Start your day by breakfasting on wholegrain instead of refined carbohydrates, or brown bread over white. Refined products cause your blood sugar to spike and crash, whereas whole grains give you sustained energy and help you feel fuller for longer, getting rid of that need for a sugar fix. You can also try oatmeal, fruits and vegetables for great sources of sustained release of energy. At breakfast you can also cut calories by swapping your sausage for lean bacon, eating a yeast doughnut instead of the denser kind and pouring more milk and less cereal into your bowl.
For lunch, add low fat cottage cheese to your plain salad. This makes it much more filling, so you’ll be less likely to want to add something unhealthy to it or eat something later. If you order junk food, get the smallest size fizzy drink and ask for no cheese on your burger. When making sandwiches, again wholegrain bread is the way forward and choosing shredded parmesan instead of sliced cheese means you’ve still got that great taste, but you just consume less.
When dinner rolls around, skip butter altogether or replace it with trans-fat free margarine. Water down your soup to reduce your calorie consumption and if you’re hankering after a pizza, choose one with a thin crust. When you share one big meal with a friend you consume fewer calories (and save more money) than if you ordered two separate meals.
Finally, don’t forget to calorie-cut your snacks. Replace a chocolate bar with a chocolate-covered strawberry, and if you’re baking cakes or muffins you can reduce the calorie content by replacing half (or all) of the butter with mashed banana or applesauce. Remember, if you have a fruit snack 15 minutes before a meal, you’ll consume 187 fewer calories on average each time.