Cutting calories from your diet to create a calorie deficit doesn’t necessarily require drastic changes.

In fact, several strategies can help you reduce your calorie intake to lose weight and maintain it and they don’t even require calorie counting.

Don’t drink your calories

You may be able to eliminate several hundred calories from your diet simply by reducing or eliminating your intake of sugary beverages like soda, fruit juices, and specialty coffee drinks.

Alcoholic beverages can also pack a significant number of calories.

The calories from these beverages don’t provide fullness, and in excess, they can lead to weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes.

Limit highly processed foods

The sugar, fat, and salt in highly processed foods, including sugary beverages, fast foods, desserts, and breakfast cereals, make these high calorie foods highly palatable and encourage excess consumption.

In fact, one study showed that people who were allowed to eat as much or as little as they wanted ate 500 more calories per day on a diet containing highly processed foods, compared with a diet containing minimally proceeded ones.

Minimally proceeded foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and include foods like lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. A diet rich in minimally processed foods will help prevent you from overeating and ensure you get the nutrients your body needs.

If your current diet consists of many highly processed foods, slowly begin to replace those items with minimally processed ones. For example, swap sugary cereals with oatmeal topped with fruit, or swap chips with lightly salted almonds.

Eat primarily home-cooked meals

Preparing and eating your meals at home allows you to control the ingredients and your portion sizes and therefore, your calorie intake.

One study showed that people who cooked dinner at home 6–7 times per week consumed 137 fewer calories per day, on average, than people who cooked dinner at home 0–1 time per week.

Eating home-cooked meals is also associated with better diet quality, an increased intake of fruits and vegetables, lower body fat levels, and reduced risks of heart disease and diabetes.

What’s more, frequently cooking at home can save you money.

Reducing your consumption of sugary beverages, consuming a diet containing mostly minimally processed food, and eating at home can help you reduce your calorie intake.