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FOOD ALTERNATIVES & Low Calorie Foods & NEW BE WARNED warnings foods that you think are low fat, but aren't:

Soda/POP: Soda, or pop as we crazy canucks like to call it, is a calorie bomb.  Most 355ml cans of pop have 1/6 of the average young adult's recommended calorie intake, if you are older that fraction is MORE!!!  Many people have PEPSI or COKE addictions.  There is a way to still enjoy pop if you feel you just can't cut it out completely-switch to diet.  I can hear you now from the other side of cyberspace whining, "Aw but that has no flavor!"  Diet pop still has the caffeine fix and is usually around one calorie or less per 355ml can.  This means the average person could drink as much diet pop as they like in a day without weight gain.  In fact we had one personal account from a young lady reported that after she switched to diet pop she lost twenty pounds within two months without making any other changes to her routine or diet.  She also claimed that after about two weeks of drinking diet that she got used to the flavor and now finds that the regular kind "...tastes funny."

Celery and Lettuce (the dreaded Rabbit Foods!):  Again I can already hear you complaining about flavor.  This is an acquired taste for sure. But did you know that if you ate nothing but Lettuce and Celery you would die from starvation?  It's true.  These two food have so little calories that you burn more calories from eating them then you get from them!!! That is without anything on them.

SALAD DRESSING: For those of you who keep asking yourselves "Why am I not loosing weight...all I eat is salads!?!" Consider whether or not you drench it in salad dressing.  One salad drenched in salad dressing, depending on the flavor, can be the same as eating a BIG MAC!!!  There are several ways around this other than ditching dressing all together.  You can reduce the amount you use, switch to calorie reduced versions of the same flavor (which usually saves you 100 calories per serving on average), and if you are not prepared to do that you can also switch flavors.  Different flavors have different amounts of calories.  For example the creamy dressings tend to have more calories than the vinegar based dressings.

CHOCOLATE BARS: My own personal downfall is chocolate...I can't get enough of it, and unfortunately the idea of the "diet" chocolate bar isn't exactly taking off.  However you can still enjoy a chocolate bar and reduce your calorie intake by just being wise about which kind of bars you buy.  Some bars differ drastically in calorie counts.  Reading the labels (and in Canada they are required by law to have calorie count available) and picking the bar with 250 calories rather than 450 calories can help.  There are other alternatives as well.  My favorite is the chocolate or yogurt covered granola bars which are usually 100 calories (or more) less then the average chocolate bar.  Most places that sell bulk foods also sell yogurt covered raisins, a healthier alternative to the chocolate covered GLOSSETTE style ones, that taste nearly as good. 

EASY MAC KRAFT DINNER: For those of you that are not Canadian, Easy MAC is a microwavable version of packaged macaroni and cheese.  SURPRISED?  One packet or serving of Easy MAC (regular) is around 250 calories per serving (that's less then the average chocolate bar and more filling).  This doesn't apply to regular Kraft Dinner-Why? Because in regular boxed Kraft Dinner you must add milk and butter, where as Easy Mac only requires water and uses powdered alternatives.  However you can reduce calories in your boxed Kraft dinner by using skim milk and low fat margarine instead. 

BE WARNED: The packaged "Mr. Noodle" Chinese style soup noodles are NOT low in calories!!! Many have 450+ calories per tiny serving.  For many that can be close to a half of a day's calories!!!

RICE CAKES: Quit your whining!  Even the Caramel covered (and absolutely delicious!!!) rice cakes are only around 50 calories each, most other flavors are less than that. You don't have to eat plain rice cakes anymore (but you still can) as there are many flavors now available including many chip flavors, apple cinnamon, and more.

PUDDING CUPS: Pudding cups (even the non-diet kind) are generally 90 calories or less per cup.  Having one pudding cup as an in between meal snack is a calorie wise choice.  

BE WARNED: No matter how ironic this may seem, some of the designer pudding cups that are designed and labeled to make you think they are the "healthy low-fat" choice are actually higher in calories than the ones, by Jell-O for example, that you would pack in your kids' lunches. Be sure-check the labels and compare!

TIMES THAT YOU EAT: The time of day that you eat can actually effect your weight.  Most recommend that you do not eat within 2 hours of going to bed.  This is because your metabolism (the amount of calories your burn at rest) is slower while you sleep.  Some even suggest that you set a time after supper that you agree with yourself not to eat after, like 6pm.  This can be difficult though because of going on dates, and most people like evening snacks with evening movies.  We suggest the two hour rule instead. 

BE WARNED: Popcorn is generally not a good snack to purchase at the movies.  It is drenched in butter and salt.   Unbuttered popcorn with spiced flavor (many movie theatres and grocery stores have chip-like flavors that can be sprinkled on popcorn) added is generally safer.

FAST FOOD-IN GENERAL: Fast food joints are a common problem for many people on the go who want some thing quick and tasty. Many fast food restaurants are adding healthy choices to their menus; particularly in Canada as the government is cracking down on trans-fats.  However the healthier choice is generally the much more expensive choice.  Not fair, but true.  If you really can't afford the healthy choices at McDonald's, Burger King, etc. you can get the diet pop or water with your food and ditch the fries.  Fries have a large number of calories, grease, fat, and not to mention artery clogging cholesterol.  Many fast food places have at least one chicken or fish burger on the menu which can be a more calorie wise choice.  If you can spring for the salad or be like Jared and do SUBWAY avoid dressings, cheese, and mayo.