Little changes that make a big difference

I haven't made any changes to my diet yet, but this is only my 3rd day. My first week challenge is to 1. drink more water and 2. no fast food. Next week I'm going to make my goal to have at least one serving of fruit and vegetables every day. In the past, I think I've tried to do too much too soon and I quickly got overwhelmed.

I ONLY drink water, I take a medication for my chronic migraines that makes anything carbonated taste super nasty, so soda was easy for me to give up. Initially, I lost 30 lbs but I've managed to pack it all back on. I am in LOVE with the Great Value wild strawberry with energy powder drink enhancers from Wal-Mart. Each packet is 10 calories and I could easily go through 6-8 packets a day. When I am at work, I alternate between plain water and the packets so I don't drink as much. Not only because it costs me calories, but it cost me $$!

moonagedaydream72 wrote: »

I was thinking we could have a thread where we could share little cooking tips and tricks (switching out certain ingredients, etc) that help save on calories.

For a while I just didn't bother to use cooking spray when I made my omelettes or cooked something in a pan. I'd use butter or olive oil because it was there and i didn't think to go out and get cooking spray. But since I switched to it, I'm saving at least 100 calories per meal, which is awesome.

Are there any small switches that helped you save calories?

I'm curious, what cooking spray do you use? I do the melted butter thing too but a healthier alternative would be great.

kimberlynolte wrote: »

I haven't made any changes to my diet yet, but this is only my 3rd day. My first week challenge is to 1. drink more water and 2. no fast food. Next week I'm going to make my goal to have at least one serving of fruit and vegetables every day. In the past, I think I've tried to do too much too soon and I quickly got overwhelmed.

Sounds like a great plan. Good luck!

Measure dry pasta by weight before boiling. If I only boil 1 serving per person, we only eat 1 serving per person. Use lots of vegetables to bulk up a pasta recipe. Use freshly grated strong cheese like real parmesan, asiago, etc. to get lots of cheese flavor from very little cheese.

This is a hint you might not use very often but when I make spanakopita, instead of brushing on melted butter or pouring on oil, I use my fingers to dot on olive oil. I can make a whole-sleeve-of-filo/2-bags-of-spinach spanakopita with less than 1/4 cup of olive oil -- total! Comes out wonderfully tasty/crispy.

Don't know if somebody mention it already but 2 big things for me are egg white and my almond milk , huge calorie saver items

1. Sprite Zero - for when I want a sweet carbonated drink that doesn't taste horribly diety.
2. Club soda or seltzer water to turn a 5 oz glass of wine into an 8 or 10oz refreshing spritzer
3. Learned to drink coffee & tea black/plain - no calories from milk/cream or sugar (I hate artificial sweeteners and creamers)
4. Using fat free ranch dressing instead of mayo on sandwiches (some don't like FF ranch, but I think it's a brand thing...I don't notice a difference in taste myself. It is a little thinner but OK for sandwiches or tuna/chicken salad.
5. Learning to use less salad dressing on salads - takes time but it does eventually happen!
6. Drinking water when thirsty instead of soda, iced tea, juice, etc.
7. Weighing everything...everything...everything. It is a "little" thing that turns into a BIG help.
8. When eating meals - eating salad or huge portions of plain veggies first so I am more full and will be satisfied with smaller portions of the other food (like being satisfied with a small slice of pizza instead of wanting 3 slices, lol)

Ok, so this isn't a calorie swap... but stay with me. Add in a vegetable with every meal. You will begin to eat a bit less of everything else because of the increase in the volume of food. In addition, the added fiber does it's magic. Of course, you'll need to increase your water intake as well. Ditto for adding beans into your diet. your energy goes way up and the desire for fast food or highly processed foods seems to go down. It's worked for me in the past...guess I need to get back to this.

And I don't mean plain steamed vegetables or salads. Be creative, incorporate fresh herbs, roast your vegetables.

salad dressing sub: balsamic vinegar only instead of balsamic vinaigrette. one serving goes a long way too.
95/5 ground beef when making meat sauce. can't tell the difference.
Baker's semi-sweet chocolate bar for treat - 1oz is 8carbs/6 fat, much lower than other chocolate (don't know why)
Frozen chocolate greek yogurt bars - very macro friendly

Especially if you can get it cheap from a garden.... Add a salad to every lunch and dinner (if you do just vinegar and lettuce it is quick, easy, and low calories). It fills up half your plate. Same with breakfast- if you are making eggs, sauté a bell pepper with it, etc.

I went to a really interesting nutrition talk by a researcher at, I think, Cornell. He does a lot of work about how and why people make good or bad food choices. Stuff like in school cafeterias, if you have fresh fruit displayed, or if you have 3/4ths white milk in the case and the chocolate is way at the back, people make healthier choices- even though all the same stuff is there! So I try to set us up for success by having a fruit drawer in the fridge full of fruit that lasts a while (apples and oranges), and stuff like that.

The other thing he talked a lot about was plate size and how you serve yourself. Obviously a lot of people here weigh and measure, but if you don't, or if you have family members who don't, your plate size makes a difference in how much you eat. Even after they gave a lecture to a group of people about the plate size thing, they did a meal after and measured people's intake at the meal, giving them different sized plates, and there is a difference! It's totally subconscious. So we picked up a few "lunch" sized plates, that are just smaller dinner plates, and tend to use those as much as possible, to trick our brains into thinking we are full. Same with stuff like if you buy a bag of chips- if it's a huge bag, your brain eats way more unless you are measuring it.

Anytime we eat Mexican food in a restaurant (which is frequently), I always leave the cheese off. It makes a huge difference, and I don't miss it. For example, if I order two shrimp tacos without cheese. that is only 500 calories. A very reasonable and delicious dinner.

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

This is a hint you might not use very often but when I make spanakopita, instead of brushing on melted butter or pouring on oil, I use my fingers to dot on olive oil. I can make a whole-sleeve-of-filo/2-bags-of-spinach spanakopita with less than 1/4 cup of olive oil -- total! Comes out wonderfully tasty/crispy.

Spray olive oil (either commercial spray, or in your own pump sprayer) also works great for filo in savory dishes. Quicker than spreading *anything*, and - though it's tough to measure - I'm guessing the total quantity of needed oil may be less. Bakes up all flaky & crispy, just like you'd like.

I love salmon, and eat a lot of it to reach my protein goals. I used to brush it with oilve oil and tamari then broil it, but now I take a 6-oz frozen filet and just microwave it on high for 3.5 minutes with some seasoning -- twice as fast, equally delicious, and saves the olive oil calories. Another favorite calorie cutter is Greek yogurt -- I eat tons of it. With some seasoning I use it as a substitue for mayo on sandwiches, or in tuna salad; mixed with berries and maybe just a tsp of sugar it's my go-to creamy dessert.

Don't drink your calories. Proteins and fats minimize hunger.