice in your diet for brown or black. But when you’re trying to lose a few pounds quickly there’s one more swap you can make to effortlessly cut calories. Trade the rice in your diet for riced cauliflower instead.
You can make your own at home using a food processor. (Check YouTube for some easy, how-to videos.) Or look for it in the produce section of your favorite grocery store.
8. Get enough sleep:
Sleep is critical for your good health in countless ways. But one that’s often overlooked is that getting your full seven to eight hours a night can help you lose weight and keep it off.
Sleep deprivation slows your metabolism so you burn fewer calories, and increases your sugar cravings so you make poor diet choices. Along with that, getting too little sleep causes your body to produce more of the hormone that triggers hunger pangs, and less of the hormone that tells you you’re full.
9. Change your cocktail:
When you’re trying to lose weight, the social engagements don’t suddenly stop. You’re still likely to find yourself at happy hours or gatherings wanting to take part in the festivities. Mixers, even fruit juices, are high in sugar. Ditch the empty calories and order your drink with club soda or seltzer and a squeeze of lime instead.
10. Go for mushroom, not meat:
If you’re trying to drop a few fast you can temporarily replace your grass-fed, organic meats with mushrooms instead. You’ll get the satisfying mouth feel of meat, but with fewer calories. In a Johns Hopkins University study, people who ate mushrooms instead of red meat ate 444 fewer calories, but reported being just as satisfied with their meal and no hunger pangs.
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