What "tricks" have you found for cutting calories?

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  • BunkyBumBum
    BunkyBumBum Posts: 157 Member
    I tried mashed cauliflower tonight instead of mashed potatoes.

    People who say it's "just like" mashed potatoes are dirty liars. Horrible, dirty, liars.
  • Pearlyladybug
    Pearlyladybug Posts: 882 Member
    I only drink water or tea so all of my calories can be allotted to food.

    Other than that, I eat whatever I want and "work it in or work it off".

    this!! ^^
  • Pearlyladybug
    Pearlyladybug Posts: 882 Member
    Only drinking tea, coffee, or water. And making sure I don't eat past 8:00.

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  • IamDianna
    IamDianna Posts: 37
    Why not? I like it.
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
    Replace the crust on your pizza with cauliflower mash

    Probably not going to happen. If its pizza night its going to be running across the street to little caesars and I'll just budget it in.

    little caesars? Worst . Pizza . EVER .
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
    maaaaawwwrrrr protein.
  • LesaLu4
    LesaLu4 Posts: 83
    I love to make a sauce with yogurt (I use unsweetened plain soy yogurt) and buffalo sauce. It is great as a dressing or as a dip for carrot sticks or on baked potatoes... anything spicy pleases my taste buds and I don't miss the salt shaker!
  • rachaelbarton
    rachaelbarton Posts: 57 Member
    I replaced regular wheat bread with sara lee 45 calorie wheat. Smaller bread means less cheese and meat to make my sandwich look huge. I started using more lettuce, sprouts, mustard, and pickles on my sandwiches to take up room too.

    I also use sweet potatoes as a go-to lunch or low calorie dinner when I've eaten too much throughout the day. They're super filling and I don't feel cheated out of dinner if I use a little bit of Smart Balance, some cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. :)
  • Ubergeek922
    Ubergeek922 Posts: 10
    Replace the crust on your pizza with cauliflower mash



    Probably not going to happen. If its pizza night its going to be running across the street to little caesars and I'll just budget it in.

    little caesars? Worst . Pizza . EVER .

    I'm guessing you don't have a family of 7 to feed. $5 each goes a lot farther than $18 each. The kids don't mind and as little as we go out, I can't remember what a great pizza tastes like.
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
    Replace the crust on your pizza with cauliflower mash



    Probably not going to happen. If its pizza night its going to be running across the street to little caesars and I'll just budget it in.

    little caesars? Worst . Pizza . EVER .

    I'm guessing you don't have a family of 7 to feed. $5 each goes a lot farther than $18 each. The kids don't mind and as little as we go out, I can't remember what a great pizza tastes like.

    I must be weird, I love Little Caesars. Pizza Pizza! But I don't have it often. I like their square pizzas.
  • bbbrittingham
    bbbrittingham Posts: 7 Member
    switching eggs for egg whites at breakfast.
  • bbbrittingham
    bbbrittingham Posts: 7 Member
    Pre-logging.

    So many times it's like 'aah but the soda machine is cold and delicious ... 170 calories of pure sugar? ... okay I'm not that thirsty.'

    Of course sometimes I give in. I ain't perfect.

    diet soda is a thing, you know. not judging you - i know people have different tastes and/or feelings about the health benefits of diet soda. BUT i get so sick of news reports about how awfully bad and sugary soda is - and they never even mention DIET SODA. grrrr.
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
    I'll have to read through the rest of the pages when I have time. Good ideas.

    I love the Xtreme Health Wheat Tortillas. Saves quite a few calories, I can't remember the number, but two white tortillas in a cheese quesadilla is a big chunk of calories with regular ones.

    Skipping the tortilla chips, and all chips, or just 1-2 to remember what they taste like. Most are 25 calories a PIECE. I took a calculator and wrote in permanent ink what each chip was on each of the bags so that I knew what I was getting into if I started.

    Healthy Life bread and buns: usually 30-35 calories per slice.

    Boosting my protein with nuts, shakes, and bars. After doing that, I find that I often have carbs left at the end of the day where they used to be the first thing maxxed out.
  • ksuetorres
    ksuetorres Posts: 139 Member
    I can't live without peanut butter, but it's 190 claories for TWO TABLESPOONS! Then I found PB2 (powdered peanuts -- all natural, just oil removed) -- EUREKA! It's not what choosy mothers would choose, but for the calorie savings (45 pr 2 Tbsp), it's delicious!!! Buy it in the health food department at Kroger, or in larger cheaper packages from Amazon. Comes in chocolate, too!
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    drinking a LOT of water to keep me full.. Only eating complex carbs (brown rice can be eaten a lot of, which only fulfills a few carbs)... Adding cayenne pepper to my chicken.. Adding cinnamon to my morning porridge.. mm
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
    Replace the crust on your pizza with cauliflower mash

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    Totally agree! step away from the pizza!:angry:
  • ValkyriesCharge
    ValkyriesCharge Posts: 11 Member
    Plain Greek yogurt as a substitution for sour cream. Works in recipes too.

    Never eat mayonaise again. Or if you MUST, the olive oil Mayo from Best Foods/Hellmans is good.

    Portion control. Take half of what you think you want. Just try it. If you're still hungry 20 minutes later, go get more.
  • jonibc
    jonibc Posts: 104 Member
    My best tip is, instead of putting dressing on your salad, dip your fork tines in it before every bite. You hardly consume any of it but you get the taste. Saves lots of calories.
  • Nicolette04
    Nicolette04 Posts: 82 Member
    I tried mashed cauliflower tonight instead of mashed potatoes.

    People who say it's "just like" mashed potatoes are dirty liars. Horrible, dirty, liars.

    Ha. I did the same thing last night for the first time. I had to fight with my son to get him to finish them. I also don't have a blender, doing it by hand made it the consistency of coleslaw.

    I find water really helps me. Every day I fill a little plastic cup and re-fill it every time it is empty. I get lots of water this way, and it keeps me from feeling hungry. I am a boredom eater, and I work all day, at a desk, all by myself, in a job with little mental or physical activity. So I really have to fight the urge to eat just because I am bored.

    As others have said pre-logging is great. It really makes you think twice before you choose a bad option.

    Also, if I am feeling the urge to cheat, I log it anyways, that way I see what I am eating, and it stops me from getting carried away.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    No matter what I'm eating, I add veg to the meal.
  • ihammen
    ihammen Posts: 55 Member
    We love French toast on the weekends. But now we make it low cal by using sara lee 45 calorie a slice bread, unsweetened almond milk, egg beaters, a little maple extract, and cinnamon. We top it with I can't believe it's not Butter spray, and sugar free syrup. It's really good for a fraction of the original calories.

    For dessert, we also use the 50 calorie vitacake snacks, crumbled up with some strawberries with truvia, and a spritz of fat free whipped cream.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    PS When I have a treat like ice cream I load that too. A carton of strawberries with a little ice cream makes me feel like I am pulling a major cheat, but it's about 200 calories as opposed to the 1200 calorie Dairy Queen I would often indulge in last year.

    This is flipping brilliant! I, too, pad with fruit and veg. Didn't even think to do it like this, though. Ice cream is a tough one for me, so I have it only rarely.
  • overshadows
    overshadows Posts: 58 Member
    Getting rid of a lot of bread/pasta - whether it is altogether or just halving the portion. I always cook pasta separate from the sauce, so I can eat only a little bit. If I'm still hungry, I will eat a fried egg in the sauce (like eggs in purgatory).

    I stopped buying a lot of juice, since I have a proclivity to drink a ton of it, instead of like 4 ounces.

    I try to add extra vegetables to everything. Scrambled eggs? They will have onion and peppers, maybe more. Sandwich? Onions, pickles, sprouts, peppers... anything else I can justify adding. Pizza is basically a big vegetable mess when I make it.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Oh, another one is to use cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, etc on hot cereal instead of brown sugar/sugar. I recently discovered Pampered Chef's "Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle" - it has 15 calories/tsp, just the same as sugar, but I only need 1 tsp to get lots of flavor, so it's fewer than if I used sugar.
  • amyx593
    amyx593 Posts: 211 Member
    Mine would be mostly to cure a craving.

    Snickers or other chocolate bar? Fiber One Coconut Almond protein bar- YUM

    McDonald's sausage egg and cheese mcmuffin? I'll eat two hard boiled eggs and two turkey sausage links. Take a bite of each and chew it together. Might sound strange, but it tastes just like the real thing and you don't even miss the bread or cheese (which are probably my two favorite types of food!)

    Oh, and I love me some ground beef... but for say, spaghetti, ground turkey with diced tomatoes (doctor it up with garlic, spices) and spaghetti squash.
  • Petrapoo45
    Petrapoo45 Posts: 271 Member
    using plain greek yogurt with Mexican food instead of sour cream. Good protein and it give that little bit of tang that I like.

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