Sharing Tips on cutting calories

fitinyoga14

Does anyone have any tips that they would like to share about simple ways to cut calories? By this i mean, do you have any stategies you use in order to eat a good amount of food without eating more calories than you want to? please share! your input is appreciated.

One of my tips is using the "spritzer" forms of salad dressing instead of the regular stuff. it has barely any calories, but still makes plain lettuce tolerable to eat. also, it contains a lot less fattening oil. Another tip is i avoid 'regular' bread at all costs. i get my whole grains from other sources that are either lower in calories or more filling. no toast for me :happy:

panther87

I cant stand 'low fat' salad dressings. so I make my own. Hidden valley ranch( made with buttermilk and Hellman's mayo) Then I measure out my 2 tbsp, then i thin that with water or skim milk. then it goes much further on my large salads.

futfurd

Lots of fiber especially the insoluble kind. Makes you feel full, but you can't digest it.

kgasser

One of my tips is using the "spritzer" forms of salad dressing instead of the regular stuff. it has barely any calories, but still makes plain lettuce tolerable to eat. also, it contains a lot less fattening oil.

I use the spritzers...especially the Wishbone Ceasar on sandwiches instead of mayo...I don't like ketchup or mustard, so I need something...this works great!

crabbygirl

I buy the 100 Calorie packs of things. If I buy the regular box/bag, I will continue to eat without thinking. But by having a 100 calorie pack, it is just the right amount for a snack and it stops me from continuing to eating unconsciously.

jenlhugg

A lot of people have their food diaries public, i look through others and get ideas sometimes. Take a look at mine if you want, it is usually pretty full, I eat a lot during the day, and almost never go over my calories.

heatherdavidson

Lots of fruits and veggies! They are pretty filling and fairly low calories.

ready4change

It takes a bit of time, but I've found that it's MUCH cheaper to buy the big family size bags of snacks like sun chips, pretzels, or any other unhealthy type of munchy.

As soon as I get home, I take out my food scale and box of baggies and divide the whole bag into individual servings. When I'm finished, I put all of the bags back into the original package.

This is helpful in 2 ways:
1. It helps me control my portion size & only grab one bag.
2. It's nice and quick for in the mornings before work when I'm running a little late & forgot to pack my lunch the night before.

adegonia

I look at my calories like cash. (I'm a Dave Ramsey FPU graduate lol) I eat pretty much whatever I want but force myself to decide if what I want to eat is worth the deduction to my bank. When I am out I'm out. I give myself a cheat day so I don't give up. I'm pretty new to this so I haven't perfected it but I am losing so I think it's working. Also I have a public diary and I limit myself to 1450 calories so feel free to look. I haven't eaten breakfast yet today and I'm going to Subway for lunch because my husband is making mexican tonight and it's totally my weakness...as was the chocolate pie LOL

scarecrow41

Finding a good low calorie whole wheat bread is essential for me. Here in Chicago there is a company called "Today's Temptations" that make a diabetic low-carb bread that is all natural. The nutritional make up for 2 slices is:

90 calories

12 grams carbs (8 of which are fiber)
1 gram sugar
10 grams protein
1 gram fat

I make at least two sandwiches a day with this bread and its a great way to add fiber and protein.

Most cities have a similar type of bakery that makes good bread like this and there are even a few in the grocery that come close. Find a good bread and it really helps with decisions.

jdavis193

For baked potatoes I stopped eating sour cream and butter when I go out to restaurants. So I eat plain while out but at home I use a tbs of bacon bitz and the butter spritzer 0 cal. and 0 fat grams. I don't miss the old stuff. I also add some seasonings to baked potatoes.

angelwings2000

I up the veggies on all of our family favorites, stir fries are loaded with veggies and smaller amounts of lowfat meat. For grains I try to stay with whole grains and limit my consumption of them. I have found great tasting breads and tortillas with half the calories of msot and make sure to have them in stock. I find myself using fat free or lowfat versions of cour creams & cheeses. I also make sure as many condiments as I can are low calorie, such as using salsa and msutards for dressings and toppers.

hasiangirl

I load up the plate with double the serving of steamed veggies and 4 oz of meat....with a serving of brown rice if i eat chicken breasts the whole meal is about 340calories ...........which is really low for a dinner......:Bigsmile:

suejonestx

Have some ready items in the house that you know are low-cal, like Progresso light soups, frozen veggies, chicken breasts, etc. that you can grab and make fairly quickly. I agree with the others that having lots of veggies on hand helps. You can steam or grill almost any veggie for virtually no calories. Also, turkey lunch meat is low-cal, like 50 calories for 6 thin slices. You can make a low-cal sandwich with 2 slices whole grain bread (~180 cals), turkey meat (50), sliced roma tomato (25), mustard (0) and maybe a bit of guacamole (~50). Total calories is around 300 and it is very filling. Add an apple and you've got a good, low-cal meal. Another trick is to have sweet potatoes on hand. Zap one in the microwave, add a little spray butter and you have a big, filling, meal with only 180 calories for a large potato, plus loads of vitamin A, C, calcium, etc. Avoid standard salad dressings and mayo at all costs. Drink only water or low-cal drinks (like ocean spray "diet" drinks). There are some "steamer" bags out there that are low cal and easy to prepare...brown rice, veggies, etc.

kdiamond

I love cheese, so I have switched to non fat cheese and I save LOTS of calories that way. Also what has really cut calories is cooking almost everything, I don't buy processed foods. Yes it is time consuming but you really know what you are eating. Plus it has become kind of fun to trick my husband and kids into eating foods high in health and low in calories and they don't even realize it!