Little things you do to cut calories

~1 piece of bread with my sandwich instead of 2

~Mustard instead of Mayo

~Half slice of cheese

~Measure a serving of dressing for my salad and dip my fork in the dressing instead of pouring the dressing ON my salad.  I don't even use the whole serving when I do it this way



Add on

- i do the one piece of bread instead of two thing

- baked chips instead of fried

- steaming or baking as much as i can instead of frying

- lite beer instead of regular

- nutritional yeast instead of 'cheese'

- just about everything i eat is high in fiber (fills you up)

i will also do little things to burn more calories.

- park far from wherever i have to go.

- take the stairs instead of the elevator.

- stand instead of sit whenever i remember.

though i have to break some of these because i am trying to gain.

 Take 1/4 of food of your plate and dont eat it. Saves a bunch of calories and its been determined you eat whats infront of you! ((really helps me!!)) This is usually only if your eating out though. Because at home your meals are already probally fairly small...

I have a lot of repeats - once slice of bread cut in half to make a smaller sandwich, half-slice of cheese, light miracle whip instead of mayo (I prefer the taste anyway) etc.  New ideas include:

One bowl of cereal instead of two.  (Or three or four.  I used to overeat a lot at breakfast.)

I put lots of veggies with my lunch and dinner.  They help fill me up.

I bring my lunch to work.  Eating out low-cal is very hard to do, plus expensive.

Our biggest changes have been in dinners, I think.  Less carbs, more veggies.  We've always used lean meats and been careful about fat, so now we just replace carbs with veggies - more fiber and vitamins, more bang for your calorie buck.

Savor food.  One of my biggest problems was that I have a habit of shoving food into my face as fast as I can.  I'm still trying to break myself of that, but I'm having some success especially at dessert.  I try to eat smaller bites and taste each one.  That way I'm enjoying it more, and I get more out of each bite than I used to out of a whole meal.  Plus, eating slower helps you eat less because your body can let you know as soon as it's full - if you eat fast like I used to, you overfill before you know you're full.  There's a chemical process that has to take place for your body to tell you you're done eating, and it can take a few minutes.

On the subject of fullness, my other trick is that if I still feel hungry after a meal, I distract myself for a few minutes doing something else - then sorta ask again.  If I'm *still* hungry, I'll find something low-cal to help fill myself up with (baby carrots are good for this, for me)...but usually, I'm not hungry anymore.  Sometimes, if I'm still 'mouth-hungry' I'll chew a piece of gum.

Skip butter, mayo salad dressing. Replace with mustard, lemon juice, hot sauce, green taco sauce, salsa.

Jenny-O turkey burgers instead of regular burgers most of the time.

Park far away and walk. When shopping, parking at work and so on.

Low fat pitas and wraps instead of bread. Whole grain always.

Egg beaters

Rinse all canned food and tuna to remove more of the sodium.

Eat hot peppers to boost and speed up metabolism.

Cut out all pop and sugary drinks. Drink 1% fat free milk, black coffee, green tea and water.

Drink a big bottle of water before a meal and one during.

Eat salad before dinner to fill up.

Use very little milk on my cereal. Use to just pour it on without thinking now watch carefully.

Love your tip about rinsing canned food and tuna, i love tuna but hate the sodium content. I can't believe i never thought of it!!!! Thank you so much x

My biggest one:

SODA is a treat, not an oft to be consumed foodstuff.

____________________________________________

-FiberOne Tablets. I cant seem to get enough from my diet so I take some supplements to keep everything goin' smooth. Helps keep you full after carbs.

-Fork Dipping! Surprise, that bad for you sauce at the Chinese restaurant has JUST as much flavor fork dipped. you'd just never know it if you ate the smothered stuff all the time ;)

-Surprise! I add roasted red peppers (drained and rinsed sometimes grilled) onto my sandiwches and burgers, as well as broccoli/alfalfa sprouts and big thick slices of tomato or jalapenos. To me this makes a simple burger or sandwich more filling.

I had some habits before I started 'dieting' so it's no difference but I'll list things I've always done:

 

I eat hot sauce like the devil. I go through a bottle of Tabasco and half a bottle of Louisiana Crystal per week plus the raw and otherwise cooked peppers I consume. My doctor actually believes that my high intake of peppers and pepper products, specifically cayenne, is what has kept me from the 300+ brink and helps keep my heart freakishly healthy (as well as my blood pressure). I dont have any studies to back my results up, but it could help.

 

 

 

-ALWAYS open face sandwiches

-scooped bagels

-no calorie cooking spray

-mustard instead of anything

-if I get dressing - ALWAYS balsamic vinaigrette

-NEVER clear my plate at a restauraunt

-never get fries

I typically think in terms of what's worth and what's not:

* Not a big fan of fried food  - never have been, so no fried anything. Except maybe tofu, once in a while.

* Balsamic vinegar, mustard, or yogurt instead of any salad dressing. Sometimes, I combine yogurt and mustard with thyme and horseradish....

* Oats or bread pureed in a blender to add consistency to soups.

* Egg whites in cooking, always eggs in sandwiches or omelettes/frittatas.

* 1/2 of the plate needs to be veggies, but I never forced myself into that (always liked vegetables).

For whatever it's worth I don't eat meat and I don't have much of a sweet tooth. In the 'what's worth' category: cheese (cannot stand fat-free, skim anything - would rather not eat it; I do like low-fat milk and some fat-free yogurt, though); bread  (I will always go for a fresh loaf, even if it's white sourdough); tortillas (cannot stand the chemical taste of La Tortilla Factory products). It's all about trade-offs, I guess.

-no fried anything

-no cheese on top of salads, etc..

-dressing on the side, will opt for low fat/fat free if there is a choice

-steamed veggies vs. sauteed (if possible)

-no creamy sauces (ex-alfredo) on pasta

-whole wheat substitutes where possible (for breads, pastas)

-nothing on baked potatoes

-mustard on my sandwich instead of mayo

-diet soda (i know this is not good for you but i'm addicted)

-skim milk NEVER whole milk

-splenda in my coffee (i know this isnt good for you either)

-use cooking spray in pans vs. oil

I am sure there are more things that i do but these are the only ones i can think of right now!

Original Post by pezzle:

I am a HUGE hot pepper fan. Just cooked some egg beaters and added hot chili peppers and jalapeños. Would blow most peoples head off

There are many medical studies done on the benefits of capsaicin. It speeds up  your metabolism, great for the heart. Studies  have shown that it is as effective as an aspirin when having a heart attach.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/healing1.html

http://home.howstuffworks.com/peppers3.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile_pepper

 

 

My biggest one:

SODA is a treat, not an oft to be consumed foodstuff.

____________________________________________

-FiberOne Tablets. I cant seem to get enough from my diet so I take some supplements to keep everything goin' smooth. Helps keep you full after carbs.

-Fork Dipping! Surprise, that bad for you sauce at the Chinese restaurant has JUST as much flavor fork dipped. you'd just never know it if you ate the smothered stuff all the time ;)

-Surprise! I add roasted red peppers (drained and rinsed sometimes grilled) onto my sandiwches and burgers, as well as broccoli/alfalfa sprouts and big thick slices of tomato or jalapenos. To me this makes a simple burger or sandwich more filling.

I had some habits before I started 'dieting' so it's no difference but I'll list things I've always done:

 

I eat hot sauce like the devil. I go through a bottle of Tabasco and half a bottle of Louisiana Crystal per week plus the raw and otherwise cooked peppers I consume. My doctor actually believes that my high intake of peppers and pepper products, specifically cayenne, is what has kept me from the 300+ brink and helps keep my heart freakishly healthy (as well as my blood pressure). I dont have any studies to back my results up, but it could help.

 

 

 

 

I always use a salad plate and small mug when I serve myself at home - makes the plate look full of food, same with my drink.

Double portions of veggies, half portion of meats.

Weigh and measure occasionally to be sure I'm not serving myself a bigger portion than I think I have.

I choose salad dressings that are moderate in calories and low in sat fat - then I do measure out the portion (usually 2 Tablespoons) and mix with 1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese to put on a big salad.  Really tasty, makes a salad really filling, and accurate for counting fats and calories.  (I wouldn't eat salad if I didn't have a tasty dressing to go on it)

1. 100% white meat turkey hot dogs ballpark- 45 cal.
   
2. Light Mayo and dressing about halves the calories.
3. have a couple pickles instead of chips- 10 cal. each
4. switched from reg. pop to sugar free instead of 150 cal - 0 cal.
   
5. mostly egg whites when I make breakfast instead of about 75 cal- 15 cal.
6. I eat all my meals on salad plates.
7. Fat free milk
8. reduce my oil in cooking by mostly cooking with non-stick pans.
9. eat my veggies first! that way I'm pretty well full by the time I get to high cal stuff.
   
10. Grill more and steam more foods and then I don't have to add any unnecessary fats.
    

 

I always get my toast dry without butter.

Get diet soda as opposed to regular.

Avoid restaurants that offer bread or chips before your meal!!!

I usually buy fat free or low fat milk, sour cream, cream cheese and cheese and do not notice much of a different in taste

I don't add anything to what I eat...I really mean nothing... that means dry bread...straight oatmeal or grits...dry sandwiches...no dressing on slads etc...everything tastes really boring though I would not recommend it lol

drink LOTS of water with meals.  just keep grabbing for more.

 

use light 35 calorie per slice bread

use sugar free everything - syrup, jam, whatever - and sweeten it with splenda

use liquid egg whites instead of eggs

oh boy, there're TONS of things I do!

Original Post by taylorchewbacca:

I don't add anything to what I eat...I really mean nothing... that means dry bread...straight oatmeal or grits...dry sandwiches...no dressing on slads etc...everything tastes really boring though I would not recommend it lol

...... is there a reason that you're eating stuff that doesn't taste good?