Ways to Get Lean Without Counting Calories
By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
Most people are familiar with the idea that the calories you eat should be equal to or less than the calories you burn to maintain or lose weight. While this concept is generally true for most people, it doesn’t mean that you need to be counting every calorie you eat.
Keeping calories in mind when making food choices is beneficial, but counting calories is usually not an enjoyable nor necessary task. There are plenty of other actions you can take to get lean that don’t lead to obsessing over estimated calories.
Here are our 10 best actionable tips for losing weight and getting lean without tallying up calories.
1 – Focus on the foods you can add versus those you should limit.
So many diets emphasize restriction, but one of the best ways to achieve balanced eating is focusing on foods you can incorporate into your weight loss meal plan. Instead of thinking about everything you need to stop eating, such as your favorite sweets or snack foods, start brainstorming which nutritious foods you want to eat.
Interested in trying Brussels sprouts? Find a good recipe and enjoy the experimentation. Want to eat more beans? Experiment with dips, soups, and even baked goods. You may find that when you approach meal planning from a place of addition, rather than subtraction, you might not even miss the foods you’re limiting.
2 – Avoid distractions while eating.
In this fast-paced world full of distractions, it’s difficult to eat without something else grabbing your attention. However, practicing mindful eating and focusing only on your meal when you sit down to eat can be helpful for weight loss. Without distractions, you will be better able to identify when you are full and savor your food. In fact, research shows that attentive eating may help with weight loss and maintenance without having to count calories.
If you’re eating lunch during a busy work day, try to step away from your desk for 10 minutes and have your meal in a different location. For meals at home, skip the TV and phone scrolling. You can even leave your phone in another room or turn off notifications while you eat so you’re not tempted to check them.
3 – Eat protein first.
Protein is well-known for its satiating power. It’s very filling and helps your body burn calories. That’s why having protein at every meal can be helpful if you’re trying to lose weight. Even better, try to eat your protein source first.
When you dig into a protein-rich food at the start of a meal, you may not eat as much as you would if you started with a food that’s not as filling. In addition to having this effect, eating protein (and non-starchy vegetables) before carbohydrates has been shown to decrease post-meal blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
4 – Drink enough water.
A tall glass of water isn’t just the optimal beverage choice after a workout or on a hot summer day. It’s important to drink enough water every day, especially if weight loss is your goal. When you’re adequately hydrated, you’re less likely to confuse thirst with hunger and overeat. Water also plays a role in digestion, helps fiber mover through your body, and may even improve metabolism.
Aim to drink at least eight cups of water per day. Keep a reusable water bottle on hand and refill it often. If you don’t enjoy plain water, add a splash of juice, frozen fruit, or fresh herbs to make it more flavorful. Fruits and vegetables, especially lettuce, watermelon, and tomatoes, also provide water.
5 – Avoid heavily processed foods.
Heavily processed foods, also known as ultra-processed foods or UPFs, are linked to poor health outcomes. Examples of these foods include chips, sodas and energy drinks, candy, ice creams, hot dogs, and sugary cereals. On the other hand, whole, mostly unprocessed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats, can provide benefits and should be the mainstay of a weight loss diet.
If you eat a lot of heavily processed foods, it may seem overwhelming to cut them all out of your diet. To get started, choose just one item and replace it with a healthier swap. For example, you can enjoy a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with fresh fruit and some sliced almonds instead of sugary cereal. If you need help improving your diet, consider a diet meal delivery or meal prep service.
6 – Create barriers between you and trigger foods.
Eating unhealthy foods simply because they’re in the house is a common conundrum. If you recently had some leftover Halloween candy, then you might have experienced this situation! Common trigger foods, or foods that lead you to overindulge, include candy, ice cream, cookies, chips, and other snack foods and sweets.
Creating barriers that make it more difficult to eat these trigger foods in the first place can be helpful when trying to lose weight. First, try not to have these foods in the house unless they are for a special occasion during which you know they will get eaten. If you’re craving a particular food and want to satisfy that craving, keep portion size in mind. Go out and purchase a single portion to enjoy at home. For foods such as ice cream, you can get a scoop to eat at an ice cream shop instead of buying a carton to take home. Enjoy your treat, then move on.
7 – Move, move, move!
What you eat has a big impact on your weight, but don’t forget about exercise. Increasing physical activity can help you get lean without getting caught up in counting calories. Just remember that combining exercise with healthy eating is typically more effective than increasing activity alone.
To increase movement, try to fit in exercise wherever you can. Even if you can only incorporate a 10-minute walk over your lunch break, any little bit can make a difference. Take the stairs, park further away from your destination, and take meetings while you walk.
8 – Skip the booze.
Cutting back on alcohol (or even completely avoiding it) can really help with weight loss and maintenance. It’s easy to get caught up in reducing calorie consumption and overlook alcohol, but getting rid of booze can be just as helpful when trying to slim down.
If you have an alcoholic beverage every day or a few times a week, start by cutting out one day of drinking or limit yourself to one drink a day. If you want a second drink, try a mocktail or flavored seltzer water for something bubbly. Eventually, work your way up to having a drink only once a week or month or completely swapping in non-alcoholic beverages.
9 – Cut back on takeout.
Restaurant meals are often high in calories and packed with unhealthy fats and sodium. Cooking more meals with fresh, nutritious foods instead of relying on takeout can help you lose weight without even thinking about calories.
Take some time each week to browse healthy recipes online and decide on something new to make, even if it’s just one meal a week. When you do order takeout, choose meals that have lots of vegetables, a lean protein, and whole grains instead of refined carbohydrates if available. If you want some help with eating healthy meals at home, try one of our meal plans!
10 – Change how you think about snacks.
Having a snack between meals isn’t necessarily harmful to weight loss efforts, but it depends on what you eat. Many people equate snacks with chips, cookies, or candy bars. However, snack time can be an opportunity to eat nutritious foods.
If you swap your afternoon Snickers bar for carrots and hummus, you’re taking a step in the right direction in your weight loss journey. Aim to choose snacks that contain a food with protein and something with fiber. Some examples include hard boiled eggs and carrots or an apple, plain Greek yogurt with berries, or raw nuts and dried apricots.
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