Low calorie diet benefits and meal tips for a healthy lifestyle

If you are thinking of a low calorie diet, you may be asking yourself some questions. Are the low calorie meals actually filling enough for you to be successful on the eating plan? Does the low calorie diet have benefits for health? What kind of meals you are going to prepare? These tips could be found within this article. Keep in mind that cutting the calories in the beginning it’s not the most important part of the diet. Focusing on creating healthy, satisfying meals that help you stay full for longer will be key to your success.

What is a low calorie diet and what are its benefits?

A low calorie diet is a diet that requires you to eat between 1,000 to 1,500 calories per day. The calories are divided between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus morning and midday snacks. Many low calorie diets come in around 1,200 calories as this is the average number of calories people can consume without causing harm to their health.

To understand it better the average person needs about 1,600 to 3,000 calories per day to sustain their body weight. When a person consumes less calories than they need, the body begins to lose weight. Keep in mind that when you’re on a low calorie diet, it’s important to eat nutrient dense foods. Try to avoid feeling hungry and make sure your body is nourished. For example, lentils and whole grains are high in fibre, providing your body with nutrients and helping you stay full for longer. White carbohydrates instead, contain more calories and fewer nutrients, so they aren’t good for a low-calorie diet.

When it comes to how many calories to eat per day, there is no one size that fits all. Because every body is different, your ideal calorie count depends on numerous factors such as age, height, weight, activity levels, metabolic health and more. There are many apps which are able to help you tracking the amount of calories you consume per day.

The best ways to choose and prepare your low calorie meals

First of all, the cooking methods you use affect the amount of calories in your meals. Cut down on or eliminate frying and sautéing, and you should never be using a deep fat fryer, which requires a lot of oil. Choose instead baking, broiling, grilling, poaching or steaming. These cooking methods use little to no added fats.

Consume fibre and protein, because both are awesome. They fill you up quickly and keep you satisfied. Creating meals that are rich in fibre and protein ensures you’re consuming essential nutrients and will stop you from getting hungry between meals. For fibre, use brown alternatives to rice, pasta and bread. Choose healthy snacks alternatives, as fruit and vegetables and eat whole grains like buckwheat, barley and quinoa. Good sources of protein include eggs, lean meats, oats, nuts and seeds.

Refined carbs such as white bread, rice and pasta offer empty calories. They fill you up without many nutrients and leave you feeling hungry shortly after. Cutting carbs in general can help you lose weight, making you eat fewer calories. If you do eat carbs, stick to healthy fibre-rich carbs such as whole, single-ingredient foods like lentils and whole grains.

Lean meats like turkey and chicken breast are great sources of protein and contain very little fat and calories. When you eat chicken breast without the skin, most of the calories in it come from protein. Lean beef is also high in protein, as well as iron, vitamin B12 and other essential nutrients. Lean cuts of beef include round, loin and sirloin, so stick to these when cooking.

Vegetables are nutritious and packed with minerals and vitamins you need to stay healthy. They come at a low calorie count and are the best things to fill your low calorie meals with. Chopped vegetables are a healthy, low-calorie alternative to meat in recipes like soups, pasta sauces, and casseroles. When seasoning cooked veggies, make sure to use herbs instead of butter or oil.

Continue your low calorie diet by enjoying your meals

One of the biggest key factors in enjoying low calorie meals is cooking with flavourful ingredients. You’re not going to have an enjoyable time cutting calories if all your meals are bland and tasteless. For example, use small amounts of stronger cheeses to create more flavour but less calories in your meals. Hope you also enjoy the low calorie diet benefits and meal tips for a healthy lifestyle!