Substitutions for Calories in Food

When at  restaurant:

Ask for the dressing on the side, or order salsa, hummus or guacamole. They add great flavor to the salad, and can be used sparingly. 

• Skip the bun
• Skip the bread
• Ask for the sauce on the side
• Share a plate of food

When at home:

When cooking beef. Mix vegetables in to decrease the amount of meat in the serving. Or use ground turkey (light meat).

• Mix mustard with salad dressing for tuna salad instead of mayo
• Saute veggies with chicken stock instead of olive oil
• Steam veggies
• Grill veggies or meat
• Poach meat
• Baking
• Use egg whites
• Use Greek yogurt, pumpkin, or applesauce instead of oil
• Use almond milk instead of regular milk

Other random hints:

• Don't drink your calories
• Make sure you are really hungry and not thirsty
• Watch out for phantom hunger. If your hunger requires something (Chocolate? Bread?) and comes on quickly, it is likely mental. When you are really hungry almost anything sounds good (broccoli anyone?)

For bloating:

• Drink lemon water
• Skip carbonated drinks
• Don't chew gum
• Lower your salt content