10 Weight Loss and Calorie Cutting Tips

Do you want to save calories and eat the same food?

Of course you do! We all do! The trick is to cut the "fat." Get rid of the unnecessary crap that adds calories and keep you from losing weight. Here are ten quick and easy tips to cut calories and help you lose weight.

1. Coffee- Drink your coffee black. I know; you don't like the way it tastes. Good news. Your taste buds will change and become accustom to what you eat. Coffee, according to MyFitnessPal,is 2 calories per 8 ounces. That is an insignificant portion of your diet. If you cut out milk, creamer, and sugar from your coffee you could save 100 calories per drink.

That is 700 calories a week or 1 pound a month by drinking black coffee!

2. Fat-Free Milk- Whole milk is 146 calories per serving. Fat-free (skim) milk is only 80 calories. You get the exact same calcium and protein without the added calories and fat. This swap will cut calories from your bowl of cereal, your post workout chocolate milk, or your simple, delicious glass of milk.

3. Food Flavorings- The sauces, dressings, and toppings that we add to our foods kill our calorie intake. Melted cheese, BBQ sauce, and salad dressing can double or triple the calorie count in that meal. Try these alternatives to add flavor and save calories

• Balsamic vinegar instead of salad dressing. Balsamic 14 calories. Salad dressing 40-200 calories per serving in only 1 or 2 tablespoons. 
• Cinnamon added to oatmeal, yogurt, toast adds flavor and only 6 calories per teaspoon.
• Parmesan cheese sprinkled on chicken, salads, or vegetables add loads of flavor with minimal calories.
• Pepper whatever you want. 0 calories. It adds tremendous flavor, can enhance the function of your digestive tract, limits bacteria growth, and helps diminish gas in the intestinal tract. Great for when you eat so many veggies.

4. PB2 Over Peanut Butter- PB2 Peanut Butter is a great alternative to peanut butter because it has a quarter of the calories, 85% less fat, and only 3 ingredients. I LOVE peanut butter. I could eat peanut butter on most anything. The problem is I know peanut butter is only a part of a healthy diet, not a healthy diet on its own. Then I, or my wife, discovered PB2. You mix the powdered peanut butter with water and use just like peanut butter. Try it out and see if it satisfies your peanut butter cravings. It did for me. 

5. Snack on Celery- Celery is a great, virtually calorie free vegetable. There are 19 calories in 1 cup of celery, but your body has to burn just as many calories to digest the celery, so it is a wash. Eat it as a snack, with PB2, or hummus. Enjoy snacking on celery.

6. Egg Whites- Egg whites only contain 17 calories. There is nothing wrong with the entire egg, but if you are cutting calories you can eat just the white. The egg white is made of protein. You need protein for repairing muscles, building muscle, and it makes you feel full for longer. My favorites are egg white breakfast tacos or a 1 egg + 3 egg white omelette with spinach.

7. Go Oil-Free- Try cooking without oil. No butter, no spray, no olive-oil. If you do this the only calories you consume are from the food you eat. I know what your saying. It will burn! It will stick to the pan! Okay, try squeezing lemon or lime juice in with whatever you bake or sautee. I learned from Meg to add water to the pan during the cooking process. A bit unconventional, but it works and our food turns out great!

8. Banana Ice Cream- No one ever thanks the infomercials, but this is where I first saw this. They were selling a machine that made banana ice cream out of frozen bananas. So, I wondered if I could do it in a blender. You bet you can! Just take your ripe bananas, peel them, and store the in the freezer. When you decide you want some banana ice cream take them out and put them in the blender. A true 100% fruit ice cream.

9. Lettuce Wrap- This has been called the un-wich, a salad to-go, or just a lettuce wrap. Substitute your bread for 2-4 big leafy Romaine lettuce leaves. You will save 50-150 calories. Try wrapping up turkey, tomato, avocado, peppers, and ground pepper in your lettuce wrap.

10. Stand Up- We sit too much anyways. I learned this from Jillian Michaels. You burn 50 EXTRA calories per hour. If you stood 10 hours a day that would be 500 calories. Sitting can actually promote the storing of body fat and can reduce brain function. Not permanently! If you can't stand all day at least try to get up and move every 15-30 minutes to stimulate your brain and your muscles. You will feel better, have more energy, and have greater focus. 

These tips drastically cut calories from your diet. Focus on 1 or 2 to start and add others as you feel comfortable. If you try to tackle all ten you will get frustrated and give up. We don't want that. Sweeping change is not always the answer. Incremental change over time makes a dramatic difference. 

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Jon Kidwell