Reducing calorie intake is one of the most effective ways to lose weight. This process is called a calorie deficit when you consume fewer calories than your body expends. By doing this, the body gets energy from stored fat and burns it, resulting in weight loss.
While many continue to use this method to lose weight, you can experience some health hazards if you’re not careful. Below, we’ll enumerate these and provide tips on healthily reducing calorie intake for weight loss.
The Dangers of Extreme Calorie Restriction
During calorie restriction, you eat less food or exercise more intensely than usual. Obviously, this is the point of this practice. However, you may be tempted to restrict your calories further or push your physical limits to achieve weight loss more quickly.
This is where the health effects of severe caloric restriction come in. Eating too few calories increases the likelihood of developing nutritional deficiency. For instance, you may lose energy if you excessively avoid carbohydrates, leading to fatigue and anemia, harming your health, and disrupting your daily life.
Another consequence of extreme caloric restriction is a weaker immune system. Avoiding certain foods—like meat, which provides protein—can prevent your immune system from working correctly. Proteins are made of amino acids required by T cells, B cells, and antibodies to fight infections. Lacking protein due to extreme calorie restriction can make you more prone to illness.
How to Healthily Reduce Calorie Intake for Weight Loss
Know the healthy amount of calorie reduction for your body
One way to prevent the risks above is to follow a healthy calorie reduction plan for your weight. Calculate your calorie deficit for weight loss by first figuring out your maintenance calories—how many calories you need daily to maintain your weight—by multiplying your weight by 15. If you weigh 200 pounds, you must consume 3000 calories daily to stay there. To lose a pound a week, eat 500 calories less than your maintenance calories.
You can also use calorie deficit calculators online—like the one from the National Institute of Health’s Body Weight Planner—if you don’t want to solve them manually. If you want to know how to keep eating balanced meals while losing weight, you can also use the US Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate Plan to understand how many calories you can consume from each food group within your calorie allowance.
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Consider medical intervention
For individuals struggling with their weight, implementing a calorie-deficit diet might not always be the safest nor most effective answer. Our bodies tend to regulate weight by maintaining an equilibrium between the calories we eat and the ones we burn; when we cut calories and burn through our energy, our appetite will tell us to eat more to compensate for the loss, which brings us back to our original weight.
This is why using GLP-1 for weight loss can help manage our metabolism. GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) regulate insulin, control blood sugar, curb appetite, and signal receptors in the gut to slow stomach emptying. People using GLP-1 agonists will feel less hungry, have fewer thoughts of food, and feel fuller between meals—making GLP-1s a potential alternative to the calorie deficit method—provided your healthcare provider considers you a suitable candidate for these treatments.
Choose consistency over perfection
Now that you know your calorie deficit, you might be tempted to track the exact number of calories you have per meal. While being meticulous isn’t necessarily a bad thing, becoming too obsessed with your calorie intake can be harmful. This can lead you to over-restrict yourself if you see that you’ve consumed too many calories than intended.
Instead, practice consistency over perfection by tracking what you eat most of the week—but not always. This way, you’ll prevent becoming fixated on your calorie intake. One way to practice this is by not counting the calories in your salad dressing or the dips and sauces you use. These are often consumed in small amounts, so you don’t let them haunt your calorie intake. You may find it easier to stick to your weight loss plan if you focus on eating healthier and more nutritious foods while staying close to your goal.
Even if calorie restriction is vital for weight loss, you must do it healthily to avoid risks. As we discussed in our article on achieving dietary harmony, it helps to refer to a balanced plate when adjusting your diet. Nutrient diversity, portion control, and flexibility are critical factors to consider when managing your calorie intake.
