Individuals attempting to shed pounds frequently limit the quantity of calories they consume.
Cutting calories too dramatically can cause various health difficulties, such as a decrease in fertility and weaker bones.
This piece of writing outlines five potential risks associated with reducing calorie intake and offers guidance for finding the optimal amount of calories to cut.
Your Calorie Needs, Explained
A calorie is described as the quantity of heat energy required to elevate the temperature of one gram of water by 1°C (1.8°F).
Nonetheless, it is more common to think of calories as the unit of measure to determine how much energy your body can gain from the things you eat and drink.
Your body requires calories to function and uses them to sustain three main processes:
- Basal metabolic rate (BMR): This refers to the number of calories needed to cover your basic functions, including the proper functioning of your brain, kidneys, heart, lungs and nervous system.
- Digestion: Your body uses a certain number of calories to digest and metabolize the foods you eat. This is also known as the thermic effect of food (TEF).
- Physical activity: This refers to the number of calories needed to fuel your everyday tasks and workouts.
Generally, consuming more calories than your body requires will likely lead to an increase in weight, usually in the form of fat. Consuming fewer calories than your body needs will result in weight loss.
This idea of having an appropriate caloric intake, which is backed up by extensive research, is why people who are attempting to drop pounds usually try to cut back on their calorie intake.
What Are 4 Ways You Can Lose Weight by Cutting Calories?
Add Foods With Lots of Water and Fiber
Wondering how to manage your weight without being hungry? Include foods that are rich in water and fiber in your diet to promote NASH nutrition.
Eating fewer calories doesn’t necessarily mean eating less food. In order to reduce your caloric intake without sacrificing your feeling of fullness, you should substitute higher-calorie edibles with items that have fewer calories and still satisfy your hunger. Generally, these foods have a high water content and are packed with fiber.
Work towards shedding pounds gradually by reducing the amount of calories you consume while still getting all the necessary nutrients and doing more exercise. You can cut calories without eating less nutritious food. The trick is to consume foods that will make you feel satisfied without taking in a lot of calories.
In order to reduce your calorie consumption without feeling deprived of food or famished, you should substitute some of the higher calorie dishes with dishes that are lower in calories and fat, but still satisfying. Generally, this implies foods that are high in water and fiber content.
Drink Low-Calorie Beverages
Many people attempt to lessen their calorie consumption by focusing on what they eat, yet another approach to trimming calories could be to alter the beverages they drink. You may realize that you are drinking a lot of calories on a daily basis. Investigate Healthy Beverages for NASH Nutrition to discover how you can select better drinks to lower your calorie consumption.
Use Portion Control
It is possible that the amount of food you are eating is causing you to consume more calories than you are aware of. Studies have demonstrated that individuals tend to consume more calories than they mean to when presented with larger portions. This could signify consuming too many calories, particularly when ingesting food that is high in calories.
Eat Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are significant in your strategy for controlling your weight. Check out these guidelines to reduce your calorie intake by exchanging fruits and vegetables. By following these useful guidelines, you will be able to incorporate a greater variety of fruits and vegetables into your diet plan for treating NASH.
What Are 6 Methods of Portion Control?
Below are some suggestions to help you stay away from the most frequent mistakes concerning portion size. Portion control when eating out. A lot of eateries provide more food than what is necessary for a single person at one sitting. Divide an entrée between yourself and a companion in order to manage the quantity of food you consume. Request the server for a container to take away and package up half your food when it’s served.
Portion control when eating in. Instead of placing the meal’s servings on the table, put them on individual plates to reduce the urge for extra servings when eating at home. Storing the extra food away from easy access may prevent people from eating too much.
Portion control in front of the TV. When watching television, portion out the snack you plan to have into a dish or box instead of eating directly from the packet. Distraction can lead to excessive eating.
Eat healthy snacks. It might be a good idea to abandon the advice we received when we were young that we shouldn’t eat snacks before a meal or else it would “ruin our dinner.” If you are feeling peckish between meals, have a nutritious snack such as a piece of fruit or small salad to prevent yourself from eating too much during your subsequent meal.
Be aware of large packages. There appears to be an unconscious tendency for people to consume more from larger packages without being aware of it. To minimize this effect:
- Divide up the contents of one large package into several smaller containers to help avoid over-consumption.
- Don’t eat straight from the package. Instead, serve the food in a small bowl or container.
Make unhealthy choices harder to find. Individuals often eat more when food is readily available to them. Make your home a “portion friendly zone.”
- Replace the candy dish with a fruit bowl.
- Store especially tempting foods, like cookies, chips, or ice cream, out of immediate eyesight, like on a high shelf or at the back of the freezer. Move the healthier food to the front at eye level.
- When buying in bulk, store the excess in a place that’s not convenient to get to, such as a high cabinet or at the back of the pantry.
How Can You Use Fruits and Vegetables to Help Manage Your Weight?
A secure and healthy route to either reduce or preserve your weight is to incorporate more fruits and vegetables with whole grains, lean meats, nuts, and legumes into your diet. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables may aid in preventing certain kinds of cancer and long-term illnesses. Fruits and vegetables are packed with vital vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other essential elements that are essential for one’s wellbeing.
Why Should You Eat Fewer Calories Than Your Body Uses to Lose Weight?
This does not necessarily imply that you have to consume fewer meals. You can make healthier versions of your favorite foods by replacing high-calorie ingredients with fruits and vegetables that are low in calories. Fruits and vegetables that contain water and fiber will make your meals more substantial, allowing you to consume the same amount of food with a lower calorie count. Most fruits and veggies are usually low in fat and calories, and they will make you feel full.
Here are four additional strategies for including fruits and vegetables in your weight control regimen.
- Eat fruits and vegetables the way nature provided—or with fat-free or low-fat cooking techniques.
Cook your vegetables by steaming them, and season with low-calorie or low-fat sauces and seasonings. Use herbs and spices to enhance the flavor. Certain approaches to cooking, like coating and deep-frying, or utilizing high-fat condiments or gravies, will significantly raise the caloric and fatty content of the meal. Consume your fruit uncooked to savor its natural sweetness.
- Canned or frozen fruits and vegetables are also good options.
Fruits and veggies that are either frozen or canned can be just as beneficial to your health as those that are fresh. Be aware of selecting options without any extra sugar, syrup, cream sauces, or other calorie-rich elements.
- Choose whole fruit over fruit drinks and juices. Fruit juices have lost fiber from the fruit.
It is advantageous to consume the entire fruit since it contains the additional fibers that aid in giving a feeling of satiety. A medium sized orange has 65 calories, whereas 6 ounces of orange juice contains 85 calories.
- Whole fruit gives you a bigger size snack than the same fruit dried—for the same number of calories.
A quarter cup of raisins is approximately 100 calories. You can consume 1 cup of grapes for an equivalent amount of calories.
5 Ways Restricting Calories Can Be Harmful
1. It Can Lower Your Metabolism
Consuming fewer calories than necessary on a consistent basis can lead to a decrease in metabolism.
Research has demonstrated that following a diet low in calories can lead to a decrease of up to 23% in the amount of calories the body expends.
Moreover, this slower metabolism can remain in place even after the diet that was low in calories is no longer being followed.
It is theorized by scientists that the slower rate of metabolism might be one of the reasons why the large majority of people tend to put the weight back on once they cease their diet that restricts calorie intake.
Calorie-restricted diets can contribute to a decrease in metabolism as a result of the muscle that is lost.
It is especially probable that muscle mass will be reduced if a person follows a diet that is low in calories and protein and does not partake in physical activity. In order to make sure that your metabolism is not negatively impacted by your weight loss plan, make sure that you are never consuming less calories than your body needs to maintain your basal metabolic rate.
You may want to look into upping your protein slightly and incorporating resistance training into your exercise program for additional benefits.
2. It Can Cause Fatigue and Nutrient Deficiencies
Consuming fewer calories than you need on a regular basis can lead to tiredness and make it difficult to get the nutrients you need each day.
An example of this is that diets which limit calorie intake may not give enough of essential substances such as iron, folate, and vitamin B12. This can lead to anemia and extreme fatigue.
The amount of carbohydrates you consume could possibly contribute to feeling tired.
It has been suggested in certain researches that if one consumes a diet that is low in calories and carbohydrates, then they might experience tiredness.
However, other studies find that low-carb diets reduce fatigue. Therefore, this effect may depend on the individual.
Calorie-restricted diets may limit other nutrients too, including:
- Protein: Not eating enough protein-rich foods like meat, fish, dairy, beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds may cause muscle loss, hair thinning and brittle nails.
- Calcium: Not eating enough calcium-rich foods like dairy, leafy greens, calcium-set tofu and fortified milks may reduce bone strength and increase the risk of fractures.
- Biotin and thiamine: A low intake of whole grains, legumes, eggs, dairy, nuts and seeds may limit your intake of these two B vitamins, potentially resulting in muscle weakness, hair loss and scaly skin.
- Vitamin A: Not eating enough vitamin A-rich foods like organ meat, fish, dairy, leafy greens or orange-colored fruits and vegetables may weaken your immune system and lead to permanent eye damage.
- Magnesium: An insufficient intake of magnesium-rich whole grains, nuts and leafy greens may cause fatigue, migraines, muscle cramps and abnormal heart rhythms.
Avoid becoming fatigued and lacking in necessary nutrients by not drastically cutting your calorie intake and consuming a selection of unrefined, minimally processed foods.
3. It May Reduce Fertility
Restricting calories too dramatically can negatively affect fertility. Females are especially affected by this, since the capacity to produce eggs is dependent on hormones.
In order for ovulation to take place, the quantity of estrogen and luteinizing hormone (LH) must be raised.
Studies have revealed that the amount of luteinizing hormone in a female’s body is partially contingent upon the calories she consumes.
Research indicates that women who consume a calorie intake which is 22-42% lower than their required daily intake for maintaining their weight have a decreased capacity for reproduction.
Consuming too few calories has been suggested to lead to a decrease in estrogen levels. This drop in estrogen can potentially cause long-term damage to both the bones and cardiovascular system.
Possible indications of diminished fertility may be irregular periods or a complete absence of them. Although there may be no signs of minor menstrual issues, they could need a more in-depth medical evaluation to be identified.
It is hypothesized that drastically cutting calories may also have adverse effects on male reproductive ability, although there is a shortage of studies to back this up.
4. It Can Weaken Your Bones
Consuming too few calories can weaken your bones.
This is due to the fact that limiting your calorie intake can reduce the amount of estrogen and testosterone in your body. It is believed that a decrease in the amount of these two reproductive hormones leads to a decrease in bone formation and a rise in bone degeneration, resulting in weaker bones.
Furthermore, reducing caloric intake – particularly when combined with physical activity – can heighten levels of stress hormones. This may also lead to bone loss.
Losing bone mass is especially problematic since it is generally permanent and raises the possibility of breaking bones.
5. It May Lower Your Immunity
Reducing caloric intake can lead to a heightened chance of catching illnesses and infections.
It seems to be especially applicable to ailments such as the common cold when an individual is engaging in a lot of exercise.
For example, one study examined the difference between athletes in sports that emphasize thinness, like boxing, gymnastics, and diving, and athletes in sports that are not as concerned with body weight.
The scientists declared that athletes in sports that necessitated slimness tried more often to slim down and were nearly double as likely to have been ill in the past three months.
In an additional examination, taekwondo players who were eating less to trim down their body weight in the seven days prior to a competition had their immunity weakened and a heightened danger of getting sick.
The implications of reduced caloric intake on non-active people are not fully understood, and further research is needed before definitive statements can be made.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to successful weight loss over an extended period of time, having patience is essential. Avoid following any diet plans that involve drastically reducing your caloric intake.
Choose a diet plan that emphasizes good nutrition and encourages you to make lasting changes to your lifestyle.