Ways to cut fat calories from your diet

Calories can be very cruel – it only takes three sips of a rich, foamy frappuccino to fill up with 300 calories and half an hour of intense exercising to burn it all away. Still, there are ways to cut calories from your diet without having to always carry a notebook and a calculator with you. You can significantly reduce your daily calorie intake without making any dramatic changes in your diet, just a few small adjustments.

For breakfast

• Need your carbs fix? Split your bagel with a coworker.
• Have your coffee without any added milk or sugar.
• Replace your glass of orange juice with one fresh orange.
• Have turkey instead of sausage or bacon.
• Eat your granola from a 4 ounce mug, rather than your regular 8 ounce bowl.
• Go for a low-fat yogurt (if it has fibers in it, it’s a plus), rather than your usual fruit yogurt.
• You can have pancakes, just lose the butter.
• Scramble together 4 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs.

For lunch

• Remove the Swiss cheese from your sandwich.
• Replace mayo with mustard and save up 80 calories.
• Say no to croutons when you’re having a salad.
• Go for slice of Pizza Hut cheese pan pizza instead of the meat lover’s variety.
• No sweeteners in your ice-tea.
• Place your chicken salad into a whole-wheat pita instead of between slices of multigrain bread.
• Have your burger with turkey, instead of beef.
• Have a quesadilla made with two 6-inch corn, not flour, tortillas.

At dinner

• Replace nonfat Greek yogurt for a serving of sour cream.
• Go for chicken broth instead of oil to sauté meat and veggies.
• When you’re cooking meatballs, meatloaf, or burgers, go half-and-half with ground beef and turkey.
• Making lasagna? Swap low-fat cottage cheese for whole-milk ricotta.
• Have sugar-free Jell-O instead of pudding.
• Better have 5 meringue cookies than of 2 chocolate chip ones.
• Drink sparkling water instead of soda.
• For a simple portion control, drink your wine from a Champagne flute, instead of an oversize goblet.