save calories

Ten Easy Ways To Save Some Calories

May 28, 2016 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

10 Ways To Save Calories

If you’re full, stop eating and clear your plate right away. If the food hangs around in front of you, you’ll keep picking at it until there’s nothing left. An exception – a study has found that looking at the “carnage” – the leftover bones from barbecued ribs or even the number of empty beer bottles – can serve as an “environmental cue” to stop eating.
Do you really need to stand in front of the buffet table or kitchen spread? The further away from the food you are the less likely you are to eat it. Don’t sit or stand where you can see the food that’s calling your name. Keep your back to it if you can’t keep distant. There’s just so much control you can exercise before “see it = eat it.” Take a walk or engage someone in an animated conversation. It’s pretty hard to shove food in your mouth when you’re busy talking.
Before you grab another slice, some chips, mac and cheese, or a cookie — ask yourself if you really want it. Are you hungry? Is it worth the calories? Odds are, the tempting display of food in front of you is visually seductive – and may smell great, too — but you may be reaching out to eat what’s there for reasons not dictated by your stomach, but by your eyes. Have you decided that you want to splurge on something specific? Try deciding what that splurge will be ahead of time and commit to your choice so you don’t find yourself wavering in the face of temptation.
Drink from a tall, thin glass instead of a short, wide one. You’ll drink 25%-30% less. People given short wide glasses poured 76% more than people who were given tall slender glasses, and they believed that they had poured less. Even experienced bartenders poured more into a short, wide glass.
Let this be your mantra: no seconds. Choose your food, fill your plate, and that’s it. Keep a running account in your head of how many hors d’ oeuvre you’ve eaten or how many cookies. Keep away from food spreads and open bags of anything to help limit nibbling and noshing.
Stop eating before you’re full. If you keep eating until your stomach finally feels full you’ll likely end up feeling stuffed when you do stop eating. It takes a little time (around 20 minutes) for your brain to catch up and realize that your stomach is full. A lot of eating is done with your eyes and your eyes love to tell you to try this and to try that.
Divide your food up into smaller portions and separate them to help avoid overeating. Yale researchers took tubes of potato chips and made each seventh or fourteenth one red. The people who got to the red potato chip “stop signs” ate less than half as many chips as the people without the red chips — and they more accurately estimated how much they’d eaten. Definitely avoid eating from a large open bag — count out your chips, crackers, and pretzels or only eat from a single portion size bag. Who can stop when there’s an open bag of salty, crunchy food right in front of you? It’s amazingly easy to keep mindlessly eating until the bag is empty. A dive to the bottom of a 9-ounce bag of chips (without dip) is 1,260 calories. One serving, about 15 chips, is 140 calories.
Cut down a little bit, you probably won’t even notice. Have a one scoop cone instead of 2 scoops, a regular portion of French fries instead of a large, a small smoothie instead of a medium. Eat slowly and give your brain time to register the fact that you’ve fed your body some food. You’ll probably be just as satisfied with the smaller portion and you’ll have saved yourself a lot of calories.
Use a fork and knife instead of your fingers, a teaspoon rather than a tablespoon — anything to slow down the food going into your mouth. Chopsticks can slow you down even more. Chew your food instead of wolfing it down. If you have to work at eating your food – cutting it with a knife, for instance – you’ll eat more mindfully than if you pick food up with your fingers and pop it into your mouth. Before you eat, drink some water, a no- or low-calorie beverage, or some clear soup. The liquids fill up your stomach and leave less room for the high calorie stuff.
Use a smaller plate. We eat an average of 92% of what we serve ourselves. We pile more food onto larger plates, so a larger plate means we eat more food. A two inch difference in plate diameter—decreasing the plate size to ten inches from 12 inches—would mean a serving that has 22% fewer calories. It’s a smaller serving but not small enough to leave you still hungry and heading back for seconds.

8 Ways To Save Calories When You Order Fast Food

March 18, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Tip 1. Know your setting: pace yourself in the “speed eating” environment of fast food restaurants. Restaurant decor of fast food restaurants is not an accident — it is designed with the intention of getting you to eat and run. The red and gold color schemes in many fast food and Chinese restaurants encourage you to chow down quickly.

Tip 2. Go easy on sauces and dressings: There are lots of calories in mayo, sour cream, salad dressing and other “special” sauces, like those often found on burgers. The amount on your sandwich or salad often depends on the “hand” of the person preparing your food or how much you pour on. The best way to control this is to ask for the sauce or dressing on the side and add it (or not) by yourself. You really can do this — even in fast food burger places! Source: McDonald’s USA Nutrition Facts for Popular Menu Items

McDonald’s Creamy ranch Sauce (0.8 ounces): 110 calories, 110 calories from fat
Newman’s Own Low Fat Sesame ginger Dressing ( 1.5 ounces) 90 calories, 25 calories from fat
McDonald’s Spicy Buffalo Sauce (0.8 ounces): 35 calories, 30 calories from fat
Newman’s Own Creamy Southwest Dressing (1.5 ounces): 120 calories, 70 calories from fat
Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing (2 ounces): 200 calories, 150 calories from fat
McDonald’s Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce (1 Package): 50 calories, no fat
McDonald’s Honey Mustard Sauce (0.8 ounces): 60 calories,, 35 calories from fat
McDonald’s Tartar Sauce Cup (1 ounce): 140 calories, 130 calories from fat

Tip 3. Opt for chicken or fish as long as it’s not fried/breaded/or called crispy – which is just an alias for fried. Order it grilled, baked or broiled. Another sauce alert: lots of the sauces have a ton of sugar in them. Make your best choice (check the labels or nutrition info) and dip sparingly. Source: McDonald’s USA Nutrition Facts for Popular Menu Items

McDonald’s Premium McWrap Chicken & Bacon (Crispy): 610 calories, 280 calories from fat
McDonald’s Premium McWrap Chicken & Ranch (Grilled): 450 calories, 160 calories from fat

Tip 4. Order your burger or chicken sandwich without bacon or cheese: A serving size of meat is about 3 ounces — about the size of a deck of cards. You’re probably getting well over that with a single meat patty. One slice of bacon adds about 43 calories, but how many sandwiches come with only one slice? One slice of American cheese clocks in at 94 calories.

Tip 5. Do you really need (read “need” not “want”) fries, curly fries, potato sticks, or onion rings? You can order salad or a baked potato instead (as long as you don’t smother them in butter and/or sour cream or salad dressing). If you absolutely must have fries, order a small or a kid’s size. Large fries can tack on around 500 calories. Larger sizes may seem like a good “value” but the beefed up sizes also beef up the calories, fat, and sugar.

Tip 6. Avoid combo specials: they might have wallet appeal but you get, on average, 55% more calories for 17% more money. What’s more important, your waistline, or your wallet?

Tip 7. Survey the sides: Eating a burger or sandwich by itself is often filling enough. If you do want a side, consider ordering a fruit cup or side salad instead of French fries or onion rings. Most fast food restaurants now offer them. Source: McDonald’s USA Nutrition Facts for Popular Menu Items

McDonald’s Side Salad (3.1 ounces): 20 calories, no fat
McDonald’s Apple Slices (1.2 ounces): 15 calories, no fat
McDonald’s Large French Fries: 510 calories, 220 calories from fat
McDonald’s Medium French Fries: 340 calories, 140 calories from fat
McDonald’s Kids’ Fries: 110 calories, 50 calories from fat

Tip 8. Don’t drink your calories. Soda isn’t the only sugary drink. Sweetened tea, sports drinks, non-diet flavored water, juice, flavored milk, and shakes are sugary drinks, too. A 12-ounce can of coke has 140 calories and 39 grams of sugar (about 10 teaspoons). Eight ounces of orange juice has 110 calories and 25 grams of carbs. At Burger King, a small classic coca cola has 190 calories and 51g carbs; a medium classic coca cola has 290 calories and 79 carbs. Decreasing – or eliminating — the amount of sugary soda that you drink is an easy way to save calories.

For 99 cents you can get the lowdown on Easter Candy. Check out my ebook Easter Candy Facts and Fun on Amazon. You’ll spend less than you would on jelly beans. It’s also way fewer calories than a chocolate bunny!

5 Ways Your Plates, Glasses, Forks And Spoons Can Save You Calories

September 9, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

If you’re full, stop eating and clear your plate right away. If it hangs around in front of you, you’ll keep picking at it until there’s nothing left. An exception – a study has found that looking at the “carnage” – the leftover bones on your plate from barbecued ribs or even the number of empty beer bottles in front of you – can serve as an “environmental cue” to stop eating.
Drink from a tall, thin glass instead of a short, wide one. You’ll drink 25%-30% less. People who were given short wide glasses poured 76% more into them than people who were given tall slender glasses — and they believed that they had poured less! Even experienced bartenders poured more into a short, wide glass than they did into a taller, thinner one.
3. Use a (smaller) fork and knife instead of your fingers, a teaspoon rather that a tablespoon. It takes longer, requires more effort, and provides a smaller “shovel” for getting food into your mouth. Chopsticks slow you down even more. Chew your food instead of wolfing it down. If you have to work at eating your food – cutting with a knife for instance – you’ll eat more mindfully than if you pick food up with your fingers and pop it into your mouth.
Use a smaller plate. We eat an average of 92% of what we serve ourselves. We pile more food onto larger plates, so a larger plate means we eat more food. A two inch difference in plate diameter—decreasing the plate size to ten inches from 12 inches—would mean a serving that has 22% fewer calories. It’s a smaller serving but not small enough to leave you still hungry and heading back for seconds.
Get those serving dishes off of the table. If most of your meals are family style with bowls and platters of food brought to the table for everyone to help themselves, keep the serving dishes off of the table and onto the counter if you want to save some calories. When serving dishes are left on the table men eat 29% more and women 10% more than when serving dishes stay on the counter. It’s harder to mindlessly shove food into your mouth if you have to get up to get it. Sticking out your fork and shoveling more onto your plate while your butt remains firmly planted in your chair makes it far too easy to munch without much thought about the quantity of food that’s going into your mouth.

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Want To Avoid Seconds? Keep The Serving Dishes Off Of The Table

May 25, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Do you skimp on putting food onto your plate thinking that it will keep your calorie count down?

What happens? You eat the skimpy portion – decide you’re still hungry – and then go back, maybe two or three times, for more.

And if you keep the serving dishes on the table right in front of you, it’s way too easy to keep refilling your plate – or just stick your fork out and eat from the platter.

Get Those Serving Dishes Off The Table

If you want to make it a little easier for yourself to save on calories, one thing you can do is to get those serving dishes off of the table. When serving dishes are left on the table men eat 29% more and women 10% more than when those serving dishes stay on the counter.

Why?

It’s harder to grab seconds if you have to get up to get them. Sticking out your fork and shoveling more onto your plate while your butt remains firmly planted in your chair makes it far too easy to refill your plate without much thought about the quantity of food that’s going into your mouth.

Men chow down on more servings than women because they tend to eat fast – impatiently gobbling food while they wait for everyone else in the family to finish. As a result, they end up eating seconds and thirds while other people are still on firsts. Women usually eat more slowly so they’re not as likely to get to the seconds and thirds.

To help avoid the temptation of going back for seconds:

Let this be your mantra: no seconds. Figure out a reasonable portion of food that is within reason but not so skimpy that you’re nowhere near satisfied when you’re finished.
Keep the serving dishes off of the table.
Choose your food, fill your plate from the stove or from the serving dishes on the counter, and that’s it. No seconds.

Can You Save Calories Eating A Ham And Cheese Sandwich Instead Of A Salad?

May 14, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Somehow we’ve embraced the idea that salads are always a light and healthy choice. Sometimes they are – but all too often they aren’t.

Listen to lunchtime orders and you hear salad, salad, salad – and an occasional sandwich. Sometimes the sandwich is the clear winner in terms of calories and fat. For instance, a ham and cheese sandwich ranges from 350 to 450 calories depending upon how much ham and cheese there really is – and whether it comes with mustard or mayo (and, of course, not fries or chips). And sometimes the salad is a better choice — depending on what goes into it. Check out the following nutritional facts for salads.

The Green Base

The green stuff that’s the base for most salads isn’t the problem. Most greens are very low in calories and pretty nutritious.

1 cup shredded Romaine: 8 calories, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein, 0 gram fat
1 cup of Arugula: 6 calories, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein, 0 gram fat
1 cup raw spinach: 7 calories, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram protein
1 cup chopped kale: 32 calories, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 0 gram fat

Where’s The Problem?

Answer: Hidden in high calorie add-ons and dressings.

Generally, at least ¼ of a cup (frequently more) of dressing is added to a tossed salad. A ladle of creamy dressing has about 360 calories and 38g of fat (a cheeseburger’s worth).
Tuna, macaroni, and chicken salads, the holy grail of delis and salad bars, are loaded with mayonnaise, which is loaded with fat. ½ cup of chicken salad has around 208 calories, 16g of fat; tuna salad has 192 calories, 9g fat; tuna pasta salad has 397 calories, 9g fat; macaroni salad has 170 calories, 9g fat. (Remember, ½ cup is pretty small.)
Then there’s cheese. A ¼ cup (a ¼ cup serving is really small) serving of shredded cheddar has 114 calories, 9g fat; blue cheese has 80 calories, 6g fat; feta has 75 calories, 6g fat.
Croutons and Crispy Noodles: ¼ cup of plain croutons has 31 calories, 0g fat; 1 serving of McDonald’s Butter Garlic Croutons has 60 calories, 1g fat; ¼ cup of crispy noodles has 74 calories, 4g fat
Dried cranberries: ¼ cup has 98 calories, 0g fat
Nuts and seeds: ¼ cup sunflower seeds: 210 calories, 19g fat; chopped walnuts: 193 calories, 18g fat
Avocado, ¼ cup: 58 calories, 5g fat
Bacon bits, 1 tablespoon: 25 calories, 2g fat
Bread (often used to sop up leftover dressing): 1 piece of French bread, 82 calories, 1g fat; 1 dinner roll, 78 calories, 2g fat. Dressing sopped up by the bread or roll: lots of extra fat calories!

This tip is part of the “lose 5 pounds in 5 weeks” challenge. Read more about the challenge here and post how you’re doing on Eat Out Eat Well’s Facebook page.