Limiting Calories by Just 300 a Day Can Lead to Big Health Benefits: Study

If you’re looking to lose weight, you probably know many people start by restricting calorie consumption.

But cutting the number of daily calories you consume by a huge amount can be a daunting task.

A new study from the National Institutes of Health found that restricting caloric intake — no matter what you eat — by just 300 a day can lead to major health benefits.

The study, which was recently published in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, followed 143 men and women between the ages 21 to 50 who were instructed to limit their caloric intake for two years. They could eat whatever they wanted (just less of it), with the aim of reducing their calories by 25%.

Interestingly, many of the men and women didn’t reach that goal, slashing calories by an average of just 12% — or about 300 calories a day. (That’s pretty much a large bagel or a couple cookies.)

Yet even then, the group saw major benefits to their metabolic and cardiovascular health.

They also lost weight and body fat, had lower cholesterol and blood pressure and had more stable blood pressure levels.

That’s quite a lot of health benefits considering how little you would have to give up to achieve them. It’s essentially only giving up that after-dinner snack or simply trading in that morning frappiciuno for a cup of coffee.

When you think about it like that, it’s not so daunting. Achieving your goal weight isn’t about jumping into the pool head-first. It’s about dipping your toe into the water and taking it step-by-step.

Making small changes leads to long-term healthy habits because it’s doable, something you can commit to without feeling deprived or overwhelmed.

It’s also something you can achieve with a Diet-to-Go meal plan.

You can take our free diet analysis to figure out the perfect plan to help meet your goals.

From there, choose from one of our four menus — Balance, Balance-Diabetes, Keto-Carb30 or Vegetarian. Once you do, you can choose whether you pick up your meals from one of our health club partners (only available in select cities), or get the meals conveniently delivered right to your door.

Our goal is simple: Healthy eating made easy.

Our team of health experts will be with you all along the way.

Check out our menus and get started here.  
 

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Author: Caitlin H
Diet-to-Go Community Manager

Caitlin is the Diet-to-Go community manager and an avid runner. She is passionate about engaging with others online and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. She believes moderation is key, and people will have the most weight loss success if they engage in common-sense healthy eating and fitness.