#HealthFix: 5 Easy Tweaks To Curb Your Calories

The oil slow-down

Want to bring down 1 tbsp fat (oil, ghee)—that’s 135 kcal—to near negligible levels? Here’s how: Substitute the oil in your salad dressing with low-fat and low-salt chicken broth (5 kcal for 1 tbsp) or fresh fruit juice (7 kcal for 1 tbsp).

Opt for brown rice

Swap ½ cup of brown rice (133 kcal) for 1 cup of white rice (266 kcal). You’ll eat less of the former, because the bran con­tributes to fullness. Plus, you’ll have a lower glycaemic load.

Portion wise

Eat an open-faced wholewheat bread sandwich (1 slice is 70 kcal). You won’t find the bread dry if you’re using just 1 slice, so you can nix the butter to give yourself a 100-calorie edge.

Say yes to oatmeal

Eat oatmeal for breakfast. It reduces food cravings and results in about a 31 per cent lower calorie consumption at lunch, compared to if you breakfast on a ready-to-eat cereal (sugary cornflakes), finds a study published in the Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism. This could be because of delayed gastric emptying, which keeps your body going for longer. So if you’re eating 450 kcal at lunch, you may be able to shave off 139 kcal by just cooking this healthy breakfast.

Snack smart

Pick a healthy 4 p.m. snack. A small bowl (100 gm) of wholewheat flakes, roasted and tossed with chaat masala has only 362 kcal, whereas a samosa has 462 kcal.