Helpful Tools & Tricks I Use To Stick To A Low-Calorie Diet

Hey I just wanted to take a minute to share some tools I use and tricks that I have found helpful in compiling good low-calorie recipes and sticking to my diet, without feeling limited and starving.
 
A love for food and cooking is helpful, but without the knowledge to back it up, it's easy to make poor choices. 

I love the website (and app for your smart-phone) "MyFitnessPal" - it is a handy database of calorie counting information, social networking community for support, and super easy way to stay on track with your diet. Its food tracker is a huge database with so many items, I haven't had any trouble finding anything I've looked for.  It is a fun and simple way to accurately count your calories.  You can also track your physical efforts too, it has a ton of activities to choose from to see how many calories you are burning, even basic actions like light cleaning and cooking are listed.  Plus it's an online community, where your friends/family can join or you can find other people you don't know and together you can share, encourage and motivate each other along the way!  Its nice because it doesn't share details like "Suzy has eaten an entire chocolate cake!", but it will say "Suzy has finished her diary, and stayed under her calorie goal" and you can comment "Way to go!" My sister, my aunt, my cousin, and my mother-in-law are all on there with me and it has made the process that much more enjoyable for each of us.  Daily we get to see how each of us is doing, share is our successes, and our stumbles... never feeling alone.  Plus having the community support helps to keep you honest and on track.  I highly recommend it!

MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE, and count, it sounds silly and time consuming, but just committing to using only 1/2 tbsp of olive oil instead of whatever comes out when you tip it over can make the difference between 15 calories and 120!

Don't deny yourself foods you like, you'll never last in your diet that way, just find a way to do them in a more healthy way! Whether that be smaller portions, with a salad on the side, or revision the recipe entirely, that's up to you!  If you like what you are eating you'll be that much more happy and motivated to keep going.  A stressed, frustrated person will actually struggle more with losing weight because of the chemical effects to the brain when you are stressed, make weight loss much more difficult, RELAX! 

Drink lots of water!  That's always a good idea, and something a lot of people don't do.  Being thirsty or dehydrated will make you retain water, and then you will actually weigh more then you really do!  If you find yourself not losing weight, up your water intake, I bet you'll see a difference!

I know it's sort of against all rules of diets, but I am actually a fan of zero calorie soda.  I think 1 zero calorie soda a day has really helped me feel satisfied, and caffeinated, without adding any calories.  Soda has other hidden problems that make dieting hard, but I think in moderation, it's a cool option.

To give you an idea of what I'm doing on a daily basis, I either have 2 eggs, 1 low-cal english muffin and coffee or oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, that turkey sandwich I posted a few days ago for lunch, with some reduced fat cheez-its, and a zero calorie cola, and then a 300-400 calorie dinner... totally about 1100 calories a day, I feel full, satisfied and I have lost about 8lbs in 35 days!  I am also only 5 feet tall - so you will likely need a bit more calories then that.  MyFitnessPal has a BMR calculator on the site that will help you accurately figure out how many calories you should be consuming daily!
 
"What is your BMR?

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. It represents the minimum amount of energy needed to keep your body functioning, including breathing and keeping your heart beating.
Your BMR does not include the calories you burn from normal daily activities or exercise.
Our calculator uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations to estimate your BMR which is believed to be more accurate than the more commonly used Harris-Benedict equation."

I had gained approximately 20 lbs with my pregnancy, and was already about 10 overweight when I got pregnant, so I still have a bit to go, but I already feel so much better, and my waist is smaller! 

Don't get discouraged, it's a slow process, losing a few oz a day  is awesome, and it is common to rebound a few times, just last week I gained 2 lbs, and felt really discouraged, but I stuck to it, and I've lost it again.

Along those lines - do not beat yourself up if you going over your limit for the day, especially with the holiday's coming up - you will likely be suckered into eating all sorts of high calorie foods, that's ok, enjoy it!  Think of it as a day off, and then back to "work" tomorrow.  Although if you follow my lead, and make yourself good options, then it really wont feel like work at all! :)

Best of luck to you on your journey to a skinnier/healthier you!