Quick and Easy Ways to Cut Calories
Counting calories can be tedious and time-consuming. A less demanding approach is to find low-calorie substitutes for foods you eat every day.
If you do the math you'll see simple changes in daily habits add up to significant reductions in the number of calories you consume.
"Eating 100 calories less each day can help you lose 10 pounds in a year," says Jo-Ann Heslin, registered dietitian and co-author of The Calorie Counter (3rd Edition, Pocket Books, 2003). "It can be done by making small changes in what you eat."
The trick is to eliminate something you typically consume on a daily basis. By taking that approach, it's easy to remember. You're basically forming a new routine, replacing a high-calorie habit with one that is lower in calories.
The following scenarios demonstrate the impact of small changes. Make just a couple of these adjustments and you can easily cut 100 to 200 – or more – calories a day.
