6 Calories Cutters to Fight Fat

Ditch extra calories and watch the pounds fall off fast with these easy weight loss tricks

By: Selene Yeager

Avoid Surplus Calories

Photo Credit: Thinkstock
Recent research confirms that the most important component for weight loss, especially after age 40, is controlling calories. Aim for 1,600 daily for optimal weight loss. To help, we rounded up the best research-backed tips for cutting calories, curbing your appetite, and keeping your weight loss efforts on the fast track.

Trim Down Portions at Home

Restaurant servings aren't the only ones growing. According to a study of 18 recipes published in The Joy of Cooking since it was first released in 1936, home-cooked meals have 63% more calories per serving today. One of the reasons is a 33% increase in serving sizes since 1996.

The solution: Halve recipes. Or assume you'll have leftovers and store half the food as soon as it's cooked.

Skip Over-Sweetened Drinks

People who eliminated just one sugar-sweetened beverage from their diets a day lost more weight over 6 months than those who reduced the same number of calories from solid food, found a Johns Hopkins University study. Researchers speculate that liquid calories are less satiating, leaving you hungrier.

Eat Protein at Every Meal

In a European study of 205 slimmed-down men and women, those who ate about 25% of their daily calories from protein (about 100 g for a 1,600-calorie diet) had an easier time maintaining their weight loss. Protein may help because it keeps you feeling full longer and uses more calories during digestion than carbohydrates and fat do, concluded the researchers.

Good choices: 3 ounces of chicken (26 g of protein), 3 ounces of tuna (22 g), 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese (14 g), 1/2 cup of soybeans (11 g), 1 cup of quinoa (8 g).

Begin with Broth

Research shows you'll eat about 20% fewer calories if you start a meal with soup instead of diving right into the main course. Just skip high-calorie creamy-based varieties.

Have a V-8

Vegetable juice may help quell your appetite and control calorie consumption. When University of California, Davis, researchers had a group of men and women follow a low-calorie, heart-healthy diet, those who drank at least 8 ounces of low-sodium vegetable juice daily lost 4 times more weight than those who skipped the healthy beverage.

Make Your Own Snack Packs

Dieters actually ate more when given pre-packaged 100-calorie snack packs than when they received larger packages, reports a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. These products may be perceived as low-cal “diet” food, but in reality, they tend to be sugary and non-filling so you may not stop at just one, explains Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, director of sports nutrition at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A better (and cheaper) option: buy a big bag and portion out your own sensible servings.