Smart Ways to Slash 100 (or More) Calories
Prevent holiday pounds from creeping up on you with these effortless switches.
By Sharon Liao
1 Leave behind three or four bites of your meal. Research shows that people usually polish off everything they're served, even if they're not hungry.
2 Skin your chicken after cooking it. You'll retain moisture yet still strip away 148 calories and 13 grams of fat.
3 Blend your smoothie for at least five minutes. According to a Pennsylvania State University study, people who drank a breakfast smoothie mixed to twice its initial volume ate about 100 fewer calories at lunch than when they drank the same smoothie at the original volume. The extra air makes you feel fuller, say researchers.
4 Eat your sandwiches and burgers open-faced, with one slice of bread instead of two.
5 ORder a cup of soup as an appetizer. People who fill up on soup (that's broth- or tomato-based, not cream-based) consume about 100 fewer calories during the rest of the meal, says a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
6 swap your chocolate bar (235 calories) for a glass of light chocolate soy milk (120 calories).
7 use butter-flavored nonstick spray, not a tablespoon of margarine or butter, to make grilled-cheese sandwiches and eggs.
8 Order a white-wine spritzer (80 calories) instead of a mixed drink (about 180 calories).
© 2008 Weider Publications, LLC, a subsidiary of
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READER COMMENTS
i Love adding hot sause to my meal. it really makes a difference when you need some flavor and not alot of calories! it adds a kick to salsa, veggie pizza, and even eggs! i love it
— Elisse
When you just do these simple things you don't really have to diet at all. Leaving few bites on the plate has now become a way of life for me. After a while I learned how to cook less. it is all in the portions.
— Tina
The best advice was leaving behind a few bites. Before I knew it was consuming about 200 less calories a day.
— Lesta
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