In this blog post, I share a few simple tricks to cut down on calories without any diets or avoiding the foods you love. These are simple tricks that can make a huge difference over time.
Cutting Calories & reducing portions
Over the years, American portion sizes have grown significantly, and so have our waistlines. Back in the 50’s, a typical bagel was about 3-inches in diameter, while today, our bagels are about 5-6 inches in diameter. As a result, we are eating more carbohydrates, which in turn, becomes extra weight to carry. Cutting calories doesn’t mean avoiding the foods you enjoy. In fact, you can easily cut calories while still eating the foods you love simply by reducing portion sizes.
Here are 5 of my favorite cutting tips:
1) Use a smaller plate for any meal. Dinner plates were once 9” across, while now, our dinner plates are 12” across. This means more room to add more food. Tip: use a smaller plate even for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
2) Store half your restaurant food to go. Restaurants are notoriously known for big portion sizes. Before you even get your meal, ask your waiter to store half of it in a to-go container.
3) Make half your plate veggies. Vegetables are nutritious and filling with very little calories. Tip: Increase your portion sizes of vegetables.
4) Eat slowly. By eating slowly, it gives the body time to digest all the foods and send the appropriate signals to the gut and brain to let us know when to stop eating. Tip: Enjoy soup, salad, or veggies first.
5) Be Mindful. Eat away from the television or computer. Enjoy the meal with family and friends. Talk, chew, swallow, take a break, and repeat.
CUTTING CALORIES FROM BREAD
Bread has been around for thousands of years. In fact, for some countries, bread is life! It’s one of the most widely consumed foods in the world.
One of my favorite morning meals to make are egg sandwiches. I often find myself with extra hamburger buns, so I use the buns to make my egg sandwiches. Have you ever noticed the amount of bread in each slice? There is always one slice with a lot more bread than the other.
Nowadays, hamburger buns are double the size compared to previous buns 50 years ago. To cut down on unnecessary calories, I cut the bun in half. I also do this with large bagels.
HOW TO CUT CALORIES
What other tips or tricks do you have to cut down on calories? Please share below.
Interested in learning why peanut butter is good for weight loss? Or, what to do with your extra veggies?
