What are your favorite diet hacks?
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springlering62 wrote: »That’s some brilliant thinking @Antiopelle I love pomegranates but always end up looking like I have the pox when I eat one. They just get everywhere.
Maybe I could invest in a case of lobster bibs.
Cut the pomegranate open and have a big bowl of water ready. Hold the halves under the water while you separate the arils from the skin, then drain the water away. Works like a charm to keep the mess down!
So, I learned this from a Turkish guy at work whose family had pomegranate trees.
Cut off the ends, the puckered end and the other one. Then score the pomegranate along the ridges (feel around the pom- it's mostly round but you can feel where there are higher parts). Make sure the scoring criss-crosses where you cut the ends off. Then press your thumbs into where the scoring crosses, and pry the pom open. Very few arils cut this way, so minimal mess, and then you can eat the arils right out of the pomegranate!
I love pomegranates, and I love it when I can find them again in stores this time of year.9 -
Reducing my avocado on toast to 1 slice bread (nimble or weight wtachers in the UK) and half an avocado, rather than 2 and 1. Eating soup, sometimes homemade, sometimes tinned, but forgoing bread with it. Light and less spread (butter), a small chunk of light cheddar cheese and dark chocolate at night as a treat. No takeaways and no eating out (not difficult during lockdowns). Low calories spray for 'frying' or dry frying and using water/steam. Porridge with blueberries, as sticky and comforting. 0% greek yogurt with fruit and sweetner. In fact sweetener for anything, but actualyl I don't have it in drinks or anything else really. Low calorie squash, drunk hot or cold. Really reducing my alcohol intake, very much a treat and in fact I've gone right off it and can't drink wine anymore - but if I fancy a 'glass' of something I go for a non alcoholic drink, like Shloer or similar. Mushrooms! I love them and they're so low in calories I chuck them in/on everything.9
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Anabolic french toast is going on my meal prep when I get more pumpkin cream cheese 😊1
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As others have mentioned, pre planning meals is my biggest help. Someone also mentioned that no food is forbidden, which I agree with. You just have to plan to have it, whatever it is. Also, on occasions that I have really "blown" it, like having a full big bag of chips, I have realized that no, I don't need lunch as well as I really am not hungry after that bag of chips, and so cut out that meal and reorganized my eating for the rest of the day. So I am a little short in the fruit and veg department for a day, it won't kill me for one day, and I have managed to have my calorie count come in pretty close to what it should be.
I found that having three meals and three snacks didn't work for me. I didn't feel satisfied at the meals, and the snacks were just sort of stop-gap measures. I switched to eating more at my regular meals and that helped me enormously. So roughly 400-450 cals per meal, and one snack only, in the evening, usually greek yogurt sprinkled with all bran buds, because I tend to start my day really early, so wind up having supper 4:30-5:00, and need something later to stop me from feeling hungry before bed.
And cremini mushrooms - least caloric of all the mushrooms I can find at the stores I shop at, and so if I need filler, I chop up a bunch of them and throw them in, whether it's eggs in the morning, salad at lunch, or the rice at supper!13 -
Mrs Butterworth's Sugar Free Syrup. 20 calories for a teaspoon. Very good pancake syrup or I drizzle a little
of it on my oatmeal!5 -
Hack #1: don't refer to it as a diet and instead think of sustainable nutrition to meet your long-term quality of life goals.
That's all I got 🤷🏾♀️21 -
Cauliflower rice - I fry this in a non-stick pan without oil. With flavorful toppings (tomatoes, onions, peppers, meat, etc...) I can't tell that I'm not eating rice. It really fills me up as it's high in fiber.
Shirataki noodles - My favorite brand needs to be refrigerated. The non-refrigerated brands of shirataki noodles are hit & miss. The difference in calories is huge compared to wheat-based noodles and the difference in texture is minimal. It would bother me if I'm having plain noodles but I always use noodles as filler adding it to meat and vegetables.
Lean meats - I tend to gravitate more towards poultry and fish than to beef as they're generally lower in calories. I usually add sauerkraut to my ground meats to add filler and because the high fiber content makes me feel full longer.
Erythritol - I usually just have a coffee for breakfast and this low-calorie sugar is perfect for me.4 -
I am halfing anything high calorie, cakes, cinn buns, gravy and muffin. This makes me do small portions. I also use to get irritated at people telling me to drink water but it does work, feels me up especially at night. Those veggie eaters irked me also but I do lose weight when I eat my veggies.5
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Meal prepping is huge. Like someone already said, washing, slicing and portioning fruits and veggies right away is a great trick.
Food swapping is another great tip. For instance, adding some roasted garlic hummus and plain greek yogurt to mashed potatoes instead of butter/milk. Roasted red pepper hummus instead of mayo in tuna/chicken/egg salads. Pureed avocado with garlic and lemon juice instead of mayo on sandwhiches. Using pureed black beans instead of the wet ingredients in a brownie mix. Applesauce or other fruit puree instead of oil in baked goods. Whole grain breads/tortillas/crackers instead of white products. Pureed veggies in anything: meatloaf, soups, sauces, breads, cakes, and cookies too. It's fun to experiment. It might not always be a hit, but sometimes it's a surprising win.
Infused waters. LOVE this! Lemon wedge and ginger slice. Cucumber slices and mint leaves. Strawberry slices. My personal favorite orange slices and cinnamon sticks. The possiblities are endless.8 -
Meal prepping is everything for me. There is zero guess work as to what I will eat and I seldom veer from my planned meals. That is tremendously helpful for me. I pre-portion snacks so that if I have a snack I don't overindulge. I use protein drinks to satiate any wayward cravings. For only 130 calories I get 30 grams of protein that will easily satisfy me for hours. My favorite is my breakfast high fiber spinach/berry/chia seed smoothie that more than satisfies my diminishing sweet tooth. Lastly, I don't have anything after 7pm except plain water, flavored water or lemon water.4
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Workout for 45minutes - 1 hour fasted.
Then eat 1/2 a cup of oatmeal mixed with whey protein within the hour of finishing the workout. (breakfast)
Eat 8 oz package of edamame and your favorite vegetables (lunch)
Eat 4 oz of chicken breast seasoned the way you like along with another package of 8oz edamame, vegetables, and whey protein shake. (dinner)
DRINK lots of water throughout the day.
I know it's very low calorie and it's not sustainable over a long period of time, but it helps to drop a few lbs quickly and keeps me full.3 -
I have a soda stream - (it's a thing that makes club soda) I make the club soda and add some fresh lemon juice to it. I drink about 6 cups of that throughout the day. It seems to fill me up. I also drink regular water throughout the day. Probably 8 to 10 cups a day total3
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I just started baking with psyllium husks. I'm thinking about grinding them in a coffee grinder to make powder. A couple tablespoons of them added to my pancake batter let the batter absorb more water and give me more volume - and fiber - with no more calories. I get the kind that has the same number of fiber grams as carb grams so I don't count the calories from it. I've also added them to muffins the same way you'd add bran.3
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- Pre-logging meals when I can helps tremendously in getting a visual of what I have to work with, calorie-wise
- This "hack" is cross-posted somewhere in food too, but I've found creating a "dip" with my chocolate protein powder to use with fruit is a fantastic way to help meet those protein macros while keeping me from drinking my calories; much better mouth-feel
- I aim for 12 cups of water a day or more. My 32 oz water jug is super helpful with this.
- I'm too spontaneous for meal prepping, but I do always keep a few items in the house for myself ready to go: eggs (both hard boiled and not), sweet potatoes, bags of steamer veggies, easy to eat berries and apples
- I've swapped out a lot of bread for high fiber wraps or bell pepper cups
- For a girl who loves her saucy pastas, konjac noodles have been great at keeping me from over-indulging; Plus, I can use them for easy, low-cal stir fry4 -
I order pizza and scrape toppings off and put on low carb 35 calorie wrap and that is my pizza.4
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I"m new to it all, but these first 3 weeks I've been super high protein and low carb, and it has made a real difference. I agree with planning ahead, and now I cook a mass of chicken, pork chops, low sodium bacon, etc a couple times a week. I use RX Protein bars as a snack, and if I'm going to have a few beers on the weekend, that has to go into the calorie counter right away, so I can see what I have left.2
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Antiopelle wrote: »Afternoon snack: 400 cl of soy milk heated with 25 gr of vanilla pudding powder and stevia. It makes a big bowl of hot vanilla custard with exactly 175 kcals. This satisfies my sweet tooth and keeps me full until dinner.
After dinner / tv time snack: a fresh pomegranate: supertasty and low cal and it keeps my hands and mind busy for a good half hour.
Can anyone tell me what the American conversion ratio would be of this recipe? I would like to try it.1 -
Slice Bell pepper into boat shaped slices, slather a bit of cream cheese and sprinkle Everything but the Bagel seasoning. So Satisfying!4
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Egg whites! You can make a very satisfying low fat, low carb, high protein omelet by using one whole egg plus3/4 cup egg white. Use any number of veggies (onion, mushroom, spinach, zuc...) You can make something like a wheat free bun out of whipped egg whites folded into cream cheese and baked. You can stretch lean ground meat when making things like meat loaf or meatballs by adding egg white and minced veggies.
Also, intermittent fasting, where all of your eating is done within a window of time daily. I have a 8-9 hour window that closes at 6 p.m., after that it's only water or herbal tea.
Walking more is one of the best things you can do for your body. Birds fly, Fish swim, Humans walk.
And, I can't stress this enough: make sure to get good sleep. In 2020 I developed insomnia, I'm sure from stress, but I've recently begun to correct that. Improper sleep can lead to hunger and metabolism slow downs which is the opposite of what we want.4 -
springlering62 wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »Take a shower and Flip the Switch.
It aids in breaking all kinds of habits.
https://castlecraig.co.uk/blog/2018/03/09/cold-showers-fight-addiction
https://www.addictioncenter.com/community/4-steps-breaking-bad-habit-forming-new-one/
Replace Your Old Habits with New Similar Ones
Finding something similar to your bad habit can help you easily replace it. If you only have the choice to give into your habit or stay at an equilibrium, your habit will likely influence your choosing. If you have two choices, one new choice and one old choice, you have a better chance at picking the new choice that will help you form a positive habit since it puts you at an elevated level compared to where you were before.
@Diatonic12 I love you honey, but nothing on Gods’ green earth could compel me to take a cold shower.
Period.
Ditto! On the hottest day, I'd never take a cold shower.1 -
KerryPozzi wrote: »Antiopelle wrote: »Afternoon snack: 400 cl of soy milk heated with 25 gr of vanilla pudding powder and stevia. It makes a big bowl of hot vanilla custard with exactly 175 kcals. This satisfies my sweet tooth and keeps me full until dinner.
After dinner / tv time snack: a fresh pomegranate: supertasty and low cal and it keeps my hands and mind busy for a good half hour.
Can anyone tell me what the American conversion ratio would be of this recipe? I would like to try it.
14 ounces of soy milk with about .9 of an ounce of vanilla pudding powder. If you get a food scale many of them go between grams and ounces pretty easily.
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When feeling hungry (if you’re not wanting to eat then) drinking hot tea helps. Something about the warmth of the drink it fills me up way more than any cold drinks. My fav teas right now are blueberry green tea, and tangerine! Yum!9
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Use cucumber slices instead of crackers for toppings like a tsp of tuna salad, a dill pickle slice/cheese etc
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My food scale is my hack. I have a very hard time with portion control. Water is another good hack since I hate drinking water but it helps filling you up. I do drink plain tea if I can if not I add 1 stevia packet. I only eat fresh fruit, veggies and meats.4
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Fat free yogurt or skyr, thinned out with a liquid of your choice, flavored with cookies&cream Protein powder (I use MyProtein), and solidified with gelatin. Serve with fruit and/or (powdered) peanut-butter. Easy, nutritious Panna Cotta.3
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heavensshadow wrote: »- Pre-logging meals when I can helps tremendously in getting a visual of what I have to work with, calorie-wise
- This "hack" is cross-posted somewhere in food too, but I've found creating a "dip" with my chocolate protein powder to use with fruit is a fantastic way to help meet those protein macros while keeping me from drinking my calories; much better mouth-feel
- I aim for 12 cups of water a day or more. My 32 oz water jug is super helpful with this.
- I'm too spontaneous for meal prepping, but I do always keep a few items in the house for myself ready to go: eggs (both hard boiled and not), sweet potatoes, bags of steamer veggies, easy to eat berries and apples
- I've swapped out a lot of bread for high fiber wraps or bell pepper cups
- For a girl who loves her saucy pastas, konjac noodles have been great at keeping me from over-indulging; Plus, I can use them for easy, low-cal stir fry
I'm a huge fan of prelogging!4 -
My wife bought guacamole the other day and instead of using the chips that she bought, I cut up some radishes into rounds and used them instead of the chips. Crunchy and tasty all at the same time.11
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Lay sauce, pepperoni, veggies & cheese in baking dish & crust free "pizza"
Same w tortilla free enchiladas....chicken, sauce. Onion, olives ....
Get the flavor, but less carbs8 -
I'm excited about this topic because I feel like I discovered a couple this week!
Go big on the roasted vegetables, especially non-starchy veg like carrots and broccoli. My current go-to-lunch has been a big sautee of carrots and spinach with some sliced chicken thighs and a bit of black beans. It's SUPER filling, SUPER tasty, and only like 350 calories?!
I also notice that when I balance my macros to be about 33% across the board, I feel a lot better.8 -
Rethinking Standard Quantities.
I usually like a cold glass of milk with my dinner. For months, I'd carefully pour 8 oz. into a glass. Then it dawned on me that the standard one cup measure had nothing to do with anything. I switched to a juice glass and now I drink 6 fl. oz. and am perfectly satisfied. That's only a 30 calorie savings, but it started me thinking about how many other food quantities I ate simply because of a package or standard measurement. I soon found that a 2.8 oz. burger piled high with everything was as satisfying as a 3.5 oz. burger. With only those two adjustments, I'd painlessly shaved ~100 calories off my dinner!26
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