*collaborated post
Hello beautiful people! As much as I love to travel, one of the challenges I face is mantaining my health on the go. Suddenly, calories, exercise and routines go out the window, as they should! However, as much as we can and should enjoy ourselves whilst travelling, we can still eat well. If we’re all honest, no one enjoys going on a low-calories diet, even if they look forward to the end results. When we think about the word diet, it often brings up images of tiny portions, plain, boring salads and feeling incredibly hungry all day, every day. Nothing to be excited about. It’s hard to stick to something when you feel like you have to give up everything you enjoy.
That’s where everyone goes wrong. Yes, you have to consume fewer calories than you expend day to day, but that doesn’t mean you have to make yourself miserable – you just need to be strategic. The secret to a successful low-calorie diet is to learn how to eat in a way that keeps you satisfied so that you don’t want to give up. Here’s how you can eat a low-calorie diet without going crazy.
How To Eat A Low-Calorie Diet Without Going Crazy
Have Strategic Healthy Snacks
Going for long periods of time without having something to eat makes you crave food more and more. It often just ends up with you overeating later on in the evening. Snacking itself isn’t unhealthy. When planned with the rest of your meals for the day, they can actually help you stick to your calories better. Obviously, you don’t want to just grab something random from the cupboard, but instead want to think about some healthy snacks you can have that are easy to grab instead. High-protein snacks make great options. They will keep you fuller for longer and are much more nutritionally beneficial than something like a rice cake or sweets. You don’t have to miss out on your favourite snacks either, as many common foods have high-protein variations.
Take crisps, for example. Normal ones aren’t going to help fill you up for very long, but something like baked protein crisps is significantly better. As shown on eatprotein.co.uk, you can get a bag with over 11g of protein and under 100 calories. It’s a great way of enjoying your favourite foods without consuming empty calories.
Don’t Be Super Aggressive With Your Calorie Deficit
Get rid of the all-or-nothing attitude. Cutting your calories less and keeping them there for a little longer is going to be far more successful than being super aggressive for less time. When your calories dip too low, you will start to feel horrible. You’ll be tired all the time, grouchy, hungry and just won’t be able to think about anything other than food. Which is why you’ll inevitably throw in the towel and give up.
It won’t just make you feel awful, but can be at times pretty dangerous, causing all sorts of health problems long-term. The NHS recommends a moderate deficit of around 600 calories below your normal maintenance. Instead of losing weight as fast as possible, try losing around 0.25-0.75kg per week. You’ll still be eating enough that you won’t feel rough, and you’re much more likely to stick to the diet.
Make Meals With High Volume Foods
It’s easier not to crave food when you actually fill yourself up from your meals. Well, surely that’s not possible on a low-calorie diet, right? Wrong. Big meals can be low in calories if they’re made with the right stuff. You still want your protein source and some carbs, but you want to fill up your plate with foods that are high in volume. Think vegetables, fruit, soup and eggs. These are foods you can eat in massive portions for the same amount of calories as things like bread, pasta and rice.
Some great dishes are stir fries, big salad bowls, broth-based soups and even omelettes with veg. You get a big bowl of food that will satisfy you and your hunger but not have to worry about going over your calories. Feeling full is very much the key to a successful diet.
Pick Foods You Actually Enjoy
When we think of taking care of our health, we tend to think about all the foods we have to give up. But what if you didn’t have to stop enjoying them? A low-calorie diet is only going to be successful if you can still consume the things you enjoy – you just have to be smart as to how.
Think of your calories as a budget. Most days you’ll want to have an even spread across your meals but if there’s something in particular that you’re craving, budget for it. Have a lighter lunch so you can have that pizza night you want or avoid a snack so you can have some chocolate later on instead. Have the things you want, don’t ban anything, just make sure you stick to your calorie budget and you’ll stick to being on track to hit your goals.
Keep An Eye On Calorie-Dense Foods
There are certain foods that can add extra calories you might forget to track, and their impact can cause your diet to fail. Foods like oil or nut butters can get used pretty liberally if not weighed out. The problem with not measuring out these kinds of foods is that they’re so calorie dense that even a few grams can make a considerable difference in the amount of calories you consume.
Juices and smoothies are also culprits of this. Just because they’re full of fruit, they seem healthy, but actually, they’re full of sugar and aren’t going to do much to fill you up. Don’t forget to measure out and keep track of these kinds of foods. A tablespoon of oil or a glass of juice can be surprisingly high in calories, so you want to track exactly what you’re consuming, as it’ll make a huge difference as to whether you’re sticking to your calorie budget for the day.
Sticking to a low-calorie diet doesn’t have to feel like a punishment. If it starts to feel like that, something needs to change. Yes, there should be restrictions, but you should still be able to enjoy food and not have it affect your day-to-day life. Small, manageable changes will mean you’re better able to stick to it, and that’ll lead to long-term results without going crazy in the process.
Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments how you’re keeping yourself healthy. Until next time, be well!x
