Experts Share Their Best Tips On How to Cut Calories and Lose Weight

It can be so hard to cut calories and lose weight, especially if you are working really hard at it. If you don't see results, it can be quite discouraging. Cutting calories or watching your calorie intake is pretty essential in order to lose weight.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and are overweight, your doctor has probably already advised you to lose the extra weight for your diabetes management to be effective. Losing weight as a person with diabetes can benefit you in more than one ways. However, there is no magic pill or a simple mathematical formula which can aid you in your journey of cutting calories and losing weight. There are so many blogs, articles, magazines, coaches, diets, you name it, in today's time that are promising you weight loss. They make it sound like it will happen overnight. You must remember that it doesn't! Learning to cut calories is a habit you must learn if you already haven't.

Losing weight is a challenge if you haven't been taught how to or have never found it necessary to do it before. So where do you start? We believe that cutting calories and losing weight is not a fad, but a lifestyle. You can't expect to lose weight overnight. If you are going to do it, you might as well do it for the long haul! Experts in this post are sharing simple, lifelong effective hacks and tips on how you can do just that without having to change your life upside down or pay someone hundreds of dollars to help you reach your goals.

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1. Kelly Toups, MLA, RD, LDN

Whether or not you are managing diabetes, a healthy diet abundant in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, pulses, nuts, and seeds is a wise choice for eaters of all ages. To get the biggest nutritional bang for your buck, and avoid overindulging, aim to fill at least half of your plate with vegetables, like bell peppers, zucchini, kale, or spinach. Vegetables are less energy dense than other food groups, meaning they have fewer calories for a larger volume of food. Plus, they are a delicious way to sneak in additional nutrients.

2. Stephanie O'Dea

One of the best ways to take charge of your health, is to begin cooking from home, from scratch.
When our family got hit with the news that because of an ongoing health issue, I'd need to cook all of our nightly meals from scratch, I initially panicked.

I am not a very good traditional cook. I often get side-tracked in the kitchen and wander away from the stove and the oven when it's in use resulting in overcooked or burnt offerings.

And this is why I am deeply in love with my slow cooker(s). I truly believe there is no easier way to cook than to plop everything into this marvelous machine, press a button, and walk away.

I have spent the past 8 years cooking primarily with my crockpot slow cookers and as a result now have thousands of recipes that are user-friendly and family-approved. I have written 4 cookbooks, sell slow cooker meal plans on my site, and run a robust email list with daily recipes.

I promise that you, too, can take charge of your health and cook from scratch, easily and somewhat effortlessly.

3. Arlene Mobley- Food & Lifestyle Blogger

One of the most important cooking tips or hacks I can share to cut calories that will help you lose weight is to plan your meals ahead by meal planning.

Meal planning is one of the easiest ways to prevent yourself from eating high calorie and high carb foods.

When you plan your meals, you have all the ingredients for healthy meals at home ready to prepare for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Having healthy, low calorie meal and snack choices on hand at home ready to prepare makes it easy to follow your diet plan.

10 Important Cooking Hacks to Help Cut Calories and Lose Weight

1. Plan your low calorie healthy meals for the week.
2. Shop once a week to avoid impulse buys.
3. Make a list before going grocery shopping and only buy the items on your list.
4. Pay close attention to the ingredients you are buying.
5. Use fresh ingredients whenever possible.
6. Read the labels when buying boxed or processed food.
7. Avoid process and boxed food items as much as possible.
8. Stock up on healthy low calorie snacks.
9. Do not go shopping when you're hungry.
10. Get rid of unhealthy foods that are in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer to avoid temptation when you're hungry, busy, stressed or snacking.

4. Maggie Zhu

Here are some great tips:

• The most important: eat less. When I started to count calories, I finally realized how much food I've been eating all day long, including snacks between the meals.
  A good starting place to cut calories is: Start using a smaller plate at home, and take half of the food home if dining in a restaurant.
• Replace any refined carbs with whole grain, or even better, beans. A small portion lasts you longer without feeling hungry, and they are more nutritious. My favorite things include black bean curry, or canned beans seasoned with salsa.
• Plan your meals ahead. When you have pre-cooked food or easy to access healthy snack in the pantry, you're less likely to pick up the phone and order delivery pizza.
• Use many fresh herbs in cooking, so your food will be very flavorful if you just cook with a bit olive oil. I find Asian stir fry is a great way to consume more vegetables without adding too much calories.
• Learn to read nutrition label. You'd be surprised to find how much calories you consume in a sit. On the other hand, you'll also discover many "smart food" that you enjoy eating and contains less calories.
• Cut as much sweet treats as possible, from drink to dessert. If you have to eat something sweet, try healthier things like dark chocolate and nonfat yogurt fruit cup.
• Maybe do some mild exercise but do not use it as an excuse to eat more. Most short workout burns very little calories, and that Sneaker bar at the end of the workout will very likely contain more calories than you just burned.

5. Madhuram Prabhakar

Baking being my specialty, I usually look for ways to make it healthier by incorporating more whole grains/flours instead of all-purpose flour, cut down the quantity of fat content in a recipe by substituting unsweetened applesauce for vegetable oil/butter, to mention a few. Also because I bake egg free, my recipes naturally don't have the fat from eggs. I substitute the eggs in a baking recipe with flaxseed meal, silken tofu, commercially available egg replacer like Ener-G, pureed fruit or low-fat yogurt/buttermilk depending upon the type of the recipe, all of which are low in fat and which in turn makes the baked goods low in calories too.

6. William Alexander

Half-hour foolproof vegetable soup recipe: Cut up and simmer any fresh vegetable, in portion normally sold (bunch leeks, 1 squash, bunch asparagus, celery, cauliflower, etc.) with a quart of low-salt chicken broth and 1 large, cut-up potato and 1 onion till soft. Puree with stick blender. Optionally stir in ¼ low-fat milk and serve.

Five creamy vegetable soups, one recipe, one-half hour: Cut up and simmer any fresh vegetable in season, in the portion it's normally sold (bunch leeks, one squash, bunch asparagus or celery, a head of cauliflower) with a quart of low-salt chicken broth and 1 large, cut-up potato and 1 onion till soft. Puree with stick blender. Seaon and optionally stir in ¼ cup low-fat milk and serve.

7. Dr. Dan Mikesell, DO FCAOP

I was asked to say a few words some about cooking tips to cut calories hopefully loose a little weight while we are at it. I think I will offer up three cooking tips and some serving tips to help you decrease calorie intake.

My first cooking tip is most bake goods will be just fine with less sugar. Yes, recipes are not rules but guidelines. There are exceptions, but most will be just fine if you decrease the sugar by 25%. While we are on baking, you can substitute unsweetened apple sauce for half the oil or butter in many recipes.

Cook in non-stick cookware and use cooking spray when needed but remember it is oil and water. The can says zero calories and fat since they define a “serving” as ⅓ second spray which less than 0.5 gram of fat and less than 5 calories. So the FDA says that counts as zero for the nutrition label. But a one second spray is about 1 gram of fat which is 9 calories. A small about but don't assume it is zero.

Most fried foods can be cook at home with oven based recipes that are much healthier and less mess also.

We all know weight lose is mainly about calories in and calories out. And it is a lot easier to not eat the cookie than to exercise off that un-needed 250 calories.

Now for the serving tips to make your resistance to calorie intake a little easier. Drink a full glass of water immediately prior to any meal or snack. Let's fill up a little with water. Use smaller plates, make up your plate away from the area where you eat and put those containers away. The only serving dishes allowed on the table will be for fruits and vegetables. And lastly, when you feel adequately full, STOP EATING. Better those calories go to “waste” down the garbage disposal than on you.

8. Rachael

One of my best tips when it comes to losing weight and cooking is to plan ahead. Prepping meals in advance means fewer slip ups. Making some healthy substitutions that do not impact flavor is also really nice. And of course, drink plenty of water. One of my favorite cooking hacks for cutting down on calories is using herbs and spices instead of oils and fats to flavor my foods!

9. Matthew Benson-Smith MCGB

Here is what we recommend:

• We are supporters of natural foods. Avoiding processed ingredients as much as possible.
• We recommend avoiding sugar and using coconut sugar or local honey if necessary.
• We infuse water with fruits and herbs giving drinks great flavour combinations such as mint/cucumber and strawberry.
• Limiting the addition of fats when cooking but not using processed margarines.
• Smoothies with Oats, nuts and natural yoghurt, using brown rice, whole meal flour and pasta.
• The key to a diet is to look long term and make it a future way of life.

10. Alison Gutwaks

My tips:

• Put your oils in spray containers and if you need to sautee something or roast a veggie, spray it as opposed to accidentaly pouring on more then you would need.
• Eat plain yogurt and add in unsweetened toppings such as toasted nuts, fruits (have natural sweetness), etc. I love Fage yogurt.
• Eat lots of veggies. I like to make a rice bowl and put in a ½ cup rice, ½ cup meat or chicken or fish or tofu or beans and fill the rest, about 1 cup with sauteed veggies. Top with sesame oil, sesame seeds and soy sauce (hot sauce if you like spicy)
• Snacks are all about hummus or Tahini with cup up veggies. Cut up veggies at the beginning of the week so they are ready to eat when you have snack attack.

11. Jane Butel

I think a no-nonsense approach to health and cooking is the very best.

First, for healthy cooking--use fresh ingredients and cook "from scratch"--avoiding unnecessary food additives and flavor enhancers. Use fresh garlic, fresh onion and the freshest herbs and spices. Fresh garlic and onion have a far fresher flavor then the powdered or dehydrated varieties. With herbs, if fresh are not easily available, use the dried varieties, rubbing them between your palms to release the best flavor. Keep green herbs such as basil, tarragon or dill weed in the refrigerator or freezer to maintain the freshest possible flavors. Ditto for chiles, such as the pure powdered red chiles and paprika. The brighter the color, the greater the nutrition.

When cooking--use olive, vegetable or other good oil sparingly...heating the seasoned pan to hot before sauteing. For boiling fruits and vegetables, bring the water to a boil before adding them to preserve the most nutrients. Or, cook them in a covered container or covered with waxed paper in the microwave.

Try to eat 10 fruits and vegetables a day, whole grains and small portions of meats and sugars.

To assist in weight loss and gain the best possible health, eat at least a half teaspoon of the hottest chile you can endure at least 20 days out of 30. Chiles aid digestion, speed up your endorphins to assist in weight loss, heal ulcers and kill the mytocardia of virus cells including cancer. They also work as draino in your vascular system.

Remember--if you are over-weight, it took a while to get there and be patient about loosing it. Work on cutting back on the portions you eat-- with a goal, perhaps, of cutting back by half. Promises for rapid weight loss almost always do not continue to work after you go back to your normal routine.

12. Jim Meehan

This may seem counter intuitive coming from someone who operates bars and restaurants for a living, but one of the best ways to cut calories and lose weight is to cook your own food and cut down on the number of drinks you have each night. In pursuit of serving delicious food, chefs use oil, butter and salt to ratchet up flavor. When you cook at home, you control these elements and can use them more judiciously. As for the pairing, a cocktail before dinner and a glass of wine or beer during it is recommended, but after a couple cocktails, most of us tend to lower our shields a little, reducing our inhibition to having a little more food than we should or another drink. I find that it's easier to stick to my diet when I drink moderately, so make those dining experiences at restaurants and cocktails count!

13. Gail Dickinson

I try to minimize sugar in a lot of my desserts. Here are some tips for reducing sugar but keeping taste

1. Using high quality chocolate really helps. High quality chocolate has more cocoa in it and so has a more intense flavor than cheaper versions. I often use 70% cocoa dark chocolate to reduce sugar without sacrificing taste. Dark chocolate pairs really well with fruit and wine so you can use the sweetness in the fruit to offset the less sweet chocolate.
2. Make your own whipped cream. Store bought whipped cream is very sweet. Often it is more sweet than you need for a topping. Whipping cream doubles in volume when you make whipped cream so use half of what you want to end up with (½ cup whipping cream makes 1 cup whipped cream) and then add just enough sugar to get the sweetness you want. If you're not serving it right away (or it will be served where it's hot) add a little unflavored gelatin to stabilize the whipped cream. ¼ teaspoon unflavored gelatin dissolved in a tablespoon of water is good for ½ cup of whipping cream. You can also add a little vanilla (or other flavorings like almond or mint) to your whipped cream.
3. When making a recipe, try adding less sugar and tasting until you get the right amount. You can do this with many batters (as long as you're up for tasting raw batter). I often find the amount of sugar in a recipe is more than is needed to give the dessert satisfying sweetness. Sometimes, I'm able to cut the sugar in half.
4. Not all sweeteners bake the same as sugar. If you're in doubt, make ½ the recipe or even ¼ the recipe to see if it works. I do this when I'm experimenting with a new recipe so I don't waste ingredients. As an empty nester, smaller batches of my favorite recipes allow me to indulge without having too much left over.
5. Use fruit in your desserts. Think creatively about how the natural sweetness of fruit might lend itself to your favorite desserts.

14. Chef Charlotte L. S. Galley

How I took off 66 pounds in just a few months, and kept it off for nearly 10 years… so far

Monitor your portion sizes - never eat from the packaging, always from a small plate or bowl. Using luncheon rather than dinner dishes, making portions appear more abundant. Weigh or measure foods once or twice, then periodically, to keep in check.

Keeping pre-washed/cut/cooked produce leaves no room for excuses as they're just as easy to grab as anything else. Melons, cherries, and berries are cool, refreshing, and sweet snacks or desserts. Cauliflower, carrots & celery are great alone and pair well with many dips. Roasted vegetables go in everything: eggs, sandwiches, soups, salads, stir-fry, tikka masala, curries, pasta... be generous with the produce! Here are more of my thoughts on this chefgalley.com/Meal-Planning.

Don't ignore cravings - it's better to eat a little of something you love and find satisfaction, than something that leaves you wanting, and continuously craving and eating more. Pair about half a regular serving of the craved items with equal parts of vegetables or fruit – think ½ Cup pasta with roasted vegetables, ½ Cup cereal with mixed fruit, two squares of a fine chocolate bar with raspberries, or ½ a bagel with hummus & tomato.

Finally, and perhaps the most important for me, pay attention to your eating. Be thoughtful about what you put in your mouth. Taste it, savor it, and think about each bite. Mindless eating always leads to over-eating.

15. George Mavrothalassitis, chef/proprietor, Chef Mavro restaurant Honolulu

"As a substitute thickening agent for butter, cream, flour…for example in a beurre blanc reduction (without butter), or in a béarnaise or bordelaise sauce try this: In a blender, puree vegetables until smooth such as cauliflower, carrots, celery root, sunchoke. You can finish with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.

Eat fish, steamed or baked or poached in vegetable broth. Serve with fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and toasted cumin seeds. Delicious and light.

As a substitute for white rice pilaf, try quinoa (add finely diced vegetables such as onions, celery and carrots).

Instead of rich desserts, try a sliced red apple with walnuts and roasted seeds, and ricotta cheese. Arrange in an attractive way on a cheese board so that you eat more slowly."

16. Kevin Ashton

Although there are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes is often linked to being overweight, so what you eat and drink can make huge difference.

Good shopping habits:

• Eat at home most of the time to control what is in your food.
• Try to buy a smaller amount of food more frequently than a big shop.
• The bigger the shop the more tendency to fill your basket with junk food.
• A smaller shop will cut down your food waste and you can see what you have in your fridge.

Vary your diet:

• Busy lives are no excuse for mistreating your body, especially if you have diabetes.
• Eating well, effects all other parts of your life. Your health, your sleep patterns, your energy levels, your stress levels, even your sex life.
• You may not be able to win the lottery but you can start treating your body as if it is precious because it is.
• Of course if you have type 2 then you probably have a weight problem and no diet will help without exercise. It helps to have a diet and exercise buddy, to keep you motivated and exercising.

Drinks:

Drink water or fruit juice, no fizzy drinks or squash. Water isn't just to quench your thirst but to help wash out the bodies impurities. It also acts to fill you up and help lessen your appetite. When I go to the gym (which I do 3-4 times a week) I drink almost 2 litres of water and never get cramp or muscle ache. I also like a glass of wine with dinner but in moderation.

My own life:

Being a chef ironically meant years of bad eating habits, because you are too busy cooking for everyone else. Yes, you taste things, but often your choice is eating too early (before the dinner rush) or coming home late at night starving hungry and raiding the freezer.

So after health problems I decided to get serious about exercise and have lost 5 stone.

It wasn't a sudden lost of weight but gradual and sustained. Losing weight isn't just about making better eating choices it's about speeding up your metabolic rate to help your body burn the calories you eat. A fast metabolic rate can burn a lot of calories sitting at desk whilst typing this article.

I now eat a balanced diet of fresh foods, meat, fish, vegetables and plenty of fruit.

I allow myself the occasional treat (a bar of good quality chocolate or cookie but not both) because at the end of the day "You are what you eat".

17. EA Stewart, MBA, RD

One of my favorite tips for cutting calories is to focus on making ½ of your diet vegetables and fruit. Not only does this fill you up, without a lot of calories, it also provides a source of fiber and prebiotics to support a healthy gut microbiome. Preliminary human studies have found lean people have a more diverse gut microbiota than people who are overweight, and some researchers think our gut bacteria may help process food, and determine how many calories and nutrients we absorb.

One other simple "hack" I suggest to my clients, is to brush their teeth right after a meal, which allows time for your brain to register that you're full, and helps signal that the meal is over.

18. Jaume Cot

Healthy Pleasures:

As head writer of a publisher dedicated to exalting the work of the best chefs on the planet, especially in pastry, I am forced to pose the following reflection: Does low-calorie mean the same as healthy? My initial response is clear and strong, it cannot be the same.

Because what is gastronomically good, those ingredients that can be considered noble, are not because of their calorie level, they are because of the excellence of their organoleptic qualities and, secondly, because of their healthy effects. In our publisher, we reflect the concerns of our chefs to work with the best vanilla, the best chocolate, or the best cream, but not for making low calorie alternatives to these foods. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to enjoy these foods if they are not in their natural state.

Then what? What alternatives are available to reduce calories in a dessert without giving up the pleasure it provides? The haute cuisine sector has mainly come up with a way: reducing the sweetness and the creamy load to the limit where it is no longer a delicious product.

Curiously, some of these chefs have realized that the result may be more excellent than what they have been doing so far from the gastronomic point of view. Ingredients such as sugar or cream can end up masking the purity of other flavors we are working with - fruits, nuts, chocolate ...

This is the most interesting path that has opened in recent years, reducing sugar and reducing fat – of course, within reason! -, to obtain the purest flavor of fruit, cacao, etc. In this way, the dilemma between the gastronomically good and what is healthy disappears to become the same thing. I especially recommend the work that chefs like Jordi Bordas (http://www.jordibordas.com/), Andrés Morán (https://shawellnessclinic.com/) and Yves Scherrer (Australia) are doing in this sense, although there are many more and this is a phenomenon that is increasing. Pleasure can be healthy!

19. Denise Browning

Diabetes is a disease that affects the body's ability to produce or use insulin, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and high levels of glucose.

There are 2 types: Type 1, managed by synthetic insulin injection; Type 2 (most common), managed by eating healthy, exercising, monitoring one's blood sugar, and taking medication.

Cut Calories/Lose Weight: For the most common type of diabetes, type 2, watching what you ingest is key to losing weight and managing the condition. This includes cutting calories, counting carbohydrates (found in sugar, starch, and fiber), and portion control (a plate containing ½ nonstarchy veggies, ¼ starch or whole grain, and ¼ lean protein).

Hacks: Choosing healthier cooking methods such as baking/roasting, steaming, grilling, sauteeing, stir-frying, boiling, and poaching are preferred over deep-frying, because they use little to no oil to cook the food. By cutting down on the fat, you can reduce calorie intake and achieve better weight control.

Invest in great kitchen hacks such as non-stick pans and bakeware, where the use of oil is minimal or nil, helping to support a healthier cooking style. But that's not all!

There are some excellent hacks to be found in the foods that you choose, too. In addition to fresh foods, consider selecting canned lean meats, fruits and vegetables preserved in water instead of oil or syrup, and low calorie frozen vegetables and grains with no butter or creamy sauces. Plus, individually-packaged nonprocessed foods like yogurt, string cheese, apple slices, baby carrots, and some other fruits and vegetables provide portion control and convenience. You can cook and eat properly without spending a fortune!

Note: Next time you prepare food or put something in your mouth, remember that fear and self-depravation are not your friends -- a healthy lifestyle is!

20. Dre Slaman

One of our favorite weight loss hacks here at Farm to Fit is to replace regular potatoes with vegetables. Parsnips are one of our favorite vegetables to use for this replacement because they are available year-round and easily take on many flavors.

Here is a recipe for our Roasted Garlic Mashed Parsnips. Enjoy!

Mashed Parsnips: Yields 1.13 (10, 4 oz portions)
907g Parsnips, peeled and rough chopped
1k Vegetable or Chicken Stock
57g Butter, room temperature
150g Skim Milk
75g Reserved Parsnip Stock
5g Salt (we prefer sea salt or kosher salt)
2g Black Pepper, ground (freshly ground is best)
5g + Roasted Garlic, mashed [recipe below] or 3g granulated garlic
*True Yield______________________________

Place chopped yams in cold stock and bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer until fork tender; 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and drain, reserving stock.

Place drained parsnips in bowl and mash lightly with potato masher or slotted spoon. Add butter, milk, parsnip stock, salt, roasted garlic (or granulated garlic) and pepper; stir to combine. If finer mash is desired, all ingredients may be placed in stand mixer after rough mashing and combined with wire whip attachment.

Taste after mashing, adjusting salt, pepper or garlic as your palate dictates

Optional Roasted Garlic--yields 1 head; weight varies
1ea Garlic head, in peel; top ¼" removed
5g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1ea 8" foil sheet
Heat oven to 400f
Rub cut surface of garlic with olive oil.
Wrap garlic in foil, twisting off top to make a packet resembling a dumpling
Place foil packet on middle oven shelf and roast 30-35 minutes; head of garlic should be consistency of ripe peach at end of baking time.
Remove from oven and cool 5-10 minutes; to use, squeeze roasted garlic cloves from head--papery husks will remain after cloves are squeezed out.

Chef's Note: we usually do 12 heads at a time (they're awesome rubbed on toasted bread, mashed and put on grilled chicken, seafood or steak or whisked with Dijon mustard, grape seed oil and fresh herbs into an impromptu salad dressing); after wrapping in foil, place heads in muffin tin, place tin in the oven and bake as instructed.

21. Teffy Perk

Writing a food blog is incredibly fun, but also means I'm constantly surrounded by delicious food and baked goods, which could be super dangerous for my waistline! Sure, everything I cook is healthy, but that doesn't mean they are calorie free and eating a whole batch of healthy brownies does my figure no favors so I follow a few tips and tricks to make sure my waistline isn't ballooning.

• Use healthy fats to cook! Say goodbye to highly refined and easily oxidized fats such as soybean and vegetable oils, and embrace grass-fed butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, and ghee.
• Cut down on some flour and sugar in baked goods by adding in grated veggies such as zucchini, carrot, sweet potatoes, beetroot, and even parsnip.
• Use nutritious ingredients in baking. Focus on getting your calories from foods that give back to your body such as nut flours, avocado, yogurt or coconut yogurt, and so on.
• Keep processed sugar to a minimum or not at all. It raises insulin and puts fat loss on hold! Stevia and erythritol and good substitutes that won't spike your blood sugars and have near zero calories.

Conclusion:

Trying to lose weight is not just a physical journey but a very emotional one as well. You cannot be hard on yourself. Take it one day at a time.

Do not make any drastic changes or pick up an extreme diet right away. Give your body the time to get used to the changes you are making. If you take your time to make small changes, your body is going to thank you for it in the long run. If you do anything drastic, you may end up where you began.

It is not about skipping a meal, but about picking up an apple over a chocolate brownie. It is not about cutting sugar off  from you life forever, it is about having a cheat meal once week. The tips our experts have shared are tips which aid in making lifestyle changes for the long run. It starts from the first small change and then you can slowly make bigger decisions as you get your body to settle to the routine. We hope the tips are valuable to your journey.

Please do not hesitate to comment in the comment section below, share your thoughts with us and show this article to anyone who might find it useful.

TheDiabetesCouncil Article | Reviewed by Dr. Sergii Vasyliuk MD on May 20, 2020