1. Lighten up your mayo.
Swapping your regular mayonnaise for a lower-fat version can save significant calories. Light mayonnaise reduces calories per tablespoon to 35 or so,
and total fat to between 3 and 4 grams per serving. Low-fat or reduced-fat varieties usually cut calories and fat to 15 and about 1 gram, respectively.
Going from 90 calories per tablespoon to 15 is a significant reduction, and when it comes to losing weight over the long term,
these are the kinds of changes that really add up.
2. Freshen your salads with lime.
Think about swapping any kind of salad dressing for fresh lime juice, with no fat, and calories you can count on one hand. Fresh lime juice will give you a burst of flavor, and complements the garden vegetables of your salad without compromising your healthy intentions.
3. Move to lower-fat dairy products.
Whole milk contains almost 4 percent fat, and 1 cup of whole milk has 156 calories, 9 grams of total fat, and 34 milligrams of cholesterol. Low-fat, 1 percent milk has 54 fewer calories, 7 grams less fat, 22 milligrams less cholesterol, the same amount of calcium, and more vitamin A per cup. Nonfat, or skim milk, has only 86 calories per cup.
Every opportunity you take to use reduced fat or nonfat dairy products in place of the full fat versions takes calories out of your daily diet. Taking calories out of your diet without completely eliminating an entire group of foods is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss. Even if you don’t think you can make the leap straight to nonfat, there are perfectly delicious reduced fat options, and every little bit makes a difference.
4. Spice it up.
Fat adds flavor to food, and one reason you like higher-fat foods is for the flavor. But, you can add incredible flavor with no calories and no fat by adding spices. And, you can add spices to anything, especially where your first thought might be to add butter and salt.
5. When you need your next chocolate fix, try nonfat, sugar-free chocolate pudding instead.
If you use nonfat milk to mix your pudding, you can enjoy a 1/2-cup serving for 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, and one carb choice — 15 grams of carbohydrate. You save 200 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 20 grams of carbohydrate.
If you’re feeling especially frisky, stir a tablespoon of peanut butter into your pudding, and you still save 100 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 15 grams of carbohydrate compared to the milk chocolate bar.
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