Caloric Deficit: What to Know
Diet Change
There’s no single best approach to cutting calories. In general, as long as you cut the calories and maintain a minimum amount, you will lose weight.
One proven method is to replace all sugar-sweetened beverages with water. This simple change can lead to a 2% loss of body weight over 6 months.
The DASH and Mediterranean diets also show some success. These focus on eating:
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Lean proteins
- Whole grains
- Nuts
- Seeds
Just be sure to watch your calories. Smaller portions can help, too, along with careful planning of your meals.
A registered dietitian can help you figure out healthy ways to manage your portions and lower your daily calories.
Exercise
Research shows that diet changes alone raise your calorie deficit more easily than exercise alone. Still, you often get the best weight loss results if you combine diet changes with moderate to hard exercise.
Shoot for 30 minutes or more on most days of the week, though 45 minutes or more may be better for keeping the weight off. You don’t have to do it all at once. You can do shorter, 10-minute spurts throughout the day. Take a walk around the block or do a bit of gardening in the afternoon.
Be sure to talk to your doctor before you start hard exercise, particularly if you’re overweight or have other health conditions.
And remember: Regular exercise goes a long way in protecting your health even if you don’t lose weight. It stops your body from packing on the pounds. And if you have lost weight, it helps you maintain.
Other Help for Cutting Calories
Different approaches work for different people. A therapist may be able to help you change thought patterns about food and exercise. Methods include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Motivational interviewing
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
Smartphone apps can help you watch your food intake and remind you to exercise, among other things.
What Should Your Calorie Deficit Be?
A good rule of thumb for healthy weight loss is a deficit of about 500 calories per day. That should put you on course to lose about 1 pound per week. This is based on a starting point of at least 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for men. It can be unhealthy to take in less than that per day. Talk to your doctor about the minimum calories you need.
Keep in mind that you may not need a calorie deficit at all. You only need it if you want to lose weight for health or other reasons. Always talk to your doctor before you start a weight loss plan, especially if you have other health problems.
Best Clean Eating Grocery List For Beginners (Download PDF)
Clean Eating Grocery List For Beginners
Having a well-planned clean eating grocery list gets you in and out of the store quickly and helps you stick to your clean eating meal plan.
Two of the biggest hurdles to healthy cooking are lack of time and not having healthy ingredients on hand.
Along with our clean eating resource below, our highly popular printable shopping list on Pinterest will help you as you work on your journey to adopting a clean eating lifestyle.
Healthy Living Starts Here
Benefits
- Weight loss: lose weight by increasing plant based clean foods
- Consumption of whole foods
- Adopt a healthy diet
- Affordable and budget friendly
- Create weekly or monthly meal plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Perfect for kids, one, two, three or four persons, teens, college students and families
- Simple to follow grocery list template or guide
- Caters to Vegans, Vegetarians, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Paleo or Keto diets
Does Clean Eating Include Sugar
Clean eating is based on whole fresh foods, however some do incorporate packaged foods.
Read labels to make sure there aren’t any preservatives, such as added sugars, or unhealthy fats.
Clean Eating Tips Resources
The clean eating diet consist of fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, proteins, nuts and seeds, whole grains not white bread, refined sugar free, vegan, vegetarian, paleo or gluten free options based on your preference.
- What Is Clean Eating
- How To Eat Clean
- Eat Clean For Beginners
- Meal Prep Clean Eating
- Clean Eating On A Budget
- Clean Eating Breakfast Ideas
- 100 Clean Eating Recipes
- 160 Clean Eating Snacks
- Healthy Substitution Chart For 300 Foods
Scroll down and PRINT a PDF version of our ultimate printable clean eating food list, most importantly place it on your fridge as a constant reminder.
Healthy Grocery List Instructions
Use our clean eating shopping list template to organize your grocery shopping when shopping at the grocery store to stock your fridge, freezer, and pantry with clean eating foods.
Furthermore, you are not required to purchase every item on this clean eating food list, this is simply a guide.
Select foods based on your dietary preference.
Your goal is to purchase whole foods as close as possible to its natural state without chemicals, pesticides, artificial flavours etc.
1. Try to steam, bake, grill or eat foods raw.
2. Fill the majority of your plate with fresh vegetables.
3. Avoid processed sugars and refined food.
4. Drink 1/3 your body weight in lbs of water every day in ounces (oz.).
i.e. 200 lbs x 33% = 66 oz (equivalent to 8 cups)
5. Combine protein with carbs to stay full longer.
6. Do not count calories just watch portion sizes.
While using our grocery shopping list as a guide, which caters to different food groups, please be aware you can easily save healthy recipes, create meal plans in advance and generate shopping lists.
You can create a healthy eating plan, weekly meals with healthy foods.
Remember purchase items made with natural ingredients.
Avoid processed foods as much as possible and make items like ketchup or mustard homemade.
See our list of unprocessed foods below.
Then print our clean eating food list!
Fresh Fruits (nothing canned)
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blackberries
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cherries
Coconut
Figs
Grapefruit
Honeydew
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Mango
Nectarines
Olives
Oranges
Papaya
Peaches
Pears
Pineapples
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tangerines
Watermelon
Fresh Vegetables (not canned)
Alfalfa Sprouts
Arugula
Asparagus
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Cilantro
Collard Greens
Cucumber
Dandelion Greens
Eggplant
Garlic
Ginger
Green Beans
Lettuce
Kale
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Radish
Spinach
Squash
Tomatoes
Turnips
Watercress
Zucchini
Healthy Carbs
Amaranth
Barley
Beans
Black Rice
Brown Rice
Buckwheat
Chickpeas
Corn
Edamame
Kamut
Lentils
Millet
Oats (steel cut)
Peas
Potato
Purple Rice
Sweet Potato
Wild Rice
Yam
100% Whole Grain Products
Dave’s Killer Sprouted Bread
Dave’s Killer 21 Grains Bread
Ezekiel Original Sprouted Bread
Bob Mill Organic Bread Mix
Almond Flour
Coconut Flour
Spelt Flour
Wheat Flour
Oat Flour
Brown Rice Flour
Quinoa Flour
Chickpea Flour
Pasta
Rice
Tortillas
Healthy Fats (for nuts choose raw and unsalted)
Almond Butter
Raw Organic Almonds
Avocado
Raw Almonds
Organic Shredded Coconut
Raw Organic Cheese
Vegan/Keto Milk
Greek Yogurt
Hazelnuts
Macadamia
Organic Natural Peanut Butter
Peanuts
Pecans
Pistachios
Walnuts
Oils
Avocado Oil
Coconut Oil
Flax Oil
Hemp Oil
Macadamia Oil
Olive Oil
Organic Salad Dressings
Home-Made Salad Dressings
Seeds (choose raw and unsalted)
Chia
Flax
Hemp
Pumpkin
Quinoa
Sesame
Sunflower
Protein
Beef (grass-fed)
Bison
Buffalo (grass-fed)
Cheese (organic, grass-fed)
Ghee Butter (grass-fed)
Chicken (grass-fed)
Brown Eggs (grass-fed, organic)
Cod
Duck
Grouper Fish
Halibut
Lobster
Mackerel
Mahi Mahi
Orange Roughy
Pork Chop
Prawns
Red Snapper
Sardines
Salmon (fresh water not farmed raised)
Sea Bass
Shrimp
Swordfish
Tempeh
Tilapia
Tofu
Trout
Tuna
Turkey
Venison
Seasonings
Basil
Cayenne Pepper
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cumin
Curry
Garlic
Garlic Powder (unsalted)
Ginger
Lemon
Lime
Marjoram
Mint
Nutmeg
Onion Powder (unsalted)
Oregano
Parsley
Rosemary
Sea Salt
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme
Turmeric
Vanilla Extract
Apple Cider Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar
Condiments
Low Carb BBQ Sauce
Organic Unsweetened Ketchup
Dairy, Gluten Free Mayo
Organic Mustard
Organic Sour Cream
Natural Sweeteners
Agave Nectar
Cacao Nibs
Coconut Palm Sugar
Freeze Dried Fruit (gluten free, no sugar)
Pure Maple Syrup
Molasses (unsulfured)
Raw Unfiltered Honey
Stevia
Beverage
Almond Milk (unsweetened)
Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
Rice Milk (unsweetened)
Hemp Milk
Coffee (with natural sweetener and milk or just black)
Herbal Tea
Lemon Water (first thing in the morning)
Water (filtered)
Wine (1 glass daily is permitted)
Printable Clean Eating Food List
Print PDF below:
To adopt or maintain your clean eating habits long term, try this amazing method now!
