One simple dietary adjustment can have a powerful effect on both your heart health and excess weight.
Cardiologists say it’s fairly easy to do and doesn’t require GLP-1 weight-loss drugs or any other medication.
It might even boost longevity.
Cardiologist Tip of the Day: Cut 300 Calories a Day from Your Diet
This modest calorie reduction may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes even in healthy people who aren’t obese, researchers reported in a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Over the course of two years, it also led people to lose an average of 16 pounds, most of which was fat, the trial found.
Cutting 300 calories a day “is very doable,” Dr. William E. Kraus, the lead author, and a cardiologist and professor at the Duke University School of Medicine, previously told TODAY.com.
For context, 300 calories is the equivalent of one small bag of potato chips, two chocolate chip cookies or one slice of pizza.
Why It Matters
Compared to people who made no changes to their diet, the study participants who ate 300 fewer calories per day “substantially” reduced their waist size and blood pressure.
They also reduced their LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while improving measures of inflammation.
“It’s not all just due to the weight [change],” Kraus said. “There is something else about restricting calories that seems to have benefits on cardiometabolic factors that we don’t really understand.”
How to Get Started
The first step is to stop eating anything after dinner, Kraus tells his patients. Don’t reach for snacks and sugary drinks while watching TV at night. Just stay away from food after the last meal of the day.
“That will usually take care of the problem,” the cardiologist said.
“People come to my clinic and tell me they have a bowl of ice cream before they go to bed, and I just have a fit because those calories are not going to be used — they’re going to be stored — and it’s excess caloric intake they don’t need.”
Nighttime snacking can sneak in hundreds of extra calories, warned registered dietitian Natalie Rizzo, nutrition editor for TODAY.com. At the same time, late-night snackers often aren’t hungry but eat just because they’re bored or tired, she added.
Also, look for a non-essential component of your diet you can easily skip. It’s usually a piece of bread, which has 100 calories, Kraus said.
Become familiar with what 300 calories look like so you’ll instinctively know what to eat and what to skip, especially when it comes to ultraprocessed food.
Download the Start TODAY app for healthy meal plans that are tasty and nutritious while keeping calories in check.
TODAY’s Expert Tip of the Day series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.