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5 easy ways to cut calories
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With the hectic schedule of a working mom, it’s hard to find the time or energy to count calories. In addition to the weight you put on after growing a human for nine months, the extra pounds can really sneak up on you when you’re so busy you’re not paying attention to what you eat. Raise your hand if you’ve finished your kid’s plate or eaten a meal in your car in the last week. It’s ok. Me too.
So I reached out to a local nutritionist Kelly Satola, founder of Stellar Nutrition in Independence, to get some easy ideas on ways moms can cut their calories without having to monitor every bite or start a “diet”.
According to Kelly, it’s easy to skim calories off your day by making some changes to HOW you eat. She recommends that rather than creating a list of “off limit” foods which will just cause you to crave them more, pay attention to your appetite and enjoy all foods, just don’t overdo it!
She offered some tips on avoiding the biggest calorie traps moms can fall into:
- Save calories for food! Your body doesn’t recognize calories from beverages as well as it does from foods. Downing a few 150 calorie cans of soda throughout the day adds up but does not fill you up. Tea drinks such as Arizona Green Tea or sweet tea from a fast food restaurant can contain as many as 130 calories per serving. Try the natural brewed iced teas or a diet version. Treat yourself to one coffee drink and make it skinny or nonfat to save up to half the calories. Bottled frappuccino drinks contain almost 300 calories and up to 5 grams of fat!
- Keep your eyes on your own plate! Although it’s a shame to waste food, resist the temptation to eat your kids’ leftovers especially if you’ve finished your own meal and are not hungry. Gradual weight gain comes from regularly consuming more calories than your body needs. Give kids smaller portions and let them ask for seconds. Serve or order smaller portions for yourself if you usually finish theirs.
- Eat breakfast! You may consume more calories at lunch or start grazing well before lunch to “make up” for the missed breakfast. Not giving your body this morning metabolism boost can make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight. You may also be missing out on the B vitamins, calcium, and vitamin C that typical breakfast foods such as cereal, milk and fruit juice contain. Try whipping up a smoothie with low-fat yogurt and fruit for a quick, portable, nutritious breakfast.
- Snack on part of your lunch! If you eat an early breakfast and have a late lunch, chances are you’ll be hungry for a snack sometime mid-morning. Instead of spending money and calories on a vending machine snack, pull something out of your packed lunch (i.e. piece of fruit, ½ sandwich, yogurt). Spacing out your lunch will satisfy your appetite now and curb your calorie intake at lunchtime. And if you work late, try packing an additional snack item to eat later in the afternoon. Otherwise, you may be so hungry when you get home you’ll overdo it grazing before dinner.
- Have some salad with your dressing! It only takes three tablespoons of ranch dressing to add more than 200 calories. Ordering dressing on the side doesn’t do much good if you pour the entire ¼ cup on your salad! Instead, dip your fork in the dressing FIRST before spearing the salad. You’ll be surprised how much less dressing you use and it still tastes great. Also, go easy on the croutons, bacon bits, and creamy salads which add a lot of calories and fat.
With these easy strategies in mind, you could be trimming off hundreds of calories a day without much effort. I take heart that here's still time before swimsuit season!
Kelly J. Satola MS, RD, LD provides nutrition therapy and support to clients referred by local physicians, therapists and employee assistance programs. She conducts classes, in-services and seminars for schools, businesses and organizations in NE Ohio. You can contact her at:
Stellar Nutrition LLC
6505 Rockside Road; Suite 120
Independence, OH 44131
(216) 973-8052
kellysatola at yahoo.com
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