1. Add Meat Free Burgers to Your Menu
If you're a burger fan, finding an alternative to high-fat fast food burgers is a must! But before you head to the meat counter, pay a visit to the freezer aisle: There are many meat-free options that can solve your burger craving. Making the switch may do more than help your dieting efforts: Eating less red meat not only cuts calories, but also lessens your saturated fat intake.
2. Assemble Smarter Salads
Cheese? Croutons? A dollop of ranch dressing? Those little "extras" on top of your salad could turn an otherwise healthy meal into a diet disaster. Imagine this -- two tablespoons of my favorite dressing is the caloric equivalent of a candy bar being atop my salad! Your favorite salad staples may up your calorie-count before you realize it, too. Learn what to keep (and what to toss!) as you toss your next salad.
3. Cut Comfort Food Calories
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If your idea of comfort food heaven is fried chicken and mashed potatoes, I've got good news for you: You can enjoy both for many fewer calories with a few simple changes, such as using fat-free sour cream in potatoes and oven frying chicken instead of pan frying. Mac and cheese and chocolate chip cookies are also among the foods that can be modified to cut calories without sacrificing flavor.
4. Enjoy More Comfort Foods for Fewer Calories
From bacon and eggs in the morning to meat and potatoes at dinner, making better choices at the supermarket and during preparation can make comfort foods much more diet-friendly. Even if you don't cook, comfort food calories can be reduced: The best thing to happen to ice cream in years? A new manufacturing process that double churns so your tongue is tricked into thinking you're eating more fat than you actually are!
5. Find Ways to Add Fiber
Fiber is beneficial in so many ways. Not only will getting enough help regulate the digestion process, it can also help you keep your blood sugar at an even keel and help you feel fuller longer, both of which can prevent overeating. Ideally, you should increase your fiber intake a little bit at a time rather than all at once. Simply swapping your usual cereal for bran flakes or adding some beans to a favorite recipe are great first steps.
6. Pack Your Diet with Whole Grains
You've probably heard whole grains being touted in the media or seen cereal packages that state the enclosed product is a good source of them, but do you know why they're so important? Not only are they healthier and lower in calories than refined grains, they are more filling so they may help prevent overeating. Plus, they could help lessen your risk of developing both heart disease and diabetes.
7. Put Pizza Pointers to Use
You might think you have to stop enjoying pizza to lose weight, but with a few simple changes you can enjoy a slice every now and again without doing your diet too much damage. Small changes such as blotting the grease off of pepperoni pizza, ordering thin crust varieties and adding lots of veggies (so one slice is as filling as two!) can help you eat less and consume fewer calories.
