How to Cut 200 Calories a Day

The four things that helped me lose and maintain weight are; increased activity, enforced by a pedometer, reapportioning what I eat, label reading and trimming calories. Sometimes it's about eating less and other times it's about eating less calories. Which isn't necessarily the same thing.

In this article I will explain how I reapportioned my diet, show how cutting calories is sometimes eating less and other times it's just replacing one item for another and I'm going to give you a list of suggestions of substitutions that you can use to cut out 200 calories per day:

I replaced my breakfast starch with protein, and fruit. I stopped cutting my dinner smaller. I serve a regular size dinner on a luncheon plate, divide it in half. I eat half for dinner and the rest is my evening snack. Another thing that really helped me were those 100 pack size snack packs. I don't use them anymore. But they helped me to learn that 100 calories of something can save my diet and satisfy me, whereas 120-140 calorie servings can torpedo it.

The list with notes:

Regular Italian salad dressing is 70 calories per serving. The fat free which actually tastes better, is 20 calories per serving. The servings are the same size.

Drink 2% or skim milk, whichever you can tolerate, instead of whole milk.

A medium orange has 60 calories, while a cup of orange juice contains 100 calories.
http://www.healthcastle.com/cut_calories2.shtml

If you choose fruit juice, choose the ones that're 100% and have 100 calories per 8 ounces, such as orange and grapefruit juices.

A mini bagel has 80 calories, while a regular medium-sized bagel is 240 calories. The jumbo bagels are even more.

Use a 110-calorie 10-inch tortilla instead of a 240-calorie medium bagel as the base for your breakfast or lunch.

Or use a 60 calorie 8-inch tortilla instead of a 10-inch one.

One ounce (2 tablespoons) of light cream cheese contains 60 calories, while regular has 100 calories.

Canadian bacon is 90 calories for two slices. Regular bacon is 250 calories for two slices.

One cup of fruit flavored low fat yogurt contains 230 calories. Instead, have one cup of low fat plain yogurt with 1/2 cup of fresh fruit at 180 calories plus fiber.

Use light mayonnaise and saves 50 calories per tablespoon.

Spraying your non-stick pan with a cooking spray costs 6 calories while using a tablespoon of butter or margarine is 100 calories.

Using a nonstick pan helps you use less fat.

Regular butter or margarine contains 100 calories per tablespoon, but light butter or margarine has only 65-50.

Use herbs to season your vegetables instead of butter or margarine will save you 100 calories per tablespoon.

Trade the Ben & Jerry's or Haagen-Dazs super-rich (20% fat) ice cream for a Breyer's, Blue Bunny, Edey's or Hood light reduced fat (6% fat) version which comes in around 120-150 calories per 1/2 cup. Breyer's vanilla is one of the few low calorie versions that tastes decent. With diet A&W Root beer you get a good root beer float for 120 calories.

Choose a small waffle cone at 60 calories, instead of a large one at 100 calories. Or don't use a cone at all.

A 6oz can of chunk light tuna in oil has 275 calories. Water packed has 150 calories.

Use 1% cottage cheese instead of 4%, which has 40 calories more.

Cut back on your portion of rice, pasta or noodles by 1/4 cup. That's 45-60 calories.

Use 2 tablespoons of whole milk instead of 2 Tbsp half and half cream, which is 20 calories less. Or combine your daily serving of 2% milk with your coffee for even more calorie savings.

Replace half the fat in a recipe with applesauce. Each 1/2 cup of applesauce is 90 calories. Butter or margarine contains 810 calories.

By drinking an 8 oz mini can of regular soda instead of a 12 oz size, you drink 50 calories less. Or drink water or diet soda and save the entire 150 calories.

A 2 ounce bag of baked chips is 70 calories less than regular chips.

Choose a 60-calorie 1/2 cup of fresh fruit instead of a 250-calorie 1/2 cup of dried fruits such as raisins.

A small handful of dried fruit, 1/8 cup, is 100 calories and satisfies the sweet-tooth a lot better than fresh fruit.

Instead of a 1.5 oz chocolate bar at 225 calories, try a cup of chocolate milk at 160 calories or a fat free chocolate pudding at 85 calories. Another good chocolate choice is Breyers Chocolate Chocolate chip at 120 calories a 1/2 cup. Or 1/8 cup of chocolate chips is 70 calories.

A small handful, about 1/8 cup nuts is 100 calories. Remember, they have healthy oils and fiber along with protein. You only need a 1/8 cup per day to get the benefits.

Light beer is about 30 calories less than regular beer per 12 oz can.

4 oz of wine is 50 calories less than 12 oz of beer.

Two tablespoons of regular syrup contains 110 calories, but lite syrup contains only 50 calories.

Have 1/2 cup of orange juice instead of a full cup for 50 calories less.

Blotting the fat from greasy foods like cheese pizza or burgers can soak up a teaspoon of grease, at 40 calories from two slices of pizza alone.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=336

Stick to whole foods as much as possible. A potato is a better option than an order of fries, just as an apple is healthier than a slice of apple pie. Or if you eat the pie, choose a fruit or custard pie over a cream pie, take 1/3 smaller pieces and don't eat the crust. Or even better, make a fruit cobbler with biscuits on top and a light syrup and you will have a dessert that also has your fruit and starch servings with lees fat. Just sprinkle cinnamon on the unsweetened biscuits.

You don't have to eat everything on your plate unless you really like it and you aren't full. I learned from eating out that saving the rest for later is great and saves my stomach and hips. If I don't like it, I give it to my husband
to eat instead of forcing myself to polish off that plate. I'm not a big bread eater, so I save my starches for something I really like.

Sources:

http://www.healthcastle.com/cut_calories2.shtml

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=336