11 Simple Ways to Cut Calories
Options
TamTastic
Posts: 19,224 Member
I think a lot of us knew at least some of this, but it's always good to get a refresher course!! 
11 Simple Ways to Cut Calories
Small steps may be the best approach to long-term weight loss.
Anyone who's ever tried to lose weight knows it takes work. But it may not require as much as you think. Throwing everything at the problem might, in fact, be exactly why you fail at the latest plan you've sworn you'll stick to. "You have to start small," says Holly Wyatt, MD, a clinical researcher at the Center for Human Nutrition in Denver. "People tend to launch on a weight-loss program and try to change everything in their lives all at once."
Therein lies the problem, experts say. Such drastic attempts rarely ever work. The simple solution? Make incremental adjustments to your eating and exercise habits that can shave calories here and there for maximum impact.
For example, consuming just 100 fewer calories each day is enough to avert the 1 to 2 pounds the average person gains each year, says Wyatt, who co-authored a study in the Journal Science on battling obesity. To lose weight, you have to go a step further, she says, downsizing by 500 calories a day. But you don't have to slash them all from your plate. "You can eat 250 calories less and then burn 250 by walking for 30 to 45 minutes. Over a week, that will produce about a pound of weight loss," Wyatt says. You won't see dramatic changes immediately, but small tweaks like these can, and will, pay off over time.
1. Order two appetizers.
Instead of an entrée, that is. It's no big secret that serving sizes at restaurants have grown exponentially over the last couple of decades. According to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the average hamburger is 23 percent larger today than it was in 1977, and soft drinks are a whopping 50 percent bigger. So rather than ordering a main course that might leave a long-haul truck driver requesting a doggie bag, choose a pasta dish and salad or soup from the appetizer column. The smaller sizes here won't wreak havoc on your dietary goals.
2. Visit the vending machine.
Nibbling on single servings is better than digging your way to the bottom of a megabag of chips. Just don't bring a whole roll of quarters along during your next snack attack.
3. Start with salad...
and eat less during the rest of the meal, says a recent study from Pennsylvania State University. Researchers there had 33 women eat a variation on the same garden salad 20 minutes before a main pasta course. When the salads were topped with low-fat mozzarella and low-calorie Italian dressing instead of high-fat alternatives, the women ate 10 percent fewer calories over the course of the day.
4. Stick a fork in it.
If you prefer your salad dressing on the side, dip your fork into it before stabbing your greens. That little maneuver could cut 500 calories, say Lyssie Lakatos and Tammy Lakatos Shames, authors of the book Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles for Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever (Fireside). Plunging an already-loaded fork into the buttermilk ranch will pick up more of the creamy condiment–and the calories that come with it.
5. Watch coffee calories.
The fancy concoctions that are now the javas of choice for many people can contain as many calories as an entire lunch. A 16-ounce Starbucks Caffé Mocha with whole milk, for instance, packs 400 calories–the same number as in a grilled-chicken sandwich–along with 22 grams of fat and 33 grams of sugar. If a regular cup of joe bores you, slim down your latte by going with skim or 2 percent milk.
6. Walk and talk.
The next time a call on your cell phone keeps you yakking for a while, slip on your walking shoes, and stroll the halls at work or hoof it outside. If you did this for 10 minutes every workday at a moderate 3 mph pace, you'd burn about 1,000 calories a month and lose 3 pounds a year.
7. Crack a nut.
Dieters in a Harvard University study who ate a handful of peanuts or mixed nuts daily were more likely to keep weight off than a group whose regimen didn't include the high-fat snacks. Remember, though, that nuts are not only rich in heart-healthy fats but also calorie-dense: Count out 15 almonds or cashews or 30 pistachios to keep your consumption in check.
8. Don't just sit there.
The average person burns 100 calories per hour sitting and 140 per hour standing. Get on your feet two hours a day while you work, and you could drop an extra 6 pounds over the year. To this end, Frances Wilkins, publisher of MemoryMinder diet journals, put a counter-height worktable in her office. "As a result, I move around much more, and it gives me a break from that office-chair posture," she says.
9. Sleep well, lose more.
According to a recent study in The Lancet, sleep loss may hinder your efforts to lose extra pounds. Insufficient shut-eye appears to increase production of the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite. High levels seem to worsen bingeing and hunger; moreover, too little sleep could keep your body from burning carbohydrates, which translates to more stored body fat.
10. Double your protein.
The high-protein, low-carb approach may help keep you from losing muscle along with fat, according to a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition. Twenty-four overweight women ate 9 to 10 ounces of lean meat, three servings of low-fat dairy, and at least five servings of vegetables a day–roughly double the protein and half the carbs of the average American. Over 10 weeks, the women lost 16 pounds, about the same number as a control group who ate according to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. But the women who pumped up the protein lost 2 more pounds of fat while maintaining a pound more of calorie-burning muscle than the other subjects. The secret: the amino acid leucine, found in beef, dairy, poultry, fish, and eggs. According to study author Donald K. Layman, PhD, of the University of Illinois, it may help preserve muscle tissue.
11. Keep an exercise journal.
Writing down your fitness achievements is a great way to track your progress, give yourself positive feedback, and maintain focus on your goals. Molly Kimball, RD, a sports nutritionist at New Orleans' Ochsner Clinic, goes one better, encouraging her clients to share their exercise diaries with friends. This fosters accountability by making your accomplishments and aspirations a matter of public record.
11 Simple Ways to Cut Calories
Small steps may be the best approach to long-term weight loss.
Anyone who's ever tried to lose weight knows it takes work. But it may not require as much as you think. Throwing everything at the problem might, in fact, be exactly why you fail at the latest plan you've sworn you'll stick to. "You have to start small," says Holly Wyatt, MD, a clinical researcher at the Center for Human Nutrition in Denver. "People tend to launch on a weight-loss program and try to change everything in their lives all at once."
Therein lies the problem, experts say. Such drastic attempts rarely ever work. The simple solution? Make incremental adjustments to your eating and exercise habits that can shave calories here and there for maximum impact.
For example, consuming just 100 fewer calories each day is enough to avert the 1 to 2 pounds the average person gains each year, says Wyatt, who co-authored a study in the Journal Science on battling obesity. To lose weight, you have to go a step further, she says, downsizing by 500 calories a day. But you don't have to slash them all from your plate. "You can eat 250 calories less and then burn 250 by walking for 30 to 45 minutes. Over a week, that will produce about a pound of weight loss," Wyatt says. You won't see dramatic changes immediately, but small tweaks like these can, and will, pay off over time.
1. Order two appetizers.
Instead of an entrée, that is. It's no big secret that serving sizes at restaurants have grown exponentially over the last couple of decades. According to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the average hamburger is 23 percent larger today than it was in 1977, and soft drinks are a whopping 50 percent bigger. So rather than ordering a main course that might leave a long-haul truck driver requesting a doggie bag, choose a pasta dish and salad or soup from the appetizer column. The smaller sizes here won't wreak havoc on your dietary goals.
2. Visit the vending machine.
Nibbling on single servings is better than digging your way to the bottom of a megabag of chips. Just don't bring a whole roll of quarters along during your next snack attack.
3. Start with salad...
and eat less during the rest of the meal, says a recent study from Pennsylvania State University. Researchers there had 33 women eat a variation on the same garden salad 20 minutes before a main pasta course. When the salads were topped with low-fat mozzarella and low-calorie Italian dressing instead of high-fat alternatives, the women ate 10 percent fewer calories over the course of the day.
4. Stick a fork in it.
If you prefer your salad dressing on the side, dip your fork into it before stabbing your greens. That little maneuver could cut 500 calories, say Lyssie Lakatos and Tammy Lakatos Shames, authors of the book Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles for Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever (Fireside). Plunging an already-loaded fork into the buttermilk ranch will pick up more of the creamy condiment–and the calories that come with it.
5. Watch coffee calories.
The fancy concoctions that are now the javas of choice for many people can contain as many calories as an entire lunch. A 16-ounce Starbucks Caffé Mocha with whole milk, for instance, packs 400 calories–the same number as in a grilled-chicken sandwich–along with 22 grams of fat and 33 grams of sugar. If a regular cup of joe bores you, slim down your latte by going with skim or 2 percent milk.
6. Walk and talk.
The next time a call on your cell phone keeps you yakking for a while, slip on your walking shoes, and stroll the halls at work or hoof it outside. If you did this for 10 minutes every workday at a moderate 3 mph pace, you'd burn about 1,000 calories a month and lose 3 pounds a year.
7. Crack a nut.
Dieters in a Harvard University study who ate a handful of peanuts or mixed nuts daily were more likely to keep weight off than a group whose regimen didn't include the high-fat snacks. Remember, though, that nuts are not only rich in heart-healthy fats but also calorie-dense: Count out 15 almonds or cashews or 30 pistachios to keep your consumption in check.
8. Don't just sit there.
The average person burns 100 calories per hour sitting and 140 per hour standing. Get on your feet two hours a day while you work, and you could drop an extra 6 pounds over the year. To this end, Frances Wilkins, publisher of MemoryMinder diet journals, put a counter-height worktable in her office. "As a result, I move around much more, and it gives me a break from that office-chair posture," she says.
9. Sleep well, lose more.
According to a recent study in The Lancet, sleep loss may hinder your efforts to lose extra pounds. Insufficient shut-eye appears to increase production of the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite. High levels seem to worsen bingeing and hunger; moreover, too little sleep could keep your body from burning carbohydrates, which translates to more stored body fat.
10. Double your protein.
The high-protein, low-carb approach may help keep you from losing muscle along with fat, according to a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition. Twenty-four overweight women ate 9 to 10 ounces of lean meat, three servings of low-fat dairy, and at least five servings of vegetables a day–roughly double the protein and half the carbs of the average American. Over 10 weeks, the women lost 16 pounds, about the same number as a control group who ate according to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. But the women who pumped up the protein lost 2 more pounds of fat while maintaining a pound more of calorie-burning muscle than the other subjects. The secret: the amino acid leucine, found in beef, dairy, poultry, fish, and eggs. According to study author Donald K. Layman, PhD, of the University of Illinois, it may help preserve muscle tissue.
11. Keep an exercise journal.
Writing down your fitness achievements is a great way to track your progress, give yourself positive feedback, and maintain focus on your goals. Molly Kimball, RD, a sports nutritionist at New Orleans' Ochsner Clinic, goes one better, encouraging her clients to share their exercise diaries with friends. This fosters accountability by making your accomplishments and aspirations a matter of public record.
0
Replies
-
I think a lot of us knew at least some of this, but it's always good to get a refresher course!!
11 Simple Ways to Cut Calories
Small steps may be the best approach to long-term weight loss.
Anyone who's ever tried to lose weight knows it takes work. But it may not require as much as you think. Throwing everything at the problem might, in fact, be exactly why you fail at the latest plan you've sworn you'll stick to. "You have to start small," says Holly Wyatt, MD, a clinical researcher at the Center for Human Nutrition in Denver. "People tend to launch on a weight-loss program and try to change everything in their lives all at once."
Therein lies the problem, experts say. Such drastic attempts rarely ever work. The simple solution? Make incremental adjustments to your eating and exercise habits that can shave calories here and there for maximum impact.
For example, consuming just 100 fewer calories each day is enough to avert the 1 to 2 pounds the average person gains each year, says Wyatt, who co-authored a study in the Journal Science on battling obesity. To lose weight, you have to go a step further, she says, downsizing by 500 calories a day. But you don't have to slash them all from your plate. "You can eat 250 calories less and then burn 250 by walking for 30 to 45 minutes. Over a week, that will produce about a pound of weight loss," Wyatt says. You won't see dramatic changes immediately, but small tweaks like these can, and will, pay off over time.
1. Order two appetizers.
Instead of an entrée, that is. It's no big secret that serving sizes at restaurants have grown exponentially over the last couple of decades. According to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the average hamburger is 23 percent larger today than it was in 1977, and soft drinks are a whopping 50 percent bigger. So rather than ordering a main course that might leave a long-haul truck driver requesting a doggie bag, choose a pasta dish and salad or soup from the appetizer column. The smaller sizes here won't wreak havoc on your dietary goals.
2. Visit the vending machine.
Nibbling on single servings is better than digging your way to the bottom of a megabag of chips. Just don't bring a whole roll of quarters along during your next snack attack.
3. Start with salad...
and eat less during the rest of the meal, says a recent study from Pennsylvania State University. Researchers there had 33 women eat a variation on the same garden salad 20 minutes before a main pasta course. When the salads were topped with low-fat mozzarella and low-calorie Italian dressing instead of high-fat alternatives, the women ate 10 percent fewer calories over the course of the day.
4. Stick a fork in it.
If you prefer your salad dressing on the side, dip your fork into it before stabbing your greens. That little maneuver could cut 500 calories, say Lyssie Lakatos and Tammy Lakatos Shames, authors of the book Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles for Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever (Fireside). Plunging an already-loaded fork into the buttermilk ranch will pick up more of the creamy condiment–and the calories that come with it.
5. Watch coffee calories.
The fancy concoctions that are now the javas of choice for many people can contain as many calories as an entire lunch. A 16-ounce Starbucks Caffé Mocha with whole milk, for instance, packs 400 calories–the same number as in a grilled-chicken sandwich–along with 22 grams of fat and 33 grams of sugar. If a regular cup of joe bores you, slim down your latte by going with skim or 2 percent milk.
6. Walk and talk.
The next time a call on your cell phone keeps you yakking for a while, slip on your walking shoes, and stroll the halls at work or hoof it outside. If you did this for 10 minutes every workday at a moderate 3 mph pace, you'd burn about 1,000 calories a month and lose 3 pounds a year.
7. Crack a nut.
Dieters in a Harvard University study who ate a handful of peanuts or mixed nuts daily were more likely to keep weight off than a group whose regimen didn't include the high-fat snacks. Remember, though, that nuts are not only rich in heart-healthy fats but also calorie-dense: Count out 15 almonds or cashews or 30 pistachios to keep your consumption in check.
8. Don't just sit there.
The average person burns 100 calories per hour sitting and 140 per hour standing. Get on your feet two hours a day while you work, and you could drop an extra 6 pounds over the year. To this end, Frances Wilkins, publisher of MemoryMinder diet journals, put a counter-height worktable in her office. "As a result, I move around much more, and it gives me a break from that office-chair posture," she says.
9. Sleep well, lose more.
According to a recent study in The Lancet, sleep loss may hinder your efforts to lose extra pounds. Insufficient shut-eye appears to increase production of the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite. High levels seem to worsen bingeing and hunger; moreover, too little sleep could keep your body from burning carbohydrates, which translates to more stored body fat.
10. Double your protein.
The high-protein, low-carb approach may help keep you from losing muscle along with fat, according to a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition. Twenty-four overweight women ate 9 to 10 ounces of lean meat, three servings of low-fat dairy, and at least five servings of vegetables a day–roughly double the protein and half the carbs of the average American. Over 10 weeks, the women lost 16 pounds, about the same number as a control group who ate according to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. But the women who pumped up the protein lost 2 more pounds of fat while maintaining a pound more of calorie-burning muscle than the other subjects. The secret: the amino acid leucine, found in beef, dairy, poultry, fish, and eggs. According to study author Donald K. Layman, PhD, of the University of Illinois, it may help preserve muscle tissue.
11. Keep an exercise journal.
Writing down your fitness achievements is a great way to track your progress, give yourself positive feedback, and maintain focus on your goals. Molly Kimball, RD, a sports nutritionist at New Orleans' Ochsner Clinic, goes one better, encouraging her clients to share their exercise diaries with friends. This fosters accountability by making your accomplishments and aspirations a matter of public record.0 -
I just wanted to add, share a dessert, instead of ordering your own. Also, try the "three" bite dessert theory, instead of eating half of it.0
-
bump0
-
I would like to add: order soup first. A broth based soup usually has fewer than 100 calories per cup and it will fill you up.0
-
Wow guys! These are awesome tips. What is the 3-bite dessert thing? I assume take 3 bites and then be done with it.
*Also, how about avoid eating while watching TV? Avoid useless eating while standing? I just learned this ---no eating while on the phone--
*Add a half of grapefruit before your meal
*Add green tea (with caffeine) way before bedtime to your diet (it helps burn calories):huh:
*Use plain yogurt instead of Mayo in your tuna or potato salad
* Use salsa or basalmic vinagerette(sp?) on salads--most dressings are 100 or more calories for a tablespoon :noway:
*Read labels--160calories for ice cream? NOt too bad, huh? But that's for a baby size amount :grumble:0 -
Some really great tips! thanks for sharing!0
-
I agree with Mary on the order soup first.
And the share a dessert tip..... I should keep that one in mind:huh:0 -
I read somewhere eat "3" bites of a dessert and wait to see if your main urge to eat more is complete. In most circumstances, people will have 2-3 bites of a dessert and be done with it. Try it, it works!0
-
I read somewhere eat "3" bites of a dessert and wait to see if your main urge to eat more is complete. In most circumstances, people will have 2-3 bites of a dessert and be done with it. Try it, it works!
When I was home in Oregon, we went to a really good place....it's a buffet kind of place with great pizza, etc. I ate mostly salad and when it came time for dessert, I got a small plate and literally put about 3 bites worth of dessert on it (3 different things)...and it was PERFECT, curbed my craving for sweets and I didn't feel disgusting afterwards!! :laugh:0 -
I WISH I could be like that! Unfortunately once I start eating the dessert..it triggers my cravings for more more more!!0
-
I would also add, request the server bring you a take home container when they bring your food, and if (like most places) it's a giant serving, put 1/2 of it in the take home container immediately and put it somewhere out of the way. That will keep you from eating it without making a consious effort to open the container and dig in.
Also, EAT SLOWLY, chew your food well. It takes 10 to 15 minutes for your stomach to realize it's full. If you eat fast, you could be well over full before you even realize it!0 -
Yes that is my worst bad food habit.. I wait till i'm starving..then hoof down my food like a prison inmate afraid someones going to steal his grub or something LOL!0
-
Have you done any program besides using this website to help you track food? Pls advise - I am trying to decide between Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, but I love this site - it is good for journaling. What are your thoughts? Anyone:noway:0
-
How about joining a health club and getting a personal trainer---its not as expensive as most people think. She would monitor my eating journal weekly. I knew she'd be looking so I watched what I ate---NOW its a habit--I am soooo glad that I didnt use some diet or fad because its a lifelong lifestyle change. With all that being said I have heard good things about W.W.'ers 0
-
Have you done any program besides using this website to help you track food? Pls advise - I am trying to decide between Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, but I love this site - it is good for journaling. What are your thoughts? Anyone:noway:
I am using MyFitnessPal to track my foods, but I am also basing my lifestyle changes on a book I read called "Calorie Queens." Awesome book with a lot of great information...I highly recommend it!0 -
Another good tip dont fry in butter or margarine, use evoo or even better nonstick fat free cooking spray, I buy a generic brand called healthy way for one buck at the dollar tree and coat the pan well with it works wonders without adding ANY calories, sodium, fat, cholesterol, thats ZERO! I used to fry with two or three tablespoons of margarine :noway:
I use crystal light to flavor my water its the only way i could do 8 glasses and its well worth the 5 cals per serving because if i didnt drink my water id be way hungrier.
also sugarfree gum helps when my mouth is bored and thinking of a snack......:laugh:0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 398 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 977 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions