What starts out as an innocent meal can easily turn into a caloric catastrophe. Eating too many calories, regardless of your current physical activity level, can wreak havoc on your body. To help you get healthy—and possibly shed a few pounds—here are multiple ways to save calories at every meal!
Breakfast
- Eat your fruit; don’t drink it. Twelve ounces of orange juice contains 165 calories versus the 62 calories in a medium orange.
- Think of granola as a condiment to be sprinkled over yogurt (for reference: 1/2 cup of granola is around 200 calories).
- Drink your coffee skinny. A whole-milk grande latte from Starbucks has almost 100 more calories than one with nonfat milk.
- Here are some low-cal breakfast ideas that are under 30 grams of sugar.
FitSugar: Extra Tastes Can Turn Into a Pound of Weight Gain in a Week
Brunch
- Have a smoothie made with fruit, nonfat yogurt, and ice, and skip the milk shake.
- Since many brunches offer buffet options, it can be tempting to fill your plate. But try to eat smaller portions—and choose lots of veggies and fruits since they are low in calories and will fill you up!
- Instead of calorie-filled egg dishes covered with rich sauces, why not get an omelet (try one made from just the whites) and spruce it up with some veggies instead of calorie-dense bacon or cheese?
- If you reach for a caffeinated beverage to go with your meal, make it an unsweetened tea instead of a Coke.
Lunch
- Make your sandwich open-faced. A slice of whole-wheat bread is anywhere between 70 and 90 calories, depending on the density of the bread.
- Ditch the mayo. Two and a half teaspoons of mayonnaise contain 90 calories, and the same amount mustard practically nil. Make sure not to order honey mustard, because the sweetness adds calories.
- Skip the slices of cheddar cheese—about 226 calories for two one-ounce slices—and choose thinly spread avocado instead.
- Ask for salad dressing on the side and dip when you need a dab.
Happy Hour
- Try swapping out a higher-calorie drink for a lower-calorie version. For instance, enjoy a vodka-cranberry (117 calories) instead of a strawberry daiquiri (230 calories).
- Try ordering a mojito (122 calories) instead of your usual rum and coke (369 calories).
- For snacks, choose chips and salsa (155 calories) instead of nachos (569 calories).
- Got a craving for fries? Choose sweet-potato fries (120 calories) over regular fries (302 calories).
Dinner
- Top your baked potato—whether a sweet spud or an Idaho—with 2 tablespoons of nonfat Greek yogurt for one-third of the calories found in sour cream.
- Skip the pepperoni and order your pizza with red bell pepper, and then douse it with red-pepper flakes.
- Dress your salad with lemon juice instead of olive oil, which clocks in at 119 calories a tablespoon.
- Trim the fat! If you’re cooking meat, trim off whatever fat you can.
- Skipping the chicken skin will save you 50 calories—and also keeps 4.5 grams of fat out of your meal.