10 Easy Ways to Cut Calories
Cutting calories doesn’t have to be the same as going on a diet. Small changes such as controlling your portions and controlling your TV-watching can really make a difference. Some easy changes in the way you eat can help save calories without missing them. Registered dietitian Marisa Moore, a nutrition program coordinator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta offers the following suggestions for reducing calories without feeling deprived. Once you adopt these new habits, you’ll wonder why you ever ate any other way.
1 Stop the sugar.
Swap sugar for an artificial sweetener in your coffee or tea. Your taste buds won't care but your waistline will.
Calories saved: 15 to 30 per cup
2 Go light on the mayo.
Light mayo has half the calories of the “real” stuff (50 vs. 100 calories), and any difference in taste is hardly noticeable on sandwiches. If you just can’t give up regular mayonnaise, either spread it very thin or coat one slice of bread with light and the other with regular.
Calories saved: 50
3 Go cuckoo for sugar-free cocoa.
Regular cocoa mixes hover around 120 calories; sugar-free varieties range from 60 to 90 calories per packet.
Calories saved: 30 to 60
4 Switch from traditional syrup to light.
It has half the calories – 100 calories per 2 tablespoons (tbsp.) versus 50 calories.
Calories saved: 50 per serving
5 Pop a frozen fudge pop.
There's only 40 calories in a no-sugar-added chocolate pop versus milk chocolate's 150 calories per 1 ounce (oz.)
Calories saved: 110
6 Downsize your tortilla.
Shrink your flour tortilla from 8 or 10 inches (220 calories) to a 6-inch corn version (90 calories).
Calories saved: 130
7 Substitute soy crumbles or ground beef in dishes such as spaghetti and chili.
Soy crumbles have about 90 calories per 3-oz. serving versus ground beef's hefty 220 calories per 3-oz. serving,
Calories saved: 130 per 3-oz. serving.
8 Remix your drink.
Use diet soda or sparking water (0 calories) instead of regular soda or tonic water (150 calories) in a mixed drink.
Calories saved: about 150
9 Cut your steak in half.
Go from 6 oz. (about 320 calories) to 3 oz. and slice it over a salad or toss into stir-fry.
Calories saved: 160
10 String yourself along.
If you simply can’t resist a daily dose of cheese, opt for light string cheese, which weighs in at 50 calories, vs. 80 for the regular variety.
Calories saved: 30
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