For a Start
- Begin with adding just one fruit or vegetable to your serving a day. Then you can gradually increase their number until you reach 8 to 10 per day.
- Try to eat at least two servings of a fruit or veggie at every meal.
- Decide never to supersize your food portions. It is unlikely you want to supersize your clothes.
- Make your eating purposeful. Whenever you put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it and sit.
- Eat big breakfast. It helps you consume fewer calories throughout the day.
- Make sure your plate is half veggies or fruit at lunch and dinner.
Tricks for Cutting Calories
- A typical restaurant dish has 1,000 to 2,000 calories. This is without counting calories that are in bread, aperitif, drink and dessert. When eating out, halve your dish, and bag the rest.
- When dining out with your friend, order one dessert to share. Make this your habit.
- Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.
- You have to see what you eat. Place your food on the plate, don’t eat out of the jar or bag.
- Begin with eating of the low-cal foods on your plate, then graduate. For example, you may start with salads, veggies and broth soups. At the end eat meats and starches. By the time you get to them, you'll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.
- Replace the consumption of whole milk with 1 percent.
- Juice has as many calories, as soda. Limit its consumption for one glass per day.
- Take calories from foods you chew, not drinks. Replace fruit juice with fresh fruit.
- Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.
- Try to follow the Chinese saying: “Eat until you are eight-tenths full.”
- Replace mayo with mustard.
- Eat more soup. The non-creamy soups are filling but low-cal.
- Cut out caloric drinks like sweet tea, soda, lemonade and others.
- Bring your lunch to work.
- You should sit while eating, don’t stand or walk.
- Dilute fruit juice with water, approximately one to one.
- Have mostly veggies for lunch.
- Eat at home.
- Limit alcohol on weekends.
Repeat Yourself
- The best portion of high-calorie foods is the smallest one. The best portion of vegetables is the largest one.
- My cravings will disappear after 10 minutes if I turn my attention elsewhere.
- I want to be around to see my grandchildren, so I can forgo a cookie now.
- I am a work in progress.
- It's more stressful to continue being fat than to stop overeating.
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