Cutting Calories: 4 Ways to Cut 200 Calories

Cutting 200 calories from your daily intake of food is easy if you follow the 4 easy steps.

Step 1

Make a list of everything that you eat for 2 days. Remember to not change the way and what you eat for these 2 days to be sure that the list is what you normally would be doing. List when and were you are eating. Don't for get that piece of candy that you picked up off the fellow employees desk.

Step 2

After looking at the list you will be able to see where the extra can be cut without a big production on your part. Start with the late night snacks.

Change from ice cream (120 calories for .5 cup serving) to watermelon (37 calories for 10 watermelon balls or an apple for 55 calories for 1 small 2 1/2 dia in size).

Then look at mid morning and mid afternoon snacks. You think that granola bar (400 calories per bar - average) is good way to fight off the hunger pains. But are the calories worth it? Try instead trail mix (131 calories per 1 oz serving) or a banana (105 calories form 1 medium 7" long)

Step 3

OK lets say you are not a one who snacks. You don't eat after dinner, you don't have the mid meal munch sessions. Then we can look at what are you drinking. Water is always the best choose for a drink and by adding low or no calorie flavors you can have a variety. Lets look at the other drinks.

Energy Drink 43 calories for 3.53 fl oz
Coffee (plain) 7 calories for 6 fl oz
Juice Drinks 18 to 30 calories for 1 fl oz
Tea (plain) 2 calories for 6 fl oz
Soda 104 to 130 calories for 8 fl oz

Watching what you drink will cut calories quick.

Step 4

This is the hard one. Eat less! Take less per serving and use a smaller plate. A small plate will look fuller with less food and you will eat less. Limit yourself to 1 plate per sitting. No seconds and not picking when your plate is emptied.

So lets recap the count. You have dropped an average of 76 to 80 calories from that change in bedtime snack. You can cut 100 to 150 from between meal. And a change in the fluid you drink can be another 10 to 100 change. So you see with just a few changes in the way you snack can drop that 200 calories and you don't have to change your life style.