Whenever anyone begins their weight loss journey, they usually resort to counting calories because they believe it is the most effective way of accomplishing their goal. The most important thing to remember is that you do not accomplish anything when you count calories and it is certainly not vital for losing weight. It is indeed possible for people to lose weight, regardless of the number of calories involved.
While you may not have to count calories, it is important to remember that every single calorie does make a difference. You can lose weight in a number of ways, without ever having to count calories because not all calories are equal and different foods can impact your hormones and hunger in different ways.
How can you feel full on lower calories and lose weight? Here are some of the ways you can accomplish this task.
Track portions
Instead of counting every single calorie you consume, it is better to track portions. If you create a balanced plate to eat, you will automatically be getting all the necessary calories, which means there will not be any counting involved.
When you are setting up your food plate, you should opt for items that have a lower calorie density, such as fruits and vegetables, soy products, whole-grain pasta, lean animal proteins, such as fish, corn, sweet potatoes, brown rice, potatoes and whole-grain cereals like nonfat dairy, beans and oatmeal.
Three plates and two snacks
This rule is very straightforward; you should eat three meals in a day that you can fit in one plate. In addition, you can also eat two snacks, which should fit in the palm of your hand. This is just an example, as you can also choose to have four snacks and two meals instead. The most important thing to remember is that the snack you eat should be some fruit or protein. You can also eat chocolates if you want, but they should not be bigger than the palm of your hand.
Make simple food changes
Another excellent approach that does not require you to count calories is swapping foods. This means that you should give preference to nourishing and healthy foods, as these can help you stay full for longer. This is because the metabolism rate plays a key role in weight control and different types of foods can affect your body’s metabolism differently. Therefore, it is best for you to switch the type of foods you eat and incorporate the ones that can boost your metabolism to speed up the weight loss process.
Stick to the 80-20 rule
It can take time to create healthy habits, so you need to give yourself a little bit room and have some fun during your weight loss journey. The 80-20 rule can be helpful in this scenario. It means that you eat healthy 80% of the time and 20% of the time, you can have some fun. This can prevent you from feeling guilty and you will not have to stress about eating a little extra every now and then.