To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than your body uses. Once you start looking, you can find ways to cut calories in your meals, snacks, and even beverages.

Eat More, Weigh Less: Make some healthy swaps and use fruits and vegetables to help manage your weight

Research shows that people get full by the amount of food they eat, not the number of calories they take in. You can cut calories in your favorite foods by lowering the amount of fat and or increasing the amount of fiber-rich ingredients, such as vegetables or fruit.

The key is to eat foods that will fill you up without eating a large amount of calories.

Eating fewer calories doesn’t necessarily mean eating less food and feeling hungry. Replacing some higher calorie foods with foods that are lower in calories, can still be satisfying and fill you up.

You can create lower-calorie versions of some of your favorite meals by reducing the amount of unhealthy fat (which is more calorie dense) and substituting fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in fat and calories, in its place.

The water and fiber in fruits and vegetables will add volume to your dishes and are filling so you can eat the same amount of food with fewer calories.

Snacks

Avoid the vending machine! Pack your own healthy snacks to bring to work. Options include veggie sticks, fresh fruit, low-fat or nonfat yogurt without added sugar, or a small handful of dry-roasted nuts.

Snacks	Healthy swap	Calories Saved
One large orange	Instead of 3 chocolate sandwich cookies	54 cals
3 cups air-popped popcorn	Instead of oil-popped popcorn	73 cals
8 oz of sugar-free nonfat yogurt	Instead of 6 peanut butter crackers	82 cals
A bottle of sparkling water	Instead of a 12-oz. of regular soda or 6oz wine	approx.136 cals

Here are some ways to cut calories at each meal.
Try these healthy swaps:

Breakfast	Healthy swap	Calories Saved
Cereal	1 cup fat-free milk instead of whole milk	63 cals
Eggs	1 squirt cooking spray instead of 1 pat butter	34 cals
Toast	Reduced-calorie margarine for toast rather than butter or stick margarine	36 cals

Lunch	Healthy swap	Calories Saved
Sandwiches	Use 2 slices of red tomato and onion and 1⁄4 cup cucumber slices, instead of 3⁄4 oz cheese and 1 oz ham	154 cals
Sides	1⁄2 cup fresh fruit or side salad w/ low-fat vinaigrette instead of 1oz potato chips, or fries	118 cals or 270 cals
Soup	Choose vegetable-based instead of meat or cream-based soups saves	approx. 45 cals/cup
Salad	Dip your fork into ½ Tbsp. dressing instead of pouring 2Tbsp. dressing on the salad saves	109 cals

Dinner	Healthy swap	Calories Saved
Vegetables	Use a non-stick pan to steam or grill instead of frying in 1⁄2 Tbsp oil	62 cals
Pasta	Part-skim instead of whole milk ricotta cheese	89 cals/cup
	Shredded carrots, zucchini, and spinach instead of ground meat	40 cals/cup
Pizza	1 slice cheese & veggie pizza instead of one slice of a meat and cheese pizza	60 cals

Avoid Portion Size Pitfalls

Research shows that people unintentionally consume more calories when faced with larger portions. As portion sizes have grown, we have been conditioned to eat more. Therefore being aware of portion size can go a long way towards reducing calories.

Portion control when eating out

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Many restaurants serve more food than a person needs. Try

– Splitting an entrée with a friend
– Put half of your meal in a “to-go” box as soon as it’s brought to the table.

Portion control when eating in

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To minimize the temptation of second helpings

– Serve the food on individual plates, instead of serving dishes on the table.
– Keeping the excess food out of reach may discourage overeating.

Portion control in front of the TV

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It’s easy to overeat when your attention is focused on something else.

-Put the amount that you plan to eat into a container instead of eating from the package.

Go ahead, “spoil your dinner!”

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– If you feel hungry between meals, eat a healthy snack, like a piece of fruit or small salad, to avoid overeating during your next meal.

Be aware of large packages

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The larger the package, the more people tend to consume, without realizing it. To minimize this

– Get into the habit of serving out portions.
– Don’t eat straight from the package.

Out of sight, out of mind

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People tend to consume more when the food is easily accessible.

– Store tempting foods, like cookies, chips, or ice cream, out of eyesight, like on a high shelf or at the back of the freezer.
– Move healthier food to the front at eye level.
– When buying in bulk, store the excess out of sight.
– Replace the candy dish with a fruit bowl.

Learn More

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/cutting_calories.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/pdf/Energy_Density.pdf

Tipping the Calorie Balance