Many of us are trying to shed a few pounds. In our effort to lose weight, it’s easy to focus only on what we can’t eat. Below are some ideas on enjoying the foods we love, and still cut out 100 kcal each day.

Decreasing caloric intake by 100 kcal every day will cause one to lose 1 lb, in 5 weeks. That may not seem like much, but it will
definitely add up and can lead up to a weightloss of 10 lbs in one year. Here are five ways to make this happen:

1. Blend your own breakfast smoothie. Smoothies from specialty shops and restaurants can contain between 250 and 400 calories. Reduce your smoothie to 185 calories by making it at home. Combine ¼ cup fresh or frozen mixed fruit, 1 cup skim milk, ½ cup spinach leaves, 1 tsp honey, and puree in your blender until smooth.
2. Eat the whole fruit. One hundred percent juices may seem like a quick alternative for a fruit serving but a 16 oz juice – a medium in most restaurants- contains 220 calories. While you may get a few  vitamins, you are missing out on the valuable fiber, which can keep you feeling full. It may be a bit of work to peel your orange, but one medium orange only gives you 70 calories. Or eat an apple, peach or pear… peel and all!!
3. Make your own trail mix. Packaged trailmixes can contain as many as 425 calories in a half cup. Combine a tablespoon (TBSP) of chopped almonds or walnuts, a TBSP of raisins and a TBSP of dark chocolate chips with ½ cup of unsweetened puffed brown rice cereal and you’ll reduce the calories to 180.
4. Substitute sparkling water for your daily soda. Each 12 oz regular soda you drink contains as least 144 calories. Break the habit with sparkling water. Combine 3 oz of 100% orange juice with sparling water for the sweetness and the carbonation you crave and it will only set you back 42 calories.
5. For a treat, indulge in dark chocolate. According to the National Institute of Health, the benefits of chocolate come from the cocoa solids. Generally, the darker the chocolate the more solids, therefore the greater the health benefit. Candy bars are filled with sugar and fat and less of the beneficial cocoa solids. Most regular sized candy bars have 230 to 280 calories. Give yourself the treat of two dark chocolate squares (like Ghiradelli’s 60%, or Dove’s dark chocolate) and take in only 110 calories, and a whole lot more flavor.

Revised and updated from Source: myfooddiary.com blog October 2012