15 new ways to cut 400kJ from your day

Forget dieting… cut around 400kJ from your day, and you could lose half a kilo of body fat in one month.

1. Swap your chocolate for boiled sweets. Five squares of chocolate, about 25g, has 525kJ, while two small boiled sweets has only 140kJ. You still get that sweet hit but you will save 385kJ.
2. Cut your pre-dinner kilojoules. Make your gin and tonic with sugar-free diet tonic water, or switch your rum and cola for a rum and diet cola.
3. Flavour meals with herbs instead of fat. Replace one tablespoon of butter with fresh or dried thyme or rosemary, and sprinkle cracked pepper on your chicken or potato to save on fat and kilojoules.
4. Order your eggs poached. Eating two poached eggs instead of two fried eggs will save about 250kJ. Eat them with two slices of 97% fat-free bacon instead of regular bacon and you will save another 220kJ.
5. Remove the oil off your food by blotting it with paper towels. For every tablespoon that goes to your napkin instead of your mouth, you have saved over 400kJ.
6. Order pizza with grilled chicken instead of pepperoni to lower the fat.
7. Don’t eat the crust! The bottom of baked goods is extra kilojoule-dense because it absorbs the butter or oil used to grease the pan.
8. Swap from standard milk to trim. An easy swap, and with the good-tasting low-fat milks around these days, you won’t feel deprived. If you consume two cups of trim milk over the day (say with your cereal, in a cappuccino, and in cooking), you will drop an easy 430kJ.
9. Have your ice cream in a cup, not a cone. And when you’re at home, serve it in a bowl – just make sure it’s a small one. Study participants who were randomly given a large bowl to serve themselves ice cream ate over 30% more than those who were given a smaller bowl. And despite that, they didn’t think they had dished out any more than the others!
10. Walk for 30 minutes a day. Or do 30 minutes of gardening, aquarobics or light cycling. You will burn off 400kJ. If you walk briskly, you only have to for 16 minutes.
11. Make your pre-dinner nibble a light one: go for light hummus with rice crackers instead of regular hummus with corn chips. You will save 15g of fat and more than 500kJ.
12. Use 97% fat-free or light mayonnaise. You will save more than 400kJ with 1 tablespoon. But compare brands, as there is great variation.
13. Grill your cheese sandwich using cooking oil spray instead of table spread.
14. Leave three to four bites on your plate. If you wait a few minutes, it’s very likely you will realise you’re actually feeling full.
15. Skim the fat off soups, stews and sauces before serving. It’s a simple habit which makes a difference in the long run.