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Wellness > Health

Lose the Freshman 15: Tips for Cutting Extra Calories

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Today I went to lunch with my mom at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in town, Baja Fresh. I was shocked, but happy, to see that the restaurant included a calorie count for every item on the menu, and you wouldn’t believe the amount of calories in some of the items up there!
 
Nachos alone had 1,200 calories, which is nearly the total amount of calories you’re supposed to intake while on the Jumpstart Diet. Burritos too had nearly 1,000 calories, and other items such as tacos and quesadillas neared the 600-800 calorie range.
 
d68b5e71I was stunned.
 
But don’t you worry, the abundance of calorie-heavy items on the menu didn’t stop me from finding something to eat that was on my diet.
 
I settled on a nice chicken salad, which only have 240 calories. But, I got ranch dressing with it, which added another 200 calories alone.
 
And it was at the time when I was pouring ranch dressing onto my salad (I ended up only using half of the cup of dressing they gave to me) that I started thinking about simple, easy ways to cut calories here and there to make your food more diet-friendly and healthier.
 
Follow these simple tips, and you’ll be rocking the Jumpstart Diet in no time!

  1. Get Dressing on the Side: Dressing is one of the most calorie heavy food items that you can eat. Whether you’re out to dinner or cooking at home, get dressing on the side and only use half of what you’re given. You’ll notice that you don’t actually need THAT much dressing for your food to taste good, and you’ll be cutting extra calories without missing out on much.
  2. Get Rid of Soda: You don’t need it. It’s not good for you. And, it’s just empty calories. Soda doesn’t even quench your thirst, so take a tip from me and embrace your new best friend: water. If you’re a big soda drinker, wean yourself off of it slowly. Even cutting out one soda a day will save you 200+ extra calories. Think of it this way: “Don’t drink your calories”.
  3. Measure Your Food: This is seriously a life-saver. You’ll never be able to perfectly eye ball a cup of pasta or a cup of cereal until you’ve measured it out using a one cup measuring tool. Measuring out your food before you eat is a great way to monitor your portions and make sure that you’ve only eating one serving size – and it’ll inevitably save you empty calories, because one serving size is usually large enough to fill you up.
  4. Stick to Fresh Foods: Vegetables and fruits. Stock your diet up with them. It’s as simple as that. And vegetables and fruits are both delicious, so what’s not love?
  5. Eat Only Your Meal: Portion out what you’re going to eat ahead of time, and eat only that. Don’t nibble off of your neighbor’s plate or go back for seconds. Eat only enough to fill you up, and you’ll surely cut some empty calories by doing so.

These are just a few tips that I’ve started following since I’ve been on the Jumpstart Diet. I’ve found that they are a great way to cut some extra calories out of my diet and doing so keeps me eating healthier.
 
I encourage you all out there looking to diet to try them out! And let me know how it goes. 

And if you’re looking for even more easy tips to cut calories out of your everyday diet, check this out. The website gives you over 100 ways to cut 100 calories or more, easily. 
 
Do you have any other tips that you follow to cut the extra calories from your diet? Share them with me! Leave me a comment below, email me at sarakaner@hercampus.com or tweet me here. As always, I’d love to hear from you. 

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Sara Kaner
Sara Kaner was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California and first fell in love with journalism as a freshman in high school thanks to her wonderful Intro to Journalism teacher. A family move brought her to Fort Myers, Florida the summer after her freshman year of high school, but she continued to pursue an interest in journalism. She is in her second year at the University of Florida and is pursuing a dual degree in Public Relations and Psychology. She is heavily involved on the UF campus and dedicates most of her time to her various organizations and to her friends. She loves people, magazines, sports and social media, and she hopes to combine all three in her job someday. For now, she aspires to attend Law School and specialize in Media Law. She secretly aspires to be Chelsea Handler, but she's happy being herself for the moment, just as long as she can lose the freshman 15 this semester.