What Are Some Of Your Calorie Cutting Tricks?

traceywoody

No trick .... PORTION SIZE

This!

Galatea_Stone

My favorite trick is to get out my food scale and measure the food I want to the gram weight of the portion of the item. Sometimes I say "abracadabra" when I do it.

Siigh_duck

cayenne pepper and mustard! low calorie and lots of flavor

Omg same! herbs and spices everywhere!
Drinking hot tea with each meal helps me feel full too for some reason xD

FoxyLifter

no cheese, bread, peanut butter, butter, salad dressing, dessert, alcohol

That sounds so sad! Portion control is a great thing and can be learned.

To the OP: My calorie cutting trick? I only eat foods I find tasty. I am a food snob. I think of my calories as a budget. If something is high on calories, but only tastes "okay", then I turn it down and go for something I enjoy more... and usually for less calories. I spend my calories wisely. Once my macro and micro minimums are met, look out because I've got some treats!

tsikkz

Chewing gum and non-nicotine e-cigarettes in candy flavours

bcanderson123456

Not a trick but learning how to tweak recipes so you still eat good food that has less calories is the "trick". check out www.ahl4u.com/cooking.html to see what tweaking can do to reduce calories.

apparations

I've found that buying pre-portioned food really, really helps. Also, separating items into 1 portion each in the fridge or pantry, to help with not eating directly out of the container (ie. nuts).

2BeHappy2

Popsicle Sugar Free Fudgsicles are 40 calories and they seriously don't have that after taste like some things do (my husband whos kind of picky loves them...lucky him, he doesn't have to watch his calories)!
The multi colored Popsicles are *ok* but we can definitely taste the "sugar free" in them :ohwell:

SunofaBeach14

If I told you then it wouldn't be my trick, but I'll give you a hint, you've probably heard of the website for counting something called kaloreez

michelleepotter

Adding "more" to my diet: more water, more fruit, more vegetables. I would add more protein, but apparently I already eat a lot. Doing this sort of crowds out the things I want to eat less of, without feeling deprived.

Also, when I go out to eat, I eat half my meal and take the other half home for lunch the next day. That helps control portion size, but I *feel* like I'm getting more because I get to eat it twice.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I pre-log everything.

I weigh out my portions in grams.

I learned to cook-- specifically learn which things can be reduced, omitted or swapped out in recipes without altering the flavor and which things can't.

I spend most of my calories on foods that will promote satiety and fulfill my fat/protein goals. I spend the rest on foods that promote mental health.

Derp_Diggler

no cheese, bread, peanut butter, butter, salad dressing, dessert, alcohol

Oh, you're doing the P.O.W. diet. Does it come with daily beatings too?

Swiftlet66

Portion sizes!! Like using smaller bowls and plates. I also carry a tiny bento lunch box to work that can only be filled up to about 600 calories of food, depending on what I put in it. I also log a recipe into MFP before cooking something and alter it to fit my calorie/macro needs.

ReaganP13

I make every meal huge by adding veggies to it.

I use 0% Plain greek the way you'd use sour cream.

Switched from sugar to Stevia.

I always drank a ton of water and was never a soda person, but I did like fruit juice, and no longer drink it (unless its a little and fits in).

I gave up booze. (For now. Let's see how long it lasts.... I hope long, but I have issues with booze, so that's a whole other thing for me)

Switched from regular crackers to rice crackers. The calorie difference is pretty massive. The wasabi flavored ones are my favorite.... amazing.

Creamy dressing are out - balsamic vinegar and spices are in.

I've been slicing up banana, putting it in a ziplock bag, tossing in a little bit of hot cocoa powder, shaking the crap out of it, and then freezing it. The result is a delicious banana chocolaty mess.

krawhitham

I personally have been feeling more and more comfortable with only eating 2 times a day.

If I tell myself, in my mind, that I don't need to eat and I assess why I get urges like "I want to eat SOMETHING now" when I logically know I don't require sustenance, I can usually talk myself out of it.

I find the more times a day I eat, the more urges I get that are like "I need to eat NOW" when in reality my body doesn't need it.

That's my trick! Jedi mind tricks! I think getting to a normal body fat % is all about just adjusting to what your body really needs, not what your brain thinks it wants.

PinkyFett

I've cut my bread or wraps out of lunches and just roll meat and cheese together. Aside from that, portion control basically.

Beautiful_disaster40

No tricks but I naturally don't like things like mayo, cheese, dressings, condiments. Little things seem to add up and not liking them has helped.

changing4life

These are all really good ideas!!!

lockmand

Hello, LemonSnowdrop,
How do you prepare or use the PB2? Is that a powdered peanut butter?
Thanks for any reply on this.
Lockmand

59gi

Drink 1 tab of cocoa with stevia and water only 20 calories.

CallMeRuPaul

I really don't have any, but I recently went to eating Egg Beater's egg whites versus cracking an egg for the whites and throwing away the yolk. Everyday is a cheat day for me.

andeey

When making eggs, I use a mixture of whole eggs with egg whites so the portion is larger, but the calories are lower. Also, I get stuff "protein style" a lot, so an In-n-Out burger gets wrapped in lettuce and I get all the gooey cheesy/meaty goodness and then the calories I save on the bun can go toward fries.

OP, I just can't believe it's gone this long without someone commenting on your name. Nice reference. I loved Gilda!!

haleigh29

I weigh my food, instead of using a measuring cup. I have found that using a measuring cup is not always very accurate. With oatmeal: a serving is 1/2 cup = 40 gram, but my 1/2 cup measuring cup holds appox. 48grams, putting the caloric intake at more than I would have logged.

itsbasschick

nothing ground breaking - my tips are some that have already been listed in this thread.

first, i only eat foods i really love. that way i never feel deprived because EVERY meal includes one of my favorites.

i eat 5 to 6 smaller meals per day, between 180 and 225 calories each usually. that way, i never have time to get hungry.

i weigh or measure everything i eat.

since i love late night comfort foods, most days my last meal is right before bed - one of my favorite cereals (either erewhon rice or corn flakes) with non-fat milk and 2 tsp stevia on top. that way i get something sweet AND my late night snack, and i don'f feel like i'm missing anything.

substitutions. reduced fat cheddar and swiss (the swiss is also low in sodium), and galeo's ginger wasabe dressing makes an amazing sauce with much less calories than most sauces and dressings. light sour cream. if you're dying for ice cream, i suggest dryer's slow churned, which has half the fat or less with a great taste and texture. i lost the first 50 pounds on this journey by making substitutions.

MKEgal

no cheese, bread, peanut butter, butter, salad dressing, dessert, alcohol

:sad:
I eat all those things, just in moderation.
In fact, a stick of mozzarella and some flavored pita chips make a good snack.
Many mornings I have an open-face PBJ (on whole grain bread) with my carnation instant breakfast.
For dessert, choose things which are tasty & healthy: fresh fruit with a half cup of nonfat vanilla greek yogurt and some stevia or honey; sugar free fudge pops; sugar free chocolate pudding made with skim or 1% milk
A beer has maybe 150 calories

Increase your fruit & veggie intake, as well as beans / lentils. The only thing it helps with is feeling full, but that's important.

Have protein at every meal. It helps you feel full longer.

If you want an unhealthy food, have some. Just make sure it's "some" and not "a lot". For instance, I plan to have some chocolate this evening. I won't have the whole 8 oz bar, just one 2 oz piece, and savor it.

One thing I've been doing, and it seems to be working, is to reverse the usual order of how Americans eat: big breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner. In fact, some days I have breakfast at 9, lunch at 4 or 5, and am not hungry before bed, so I skip the last couple hundred calories.

Here's the study I found saying that that helps weight loss, as well as other measures of health:
This study compared eating a small breakfast, medium lunch, and large dinner, [200, 500, 700 cal]
with eating a large breakfast, medium lunch, and small dinner [700, 500, 200 cal].

"The [large breakfast] group showed greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction ... fasting glucose, insulin [&] triglycerides ... decreased significantly to a greater extent in the [large breakfast] group."
In addition, hunger was less and satiety was greater.
Here's the summary: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512957

Here's a PDF of the whole article.
http://genetics.doctorsonly.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Jakubowicz-at-al-Obesity-2013-oby20460.pdf

NataBost

I try to pre-log as much as I can.

I also use a digital scale when I prep my foods, and pre-portion things like almonds and protein powder.

I haven't cut out peanut butter or cheese. I just make sure to weigh it and to log it. I still drink Alcohol, but far less frequently.

sewedo1

Raw tri-colored peppers, blueberries, , hummas, 100 calorie pack of nuts......makes a great low-cal lunch. Always drink lots of water.

laurenk08

Love some of these ideas! Always looking for healthy ways to stay in my calorie limits.
I have started eating just the egg whites when eating eggs since they have most the protein and only like 17 calories each! Plus I now only buy the plain non fat Greek yogurt, and add my own fruit, instead of the flavored stuff with lots of calories and sugar. Also, at dinner time we always have a protein, usually lean, and then veggies. I have cut out the processed carbs for the most part and that has saved me tonnns of calories! You can eat so many veggies and get filled up for very few calories. We have been making a variety of veggies on the grill most nights, its a great way to try new veggies too!

George_Baileys_Ghost

I find it helps to put it just out of reach.

BuildaBetterBody4

I find it helps to put it just out of reach.

. Haha! Too cute