Calories are very important. We literally consume and use calories all the time. If you are still not yet familiar with calories, you might want to check out my other article about the importance and use of calories.

Given its role in our busy  life, let me give you ten easy ways to increase good calorie intake.

Drink lots of water. This can help you to feel energized and full most of the time. It can help you avoid unnecessary binge eating.There are no calories in water but this helps with metabolism, digestion, and overall fabulousness.

Choose veggies and fruit. These two food groups are low-calorie foods and have tons of nutrients. It means that you can eat more of them, feel fabulously full and have more leeway for other calories. I almost always order veggies with my burger.

Don’t forget your proteins. Proteins in moderation are necessary for building stronger and leaner you. Time and calories needed to burn protein is longer than carbohydrates and fats so you’ll feel full longer and burn more calories digesting protein.

Don’t. Ever. Skip. Meals. This will enable you to have energy throughout the day and promote a healthy metabolism and avoid binge eating junk food.

Nutrients over calories.  Get more bang for your calorie. Choose foods that are higher in nutritional content. Skip that donut and go with the sweet potato at lunch and toss that coke, drink water and save your calories for a tastier acai berry bowl.

Have six small meals spaced out equally during the day. Instead of having three full meals-- breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole day, it is better to have six smaller meals spaced out for the whole day. (Six meals a day is questionable in some literature but all nutritionist brains I’ve picked, have all said the same, that 3 meals and 2 snacks is ideal. It keeps your fuller, avoids binging, and benefits metabolism.

Make your plate colorful. You should always try as much as possible to make your plate colorful in a way that it contains different sort of veggies and fruits. Varied fruits and veggies means that your body will have more varied sources for nutrients and minerals.

Eat slowly. Try to chew your food thoroughly before swallowing it. This can help the body to digest the food faster and extract the nutrients needed. Aside from that, it takes 20 to 30 minutes before the brain can signal the body that you are already full. So eating slowly would require you not to eat too much just to feel full.

Avoid liquid calories. Liquid calories are those drinks such as coffee, wine, beer or alcohol. These high-calorie liquids do not have enough nutrients that can nourish our body. Most of these calories will just be converted to starch and if not used will be transformed into fats.

Be active. Calories are not only consumed. They are also expended by our body. Being active for at least 30 minutes every day can create a huge impact in your weight loss journey and overall maintenance.

Small changes, go a long way. Start tomorrow by saying hi to good calories.

~In Health,

Tyra

tyra@vinofit.com